The village
According to popular traditions, the origin of the name is to be found in Aquilia, symbolizing the eagle carved in the Roman emblem. The fishing village, which has always been known as a safe and sheltered harbour, forged its fortune on sea coral shipping.
Along the colourful streets of the old town, with medieval architecture, ancient aristocratic palaces arise, with richly decorated interiors, some transformed into pleasant accommodation facilities. Art, history and culture here are interwoven and become very visible, giving you an extremely engaging appeal in the experience, consisting of sounds, colours and scents with a sea flavour.
The history
Laigueglia's toponym has precise historical
origins, in fact it is thought to derive from the name Aquilia, a symbol of
recognition of the legion that during the Roman expansion period crossed this
stretch of coastline where one of the most important communication paths in
terms of the number of business to Gaul is traced, Iulia Augusta. Originally a
fishing village, since the Middle Age, an important commercial activity has
been added to the previous one, the coral harvesting that extends across the
Capo Mele promontory and encourages flourishing exchanges between the towns.
Often, that stretch of coast, like many other areas on the coast, was
devastated by pirates and one of the best known landings, which is also found
in the sources of that time, is that made by Khayr Al Din who was one of the most
devastating for the village. Faced with these episodes of enemy invasions, the
Senate of the Republic of Genoa promulgated some laws in favour of the
construction of defence systems, including towers and wall enclosures. With the
arrival of 1600, the trade in the Mediterranean grew more and more, mainly with
oil and wine. With the decay of the Republic of Genoa, Laigueglia became part
of the Ligurian Republic, the Kingdom of Sardinia and finally the Kingdom of
Italy since 1861.
