The village
Varicottis, toponym of pre-Roman derivation, had a strategic importance from the late Imperial and Byzantine period, seat of a Castrum which in 641 was destroyed by Lombard King Rotari. Over the centuries, the small characteristic village was targeted by many attempted pirate attacks. It developed over the centuries along the coast, with Arab-Saracen influence visible in its buildings, probably due to the frequent contacts that the maritime port had with the Mediterranean populations. After being owned by Marquis Del Carretto in 1100, feudal lords of large part of Western Liguria, it passed under Genoese domination, which buried the port and destroyed the existing fortifications. The local economy was focused for a long time on fishing and trade in goods along the most known routes of Ligurian maritime commerce. Today, the historic centre is concentrated around the central Via Del Capo, from which the characteristic alleys that reach the sea branch off.
The history
Toponym of pre-Roman derivation, Varigotti had a strategic importance from the late Imperial and Byzantine period, seat of a Castrum that in 641 was destroyed by Lombard King Rotari. It developed over the centuries along the coast, with Arab-Saracen influence visible in its buildings, probably due to the frequent contacts that the maritime port had with the Mediterranean populations.
