A story as old as humankind itself
Located in the Argentina mid-valley and bisected by the river of the same name, the village of Badalucco has an evident medieval appearance. Its history is far older however. This area was inhabited by shepherding populations from the middle Copper Age (some 4500-3800 years ago). Confirmation of this was the discovery of human remains in the Tana Bertrand cave on the slopes of Mount Faudo.
2600 years ago, in the Iron Age, the number of villages multiplied. They were usually located in strategic and easy to defend places. Of these, one may have been found above Carcagnea, where today there are ancient olive presses and a road turns off to the Oxentina valley. Another was on the high ground of Campo Marzio in the municipality of Taggia, which later became a Byzantine fort, some 1400 years old.
Badalucco, as we know it today, grew up around the castle. The fortified zone is now the site of the present-day church of San Nicolò, in a dominant position at the top of the village. The castle was built some 900 years ago, and belonged to the counts of Ventimiglia. A century later, Count Oberto was so indebted that he sold all his land rights to the municipality of Genoa. Genoa therefore controlled the Argentina valley, a valuable link between the coast, the Alps and the fertile Po Valley. Badalucco’s economy was based on agriculture (grapes, fruit, cereals, chestnuts, vegetables and of course olives, so many olives), along with handcrafts, trade and winter pasture: in the springtime it is on the route for livestock moving to higher pastures.
The Genoa government and later the Imperial French rulers (1805-1814) were succeeded by the Savoys. As an important town in the western Ligurian hinterland, Badalucco’s social and economic development was continuous. Italy had become a Kingdom when, between 1906 and 1909, a curious Grace Mary Crowfoot walked through the narrow streets of Badalucco. She was the pioneer who discovered human remains in the Tana Bertrand cave. We know that at that time the village had some 2000 inhabitants and numerous business activities: there were four innkeepers, two lawyers, a pharmacist and several shoemakers, tailors, blacksmiths, carpenters and a butcher. A real town, indeed.
The same town that would be devastated by the Second World War and clashes between partisans and Fascist Nazis, who set fire to homes and destroyed the Sant’Antonio bridge and the church of Madonna degli Angeli. The bloodiest battle happened on 25 September 1944, when the partisans, led by Arturo Secondo, aka Artù, opened fire on a column of fascists and Germans who were approaching to carry out a punitive mission. The fascists surrendered and the partisans gained an important victory. Artù’s unit joined the imperial “Garibaldi” brigade and helped to liberate all the coastal positions in April 1945.
The open wounds of the war were healed thanks to strong community cohesion and a shared passion for work. Today Badalucco is renowned for its joie de vivre, its cheerful and friendly people, its traditional products and its architectural and artistic heritage.