A town of the Liguri Ingauni, the ancient Albium Ingaunum, founded upon a hill close to the river Centa, it was an important Roman municipium, the capital of the Marca Arduinica in the 11th century and a bishop’s see. The intact medieval historic area with its palaces and its towers, whose structure traces out the ancient Roman layout, makes Albenga an exceptional cultural town as well as one of the biggest in western Liguria, the commercial fulcrum of an area rich in activities and an interesting tourist destination. The extremely fertile lowland has allowed the rise of specialized agriculture hinging on four typical products: the thorny artichoke, the trumpet courgette, the ox heart tomato and the purple asparagus, the latter chosen as a Slow Food presidium. Also, the Ingauna hills are very well known for the controlled-origin-denomination quality of the vineyards, from the Rossese of Campochiesa to Vermentino and Pigato. This old town affords not only an immersion in history and art but also fun and sea with its numerous shops and a pleasant foreshore from which you can reach the naturalistic oasis near the mouth of the Centa, an ideal area for bird watching. Moreover, the seabeds offer sea lovers a shoal and various opportunities for diving to discover shipwrecks in the nearby waters off the charming Gallinara Island, a turtle-shaped islet that since 1989 has been a Regional Nature Reserve because of its numerous plant species and its fine seabeds.