Eugi Gufo's siteEugi Gufo

Noli is a lovely small town in the Province of Savona, which I was only able to visit very briefly and in great haste. I regret this, because it is beautiful in the traditional sense of the word.

Beautiful, however, is not a synonym for perfect: any place in the world can have the misfortune of being administered by idiots. In Noli, for example, entry to the most interesting church (San Paragorio, 12th century) is subject to an entrance fee (€2). One wonders in how many languages the word vaffanculo has been mentally formulated in this sacred place…

In another apparently interesting church (San Pietro), a liturgy was in progress, so the only peculiar detail I can report is the shepherd’s hat on the coat of arms.

Most of the streets in the centre are rather narrow.

The historic architecture is well preserved, but in the summer period it is somewhat difficult to study it carefully because of the large masses of tourists: the main streets resemble rivers in flood. But perhaps this is for the best, given that coastal tourist towns in winter are usually deserted and slightly unsettling.

Any ideas about the purpose of this tower? Or is it a giant chimney?

In Noli they have their own model of street-name plaques: they are the same throughout the town. Without them, who knows when I would have discovered the existence of the Fifth Maritime Republic… Yes, for some incomprehensible reason, this piece of knowledge had never reached my brain before. I have now started to inform myself.

The street lamps in the historic centre are a little too massive, but still far better than those seen in many other historic towns.

The metal supports of the balconies are equipped to deter pigeons and, perhaps even more importantly, seagulls.

Illegal building can also take on these forms (although I must admit that in the ex-Soviet Caucasus people go much further, «hanging» entire rooms, sometimes even 30 square metres or more).

The little structure with the large green door (see the nearest balcony) reminds me of the toilets built decades ago on the balconies of old buildings in Bastia (Corsica). On the French island, however, they are disappearing very quickly, so go and see them as soon as possible.

The sign of a grocery shop has been made in 3D.

Someone tried to embellish their letterbox, but instead created an incredible monstrosity.

Some shopkeepers suffer from existential doubts of the kind: «a shop or a stall at the street market?» While waiting for a divine sign, they are trying to reconcile both options.

The litter bins in Noli are enormous (considering the number of tourists, the size is justified) and equipped with ashtrays (which, incidentally, should be present on all litter bins in the world).

Occasionally there are also small bins, but they have nothing particularly noteworthy.

It seems that even for the paving of pedestrian streets a single municipal rule has been imposed: the paving is always carried out in the same way and with the same colours.

Unfortunately, for now I have nothing more to tell you about Noli. But as soon as I happen to be in that area again, I will certainly stop by Noli to study it more thoroughly. I hope you will be able to do the same.