Santo Stefano d'Aveto
Encyclopedia
Santo Stefano d'Aveto is a comune
(municipality) in the province of Genoa
in the Italian
region Liguria
.
Santo Stefano d'Aveto borders the following municipalities: Bedonia
, Borzonasca
, Ferriere
, Rezzoaglio
, Tornolo
.
, in the Aveto Valley near the Aveto torrent. The town is part of the Mountain Community of the Aveto, Graveglia, and Sturla valleys, and together with another four Liguria
n towns make up the Aveto Natural Regional Park
.
and Ligurian
s took place. In the 12th century AD, Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa conferred the fief of Santo Stefano d'Aveto upon the Malaspina family, who then constructed the ponderous castle. The fief were then passed on to the Fieschi family and later to the Doria
family, all related by an elaborate intermarriage network of noble families.
or hiking
, horse riding, and skiing
.
The local mountains are a favorite destination for recreational skiing.
made in this town. This cheese is a far cry from the mass-produced confections found in the grocery store. It is produced by a small collection of families, and made in the identical fashion for centuries. The cheese itself is produced from unpasteurized bovine whole milk principally from the Bruno-alpina or Cabannina cattle races, coagulated with veal
rennet
, either in paste or powder form, at about 35° Celsius
, mixing for 35 minutes, breaking apart large curds until the mixture is curdled to the size of rice. Salt is also added to the curd.
The mixture is then placed in a round form measuring 10 centimeters high and 13-15 centimeters in diameter. The cheese in this form weighs about 8-12 kilograms. The crust is thin, elastic, compact, and edible. Inside, the cheese has a yellowish color like wheat
. After aging for about two months, the cheese is ready for the table, and provides a delicate flavor, slightly bitter, becoming more intense with greater aging.
. The town is not directly reachable by autostrada, or major highway.
Another prominent use of the local, winding roads is the Val d'Aveto Rally, featuring automobile races annually since 1975.
The nearest train station to the North is located in Piacenza
; the nearest train station to the south is located in Chiavari
. Public buses provide transport from the latter to Santo Stefano d'Aveto.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
(municipality) in the province of Genoa
Province of Genoa
The Province of Genoa is a province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Genoa.It has an area of 1,838 km², and a total population of about 900,000...
in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
region Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
.
Santo Stefano d'Aveto borders the following municipalities: Bedonia
Bedonia
Bedonia is a comune within the Province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna .- History :The communal territory was already settled during the Neolithic age, and later was a Roman colony, under the name of Bitunia....
, Borzonasca
Borzonasca
Borzonasca is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about east of Genoa. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,054 and an area of ....
, Ferriere
Ferriere
This article is about the Italian commune, for the Bordeaux Third growth see Château FerriereFerriere is a comune in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 150 km west of Bologna and about 45 km southwest of Piacenza, in the Val Nure of the Ligurian...
, Rezzoaglio
Rezzoaglio
Rezzoaglio is a comune in the province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,179 and an area of 104.9 km²....
, Tornolo
Tornolo
Tornolo is a comune in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 140 km west of Bologna and about 70 km southwest of Parma...
.
Geography
Santo Stefano d'Aveto is located about 75 km northeast of GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, in the Aveto Valley near the Aveto torrent. The town is part of the Mountain Community of the Aveto, Graveglia, and Sturla valleys, and together with another four Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
n towns make up the Aveto Natural Regional Park
Aveto Natural Regional Park
The Aveto Natural Regional Park is a natural park in Province of Genoa . It was established in 1995.- Geography :Situated in the inland of Tigullio area, Aveto Natural Regional Park protects one of the most beautiful and important areas of the Ligurian Apennines.The protected territory, over 30...
.
History
The town was likely founded during prehistoric times, and the first mention of this town was during the 2nd century BC, where at the foot of Monte Penna the final battle between the RomansAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
and Ligurian
Ligures
The Ligures were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria, a region of north-western Italy.-Classical sources:...
s took place. In the 12th century AD, Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Frederick Barbarossa conferred the fief of Santo Stefano d'Aveto upon the Malaspina family, who then constructed the ponderous castle. The fief were then passed on to the Fieschi family and later to the Doria
Doria
Doria, originally de Auria , meaning "the sons of Auria", and then de Oria or d'Oria, is the name of an old and extremely wealthy Genoese family who played a major role in the history of the Republic of Genoa and in Italy, from the 12th century to the 16th century.-Origins:According to legend, a...
family, all related by an elaborate intermarriage network of noble families.
Main sights
- Malaspina Castle (13th century), currently in ruin, but undergoing limited restoration. The castle is located off the central piazzaPiazzaA piazza is a city square in Italy, Malta, along the Dalmatian coast and in surrounding regions. The term is roughly equivalent to the Spanish plaza...
of the town, and features a highly irregular polygonal base. - The sanctuary of the Our Lady of GuadalupeOur Lady of GuadalupeOur Lady of Guadalupe , also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary.According to tradition, on December 9, 1531 Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, had a vision of a young woman while he was on a hill in the Tepeyac desert, near Mexico City. The lady...
is the town church, on the grounds of which is found the town cemetery. Among the relics it holds is a bronzeBronzeBronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
medallion of Christopher ColumbusChristopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
mounted on the main door. The present church was founded in 1929.
Mountains
- Monte MaggiorascaMonte MaggiorascaMonte Maggiorasca is a mountain on the border between Liguria and Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, the highest peak of the Ligurian Appennines....
(1,799 m) - Monte Bue (1,777 m)
- Monte PennaMonte Penna (Liguria)Monte Penna is a mountain in Liguria, northern Italy, part of the Ligurian Appennines.-References:...
(1,735) - Monte Tomarlo (1,602 m)
- Groppo Rosso (1,594 m)
Cultural events
- First Sunday after FerragostoFerragostoFerragosto is an Italian holiday celebrated on August 15. Originally, it may have related to a celebration of the middle of the summer and the end of the hard labour in the fields....
(15 August): Patron Saint feast "Madonna di Guadalupe" - 2 September: Fair of St. Mary Magdalene
- 5 October: Fair of St. FrancisFrancis of AssisiSaint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
Tourism
The town was given the honor of "Orange Flag" in 2006 by the Italian Touring Club, a symbol of superior quality for tourism, and awarded only to smaller inland communities to distinguish these towns for excellence and hospitality. The town is best known as a launch site for trekkingBackpacking (wilderness)
Backpacking combines the activities of hiking and camping for an overnight stay in backcountry wilderness...
or hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, horse riding, and skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
.
The local mountains are a favorite destination for recreational skiing.
San Stè cheese
"San Stè" is a traditional cheeseCheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
made in this town. This cheese is a far cry from the mass-produced confections found in the grocery store. It is produced by a small collection of families, and made in the identical fashion for centuries. The cheese itself is produced from unpasteurized bovine whole milk principally from the Bruno-alpina or Cabannina cattle races, coagulated with veal
Veal
Veal is the meat of young cattle , as opposed to meat from older cattle. Though veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, most veal comes from male calves of dairy cattle breeds...
rennet
Rennet
Rennet is a complex of enzymes produced in any mammalian stomach to digest the mother's milk, and is often used in the production of cheese. Rennet contains many enzymes, including a proteolytic enzyme that coagulates the milk, causing it to separate into solids and liquid...
, either in paste or powder form, at about 35° Celsius
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
, mixing for 35 minutes, breaking apart large curds until the mixture is curdled to the size of rice. Salt is also added to the curd.
The mixture is then placed in a round form measuring 10 centimeters high and 13-15 centimeters in diameter. The cheese in this form weighs about 8-12 kilograms. The crust is thin, elastic, compact, and edible. Inside, the cheese has a yellowish color like wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
. After aging for about two months, the cheese is ready for the table, and provides a delicate flavor, slightly bitter, becoming more intense with greater aging.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms, gathered in the wild, are a very popular delicacy of the town. There exists a long-standing tradition among the men in the town to hunt and gather mushrooms, but to never reveal the source. This tradition, however, has received the attention of the government, and the gathering of mushrooms is now strictly regulated.Transport
Santo Stefano d'Aveto is served by Strada Provinciale 654 della Val di Nure (SP-654), which connects it to RezzoaglioRezzoaglio
Rezzoaglio is a comune in the province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,179 and an area of 104.9 km²....
. The town is not directly reachable by autostrada, or major highway.
Another prominent use of the local, winding roads is the Val d'Aveto Rally, featuring automobile races annually since 1975.
The nearest train station to the North is located in Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
; the nearest train station to the south is located in Chiavari
Chiavari
Chiavari is a town and comune on the Italian Riviera in the Province of Genoa, region of Liguria. It is situated near the mouth of the Entella River, in the center of a fertile plain surrounded by mountains except on the southwest, where it comes down to the Mediterranean Sea...
. Public buses provide transport from the latter to Santo Stefano d'Aveto.
External links
- Economic data on Santo Stefano d'Aveto Val d'Aveto Official site of the Town of Santo Stefano d'Aveto Services, details, and links to Santo Stefano d'Aveto Specialty cheese of Santo Stefano d'Aveto Malaspina Castle in Santo Stefano d'Aveto The Church of St. Stephen Martyr in Santo Stefano d'Aveto