Cervo Town Views

If you’ve visited the Italian Riviera and didn’t stop off to explore Cervo, even though you saw the road signs when on the way to nearby Monaco for a quick flutter, slap yourself because you missed out big time. Cervo may not be one of the largest urbanisations on the country’s Ligurian coastline by a long chalk, that accolade belongs to Genoa, but it is undoubtedly one of the most attractive. And definitely deserves to be classified, which it is, as one of the most beautiful Italian villages existing.

Cervo dates back to pre-medieval times when a wealthy Roman built a mansion atop the hillside overlooking the sea. They didn’t manage to keep it to themselves for long though. All lords of the manor, even back then, needed surfs to carry out the mundane tasks of life and surfs, no matter how lowly, needed a place to sleep so a village gradually evolved around the Roman villa.

It has remained a village over the centuries since then and is still home to only around a thousand people. Carrying a daily grocery shop up those steep cobbled streets is quite likely what has put more people off settling there than it’s enticed. What does entice folks to stretch their calf muscles once a year and head up that hill is the International Chamber Music Festival. The classical music concert is held over various dates in the summertime in the plaza in front of the St John the Baptist Church. So, next time you see the sign for Cervo, especially during July and August, make sure to turn off rather than driving straight by. It’s never wise to make the same mistake twice.