Nestled against the Ligurian Apennines on the last slopes of the Upper Monferrato hills, between the Lemme Valley and the Garzente Valley, along the Via del Sale, lies the village of Mornese, a municipality in the Ovada area with just over 730 inhabitants.
Part of its territory is located within the Capanne di Marcarolo Regional Park.
The origins of the name are uncertain. The most accepted theory traces it back to Molanesio from Latin, meaning “mule track” or “muleteers,” referring to the paths used by salt transporters with mules. This name appears in the earliest historical documents related to the village, dating to 1188, although some documents from Genoese monks may exist as early as 1065.
By the 1200s, the village had already gained importance for trade and its position between the sea and the interior. At the end of the 13th century, specifically in 1271, two castles were built: one by the Abbot of the Hermitage of Ponticello—on its site now stands the parish church—and the other, directly opposite, by the powerful Genoese family Rosso della Volta on Berguato Hill.
The village and its castle changed hands several times, from the Marquises of Monferrato to the Doria, from the Passano to the Pallavicino, and then in 1628 to Giovanni Battista Serra, whose family administered it for over a century and a half. From the late 1700s, other powerful families managed the fief and castle until the first half of the 1800s, when it definitively returned to the Doria of Genoa, following the historical events of Piedmont and Italy to the present day.
Mornese is dominated by its castle, which rises vertically and features large windows. It can be reached via a steep path starting from a small square where the old town hall once stood. The fortress dates back to the early 1200s but was completely destroyed by Ligurian troops in 1404. Only the walls of the ancient structure remained, now enclosing the inner garden.
The castle was rebuilt by the Doria and, as mentioned, passed through various hands. In the 1700s, under the Serra family, it underwent final modifications, acquiring the characteristics of a country noble residence while retaining much of the original layout. From one of its towers, through a large window, there is a panoramic view of the Alps. Since the 1800s, the castle has been owned by the Doria family.
Among the religious buildings are the parish church of San Silvestro, dating to 1590 but heavily modified over the centuries, especially from the 1800s onward, and the small 16th-century chapel of San Rocco, built in local stone as a place of prayer against the recurring plagues that struck the area at the time.
The village is well preserved, with squares lined by period buildings and houses. A detailed description of the village is available on the municipal website, along with information on other churches and rural chapels scattered across the territory, accessible via beautiful marked and equipped trails.
Mornese is also notable as the birthplace, in 1837, of Saint Maria Domenica Mazzarello, co-founder with Don Bosco of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. Many of the sites she frequented, including the college, are visitable in the village.
