Ovada is situated in a hilly area 190 metres above sea level at the edge of the Po Plain, at the meeting point of the two valleys through which the Orba and Stura rivers run, where the hills of the Ligurian–Piedmontese Apennines begin.
Surrounded by the hills of the Upper Monferrato, the town occupies a historically strategic position, just 37 kilometres from the city of Genoa and therefore from the sea.
Its geographical setting, which combines different landforms, produces a distinct climate: winters can be harsh and rainfall is slightly above average—particularly in autumn—while summers are never oppressive, though sometimes humid when maritime air masses known locally as the “Marin” descend into the valleys, reaching the town and surrounding areas. The Roman castrum from which the original settlement developed was likely established to control the communication routes running from the sea to the Po Plain via the fords of the rivers mentioned above; hence the name vada or vadum, Latin for “ford.”
The name of the village is recorded with some certainty in Roman times: it appears in letters addressed to Cicero. With the fall of the Empire and subsequent barbarian incursions, however, the name seems to have fallen out of use and vanished from the historical record.
The name Ovada reappears in documents of 967 and again in 991, and from that point the village—later town—shared the historical fortunes of the Monferrato area: it passed from the Aleramici marquisate to the marquises of Gavi, then to those of Del Bosco, and finally to the Malaspina family, through a succession of battles, wars, and political events. It was the Malaspina who attached Ovada to Liguria for centuries, selling it to the Maritime Republic of Genoa in 1277, thereby ensuring increased prosperity and protection for the local population.
These advantages were also exploited by the Genoese, who, in addition to benefiting from Ovada’s fertile agriculture, could rely on the town’s formidable castle as a defensive bulwark against potential incursions from the plains. For six centuries, the history of Ovada—leaving aside strictly local matters—was essentially the history of Genoa, to which it was inextricably linked; during those years Ovada developed culturally, architecturally, commercially and politically. Even today, the people of Ovada often feel closer to the Ligurians than to the Piedmontese, a connection reinforced by the local dialect.
In 1794 the territory experienced a temporary Austrian presence, but Napoleon’s later victories returned Ovada to Genoese control. After the Battle of Marengo in 1800 a period of political uncertainty ensued until Napoleon’s fall and the subsequent annexation of the Duchy of Genoa, including Ovada, to the States of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
From the time of the Risorgimento onward, the Ovada area actively participated in Italian history, and its citizens frequently played prominent roles in significant and often heroic episodes in the wars that followed up to the end of the Second World War.
Today, alongside its agricultural tradition, Ovada is an industrious town with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. It is an important communications hub between Milan, Turin and Genoa, and an ideal starting point for exploring the upper Monferrato, an area somewhat more rugged and wild than the surrounding countryside, where landscapes of gullies and scenic roads extend towards the Ligurian Alps, occasionally scented by the sea breeze.
Ovada is a lively town, full of shops and, above all, historic workshops that have preserved their original architecture and sometimes even their wooden interiors. Often dimly lit to enhance their atmosphere, these shops invite visitors to browse in the expectation of discovering something original—perhaps a little old-fashioned, what we might today call “vintage”—that has been sought after for years.
Life in the town is lived publicly: people meet in bars, chat in front of pastry shops, sit on the church steps, stroll with an irregular slice of freshly baked farinata in hand, or enjoy a local Rosso di Ovada at the Enoteca Regionale di Ovada e del Monferrato.
The town’s sociability and hospitality are particularly evident during public events and on the days of the renowned Antiques Market. Six centuries of Ligurian influence are clearly visible in the town’s urban fabric, especially in the historic centre, which is organised around the site of the ancient castle, now vanished, its memory preserved only in the name of the square and a commemorative plaque.
At the confluence of the Orba and Stura rivers there once stood a high spur of tuff, eroded by time but still tall enough to provide an ideal site for the construction of Ovada’s castle, probably built on the remains of an earlier Roman defensive tower by the Marquises Del Bosco in the eleventh century. The fortification was well protected by the natural morphology of the terrain, making it virtually impregnable, and it occupied a strategic position around which the first inhabited nucleus of the town developed. Only the advancement of firearms and repeated sieges eventually reduced the fortification to ruin; the remains of the castle and fortress were finally demolished in the mid-1800s for urban redevelopment.
Alleyways and narrow streets between houses, frescoed buildings and painted façades form the Ligurian urban heritage that the town carefully preserves, proud of its traditions and origins.
One of the most important buildings in Ovada is undoubtedly Palazzo Delfino, the seat of the municipal administration. This building has perhaps been altered most from its original Ligurian design, notably by the conversion of its two loggias into offices. Originally built by the Badaracco family, prominent bankers, in 1890 to serve as their residence and bank headquarters, the palace passed into the hands of the Delfino family after the Badaraccos’ bankruptcy.
Following refurbishment and interior ornamentation, the Delfinos sold the property to the municipality in 1922. Today the elegantly restored cellars house the Enoteca Regionale di Ovada e del Monferrato, a distinguished venue where visitors can taste the famous Dolcetto and explore the wines of the entire region.
The seventeenth-century Palazzo Mainieri is constructed in the Genoese style, with large windows and façade frescoes that give a three-dimensional effect to the austere structure. A classic palazzo with a ground floor, mezzanine and main floor, it features a richly decorated barrel-vaulted ceiling with eighteenth-century Baroque stuccoes, reached by a large stone staircase, and an attic. Today the piano nobile accommodates the civic library. During the Napoleonic era Alessandro Volta was a guest here. Purchased in the early nineteenth century by an ecclesiastical institution, the building only became municipal property in 1913. From 1925 to 1962 it also housed the town’s secondary school, a period interrupted during the Second World War when the building was used as a German military headquarters. The ground floor presently contains the Ovada Tourist Information and Reception Office (IAT).
Just beyond the historic centre, in areas that were developed to allow the construction of large noble residences with gardens, stands the sixteenth-century Palazzo Rossi Maineri, externally decorated in the Ligurian manner and marked by an inscription indicating the seat of the Antonio Rebora Civic School of Music. Originally owned by the Manieri family, the palace was sold in the early eighteenth century to the affluent Rossi family of Genoa, candle manufacturers of considerable wealth. Records indicate a past collection of more than eighty paintings within the palace, but all traces of that collection have been lost. In 1926 the building passed into private hands and in 1933 was acquired by the Municipality of Ovada, which altered the internal layout while leaving the façade unchanged. The building subsequently became the home of the aforementioned music school.
Another notable building, less for an ornate exterior and more for the importance of the family that built it as a seventeenth-century summer residence, is Palazzo Spinola. The Spinola family played a significant role in Ovada from the tenth century well into the nineteenth, frequently acting in ways that benefited the town. The palace stands beside the church of San Domenico, originally known as Santa Maria delle Grazie, built in the fifteenth century and once featuring a portico and rooms used as stables and storage. After its sale to the Piarist Fathers, the palace underwent modifications while retaining its original austere Genoese character. Palazzo Spinola is accessible to visitors on days organised by FAI — Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano.
Attention then turns to the town’s religious buildings, above all the large parish church dedicated to Maria Assunta and San Gaudenzio, founded in 1772 to replace a smaller church that could no longer accommodate the faithful; it stands in a square bearing the same name and is one of the town’s most frequented places, hosting the market twice a week.
White and linear in appearance, despite its late Baroque origin the church presents a neoclassical aspect. Unadorned externally, it is nonetheless marked by two tall bell towers built at different times: the right tower in 1808 and the left in 1853. These reach a height of 47 metres, making the church clearly visible from afar. The plan is a Latin cross with three naves and a deep apse, for a total length of 60 metres. Inside, in contrast to the reserved exterior, the church is richly appointed with tall columns, numerous paintings and statues, and an impressive dome that admits generous light. The architect Antonelli, who also designed Turin’s Mole Antonelliana and the dome of Campagna in Monferrato, designed the high altar, executed in fine polychrome marble.
In the shade of alleys and narrow streets one encounters a deconsecrated church now used as an exhibition space: the ancient parish church of San Sebastiano, better known as the “loggia” of S. Sebastiano. It is a Romanesque building probably dating to around the year 1000, although tradition speaks of occasional visits by St Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, in the fourth century. Originally constructed with a single frescoed nave, two additional naves were later added. At the base of the bell tower a worn plaque bears the date 1391, the only certain evidence relating to one of the many renovations, extensions and embellishments the church underwent in antiquity. That era coincided with a flourishing of palaces, fortifications and urban improvements, attesting to a particularly prosperous period.
Over time the church fell into disrepair and became inadequate for the growing population of Ovada. In 1791 the Bishop of Acqui issued a terse decree (Veteri tempio, squalificate, vetustae, angustia, derelicto) ordering its abandonment in favour of a new parish. The building was deconsecrated and its spaces sold; furnishings, the altar and many decorations were redistributed to other churches. The municipal authorities converted the bell tower into a prison; large side openings were later made to adapt the temple as a public loggia and subsequently as a fruit market, and the premises have served various commercial uses until the present day, when they function as an exhibition venue. Also of note is the right aisle of the church, which was sold to the Confraternity of St John.
The event is heartfelt: the bearers of the wooden “casse” wear distinctive red cloaks, so that the entire confraternity is known as the dei Rossi (the Reds). The confraternity—now numbering a few dozen members—preserves and cares for the artistic heritage held in the oratory, mainly eighteenth-century works. Among these, alongside valuable paintings, liturgical furnishings and silverware, stand out the two “processional chests” depicting the martyrdom of John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus.
L’avvenimento è piuttosto sentito ed i portatori delle sculture lignee dette “casse” vestono palandrane rosse così caratteristiche da far nominare l’intera confraternita con l’appellativo “dei Rossi”. La confraternita, ormai composta da qualche decina di persone, è responsabile e curatrice del patrimonio artistico conservato nell’oratorio, opere soprattutto settecentesche. Fra esse, oltre a pregevoli tele, arredi religiosi, argenti, spiccano la “cassa processionaria” raffigurante il martirio di Giovanni Battista e quella dedicata al battesimo di Gesù.
Continuing with oratories and confraternities, the town contains the Oratory of the Annunziata, associated with the confraternity of the same name. The oratory, of ancient origin, was enlarged in the fifteenth century and largely rebuilt in 1785, acquiring a predominantly eighteenth-century appearance with evident Ligurian artistic influences. Inside are nineteenth-century frescoes, sixteenth-century paintings, liturgical furnishings and two fine processional chests. It is not difficult to find other places of artistic, historical or religious interest while walking the town. Two further recommendations are the Giulio Maini Paleontological Museum and Villa Gabrieli Park. A visit to the museum, dedicated to Piedmontese paleontology and inaugurated in 2003, allows visitors to view important finds that have contributed to the palaeobiogeographical reconstruction of this part of Piedmont and the area technically known as the Ligurian–Piedmontese Tertiary Basin. As with many historic sites, the building housing the museum has witnessed centuries of change: originally built in the fourteenth century as a church dedicated to Saint Anthony the Abbot and situated outside the original historic centre, it underwent renovations through the eighteenth century and was finally deconsecrated in 1840 after having served as a lazaretto during the cholera epidemic of late summer 1836; in 1882 it became a prison.
The museum places a strong emphasis on education, addressing topics related to paleontological science and investigative techniques. Finally, Villa Gabrieli Park and its villa were created between 1910 and 1913 by the Ovada architect Michele Oddini on behalf of a Genoese industrialist for Mrs Dolores Gabriele, from whom the site takes its name. The area selected was then developing into a wealthy residential quarter, replacing a former vineyard. The villa was designed in a restrained Art Nouveau style and the park in the English manner, apparently wild and informal in contrast to the geometric, perspective-play of Italian gardens. A feature of the park is that it does not afford a single panoramic view but rather unfolds as a continuous sequence of discoveries, offering varied environments—from oriental-inspired sections to wilder, forest-like areas and lake-style scenes—enriched by exotic and rare plantings. Judas trees with spectacular spring blooms, redwoods, cedars of Lebanon and cedars from Morocco’s Atlas Mountains are among the species preserved there. Over more than a century the park has passed through different hands and fortunes, but today it is in excellent condition after being designated a “Luogo del Cuore FAI” (FAI Place of the Heart) in 2018. Beloved by the people of Ovada, the park remains one of the town’s landmarks.
