Noli (Liguria)

Noli
Country	Italy
region	Liguria
province	Savona  (SV)
Coordinates	44 ° 12 '  N , 8 ° 25'  E Coordinates: 44 ° 12 '18 "  N , 8 ° 24' 54"  E
height	2  m slm
surface	9.62 km²
Residents	2,590 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	269 ​​inhabitants / km²
Post Code	17026
prefix	019
ISTAT number	009042
Popular name	Nolesi
Patron saint	Sant'Eugenio
Website	Noli
Look at Noli

Noli , lig. Nöi, is an Italian municipality with 2590 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) in the province of Savona on the Gulf of Genoa in Liguria and is a member of the association I borghi più belli d'Italia (The most beautiful places in Italy).

Location and dates

Noli is about 17 km south of Savona. The neighboring municipalities are Finale Ligure , Spotorno and Vezzi Portio .

Noli belongs to the Comunità Montana Pollupice and is related to the German city of Langenargen . Noli is a natural harbor. A significant water depth is quickly reached directly on the beach of the bay. A circumstance that helped Noli gain economic importance in long-distance trade very early on, but also made it susceptible to raids from the sea.

From the land side, Noli can only be reached through a narrow valley.

The district of Varigotti , which today is primarily of tourist importance, is separated from Noli by a cliff.

history

Noli

The name Noli goes back to the Byzantine period when the place was called Neapolis. In 768 Noli was overrun by the Lombards, who first destroyed the city, then rebuilt it as an administrative center. Since 800, Noli has been invaded again and again by Islamic Saracens, who depopulated Liguria and Piedmont from Sardinia and advanced into what is now Switzerland. Even today, place names in Noli (e.g. Baia / Spiaggia dei Saraceni, the Saracen Beach or the Borgo dei Saraceni in Varigotti) clearly indicate the conquests of the Saracens that continued into the 15th century.

The oldest parts of the city's fortress, one of the cultural monuments, also date from the time of the first wars of conquest and religion of the Islamic Saracens. In the 11th century there is also the name naboli.

As a result of the Saracen raids, the city took part in the first crusade in 1097 and received numerous privileges for this. Noli became a maritime power that had been the smallest of Italy's maritime republics since 1193 . In 1239 Noli became a bishopric . Thanks to a close alliance with Genoa, Noli was able to maintain its independence until 1797. Only in the course of the conquest of Italy by Napoleon did the city lose its independence, as did the maritime republics of Genoa and Venice .

Attractions

San Paragorio crypt

Romanesque bishop's see, Church of San Paragorio

Today Noli has a very well-preserved medieval town center. Three city gates / towers have been preserved from the medieval fortifications. In addition to the city gates, there are also some residential towers that are worth seeing, which define the image of the town center.

The church of S. Paragorio, located at the southern exit of the village near the Via Aurelia , is also important . As long as Noli was still the bishopric, it even had the status of a cathedral from 1239. The church was built in the 11th century, developed in several phases in the Romanesque architectural style (church portal!) And later redesigned mainly with wall paintings in the Renaissance style. Outside and inside the impression of Romanesque style prevails . Half of the south wall stands on the remains of the spacious, former, older octagonal baptismal font from the Byzantine period. A replica of the basin is located in the church. Paragorius is linked to his martyrdom and that of his companions in Neapolis, as Noli was once called. The former cathedral and the cathedral in Ventimiglia are the two oldest still largely preserved Romanesque churches in Liguria .

Web links

Commons : Noli  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• The Romanesque church of San Paragorio, in Italian

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
2. ^ I borghi più belli d'Italia. Borghipiubelliditalia.it, accessed July 27, 2017 (Italian).