The first people who settled in the area were Ligurian tribes and members of the Carthaginian army. Then came the Romans and, in the 7th century, the Lombards who founded the flourishing Abbey of San Colombano in Bobbio, of which Ottone’s territory was also part. Following the advent of Barbarossa, Ottone and the neighbouring villages were handed over to the Malaspina family, and then, at the beginning of the 1500s, to the Doria family.
The coat of arms of the Municipality of Otto bears an imperial eagle, a possible reference to the Saxon Emperors, the crowned profile of the Roman emperor Otto who camped in 69 AD. while he was headed to Rome to fight against Vitiello and two crenellated silver towers that allude to the castle that was a fiefdom of the Malaspina, the Fieschi and Doria families of Genoa.
What to see in Ottone
- CENTRO STORICO E CASTELLO DEI MALSPINA
- PIEVE DI SAN BARTOLOMEO
- MULINO DEI PRINCIPI
- MUSEO DIOCESANO DI ARTE SACRA
- IL GIRO DEL POSTINO O MARCIALONGA DEL POSTINO
The town is almost entirely arranged around Piazza della Vittoria and is dominated by the remains of the Malaspina castle, of which the robust river stone walls with narrow slits are still visible. From the castle it was possible to dominate the entire valley.
Founded around the year 1000 to offer refuge and assistance to pilgrims who came to visit the Abbey of San Colombano in Bobbio, it was rebuilt in 1500. The bell tower was built between the 16th and 17th centuries.
This is one of the major attractions of Ottone: an ancient mill built by the Malaspinas in the 12th century, then renovated in the 16th century by the Dorias. The structure, still functioning, looks like a mill with two independent wheels, which can therefore work separately. In the past one wheel was used to grind wheat and the other to grind chestnuts. Today it is depicted on the packaging of the Antico Mulino di Ottone artisan laboratory. The laboratory, born in the historic headquarters, produces biscuits and other specialties, including the “mountain pandolce” which it also exports abroad.
The museum collects sacred objects and furnishings from numerous churches scattered throughout the area. The collection is made up of around 120 objects, some of which date back to the 14th century, such as a bell originally belonging to the Church of San Bartolomeo.
At 17 kilometres long, the route replicates the one followed in the past by postmen to deliver mail in five hamlets of the Municipality: Artana, Belnome, PIzzonero, Suzzi and Bogli.
Every year, in spring, a group excursion is organized to the sound of fifes and accordions. In each hamlet it is customary to have participants taste a dish of local food.
