View of Villatalla and the Valleys

Bar in the village of Villatalla, also excellent for lunch or dinner, Ligurian specialties. I recommend the spuma, coffee and cake, strictly homemade. The village of Lombard origin, takes its name from Wilhelm Tahl. The church dedicated to S. Arcangelo Gabriele is noteworthy, like many of the Pieve of Lombard origin.

Villatalla: perhaps of origin prior to the Roman occupation. The toponyms with the Semitic-Aryan root "tala", "tel", "tula" which means "mountain, support" date back to the first inhabitants of the area. The toponym for some is of Provençal origin "small bicocca" or fortress, castle, located on the top of the mountain. - for observation, defense, fortress, etc., for others it means "flowered villa" from taleia which in Greek means flowered, but for most, and very probably with some foundation, Villa della Vallata from a total German etymology ... Wilhelm-thal, from the Lombard thal. Its parish church, already separated from the matrix of S. Giacomo di Prela
in 1341, is dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, a saint beloved by the Lombards, to whom they attributed their victory of Siponto in 663 over the Saracens. Note: until the 17th century, the Piedmontese used to call the Western Ligurians "i ficoni" meaning eaters, planters, fig traders. In Villatalla, an area behind the parish church is still called "vizzai" because in those lands the "vizze" (woven reeds) were placed with figs on top to dry in the sun.Cycling-wise, however, the view is worth all the effort to get to the village.