ORIGINThe very name "Torretta" is the most significant clue to its origin. It translates directly to "little tower". This highlights the settlement's function and origin.Historical Context
Between the 9th and 11th centuries, the Ligurian coast was subjected to constant and devastating raids by Saracen pirates. Coastal populations were forced to retreat inland, establishing new settlements on defensible hilltops (borghi). These villages were designed as small fortresses.The Defensive System
Vasia, along with other towns in the Val Prino, such as Prelà and Dolcedo, was part of a complex system of watchtowers (torri di avvistamento). These towers were strategically placed to have a clear line of sight to the sea and to each other. When pirate ships were spotted, smoke signals by day and fire signals by night would quickly relay the warning up the valley, giving residents time to seek refuge within the fortified village walls.Hypothesis of Establishment Torretta was not "established" on a specific date by a single person. Rather, it grew organically around a pre-existing watchtower. This tower was likely built under the authority of the ruling feudal lords of the time—initially the Counts of Ventimiglia and later, from the 12th century, the Marchesi of Clavesana. A small cluster of houses would have been built adjacent to the tower by families seeking its protection. This cluster formed the nucleus of the hamlet. The primary purpose was defence, with agriculture (specifically olives) as the economic driver.There is no specific founding charter or single founder recorded for Torretta. Like many similar hamlets in the Ligurian hinterland, its establishment was an organic process driven by economic and defensive needs during the High Middle Ages (circa 11th-13th centuries).Political Overlords
The area was under the dominion of the Counts of Ventimiglia and later the Clavesana family. The primary local power was the Bishopric of Albenga, which held significant feudal rights over the region. The establishment of Torretta was likely sanctioned by or occurred under the authority of these feudal lords.Motivation for Foundation
The primary reason for the cluster's formation was "incastellamento" (encastlement) and "involvement" – the process of populating the hills for agricultural exploitation (particularly olives and vines) and for communal defence against Saracen raids and local warfare. Its perched position offered visibility over the surrounding valleys and early warning of threats.Relationship with Vasia
Torretta was always a dependent hamlet of Vasia. The inhabitants of Torretta would have been subject to the lords of Vasia's castle. They would have relied on the mother village for administrative, religious (the parish church of San Giorgio is in Vasia), and military purposes.ARCHITECTUREIt is impossible to date the construction of individual houses without extensive archaeological and architectural surveys. However, we can establish a general chronology based on the building style.Medieval Nucleus (c. 11th - 14th centuries): The core of Torretta consists of vernacular medieval architecture. The houses from this period would have been built by the families who lived there, not by professional architects. They used materials readily available: local stone for the thick walls and wood for beams and roofs.Key FeaturesMaterial: The primary material is local stone (argillite and limestone), quarried from the nearby terrain. The walls are thick, built with a rubble core and roughly dressed stone facades.Layout: The houses are clustered tightly together, sharing walls to save materials and for mutual structural support and defence. This creates the characteristic narrow, covered alleyways (carrugi).
Features: Buildings often have a multi-story layout:
Ground floor: Used as a stable for animals (stalla) or for storage (cantina).Upper floors: The living quarters for the family, including the cucina (kitchen) and camere (bedrooms).
Roofs: Were originally made of stone slabs (piane), though many have now been replaced with modern tiles.Compactness: Houses are built huddled together, sharing walls for mutual support and to create a continuous defensive perimeter.
Narrow Alleys (Caruggi): The winding, narrow alleyways were designed to confuse invaders and make it difficult for an attacking force to move through the village.Arched Passageways (Voltici): These stone arches buttress adjacent buildings, creating covered passages that further enhance the defensive and structural integrity of the settlement.
Small Windows: Original structures had very few, small windows on the lower floors to prevent easy entry.Later Development (c. 15th - 18th centuries): As the threat of piracy diminished and the olive oil economy brought relative prosperity under the influence of the Republic of Genoa, some buildings may have been modified. New structures were added, but they typically adhered to the existing footprint of the village.Windows may have been enlarged, and upper floors may have been added. The fundamental medieval structure, however, remains visible today.POPULATIONThe inhabitants of Torretta were local Ligurian people, primarily tied to the land. Their lives were dedicated to subsistence agriculture and the cultivation of cash crops that defined the Ligurian economy.Social Structure
Torretta was a small, tight-knit agrarian community. Society was organised around family units and the agricultural calendar, particularly the olive harvest (abbacchiatura) and oil production in the local mill (frantoio).Families
Identifying the exact first families is nearly impossible without access to the earliest parish records (registri parrocchiali) from Vasia, which would be held either in the local parish or the diocesan archives of Albenga-Imperia.
However, historical records for the wider Vasia area show the prevalence of certain family names that were likely present in Torretta. These include families like Acquarone, Amoretti, Rainisio, and Garibaldi. These families were the landowners and peasants who worked the olive groves on the surrounding terraced hillsides for centuries.Livelihood
The entire economy was based on the Taggiasca olive. The inhabitants cultivated the olive trees, harvested the fruit, and processed it into high-quality olive oil. They also practised subsistence farming, growing vegetables, grapes, and chestnuts, and raising small livestock for their own consumption. Their lives were ones of hard agricultural labour, dictated by the seasons.These families shared communal resources, such as the bread oven (forno), the washhouse (lavatoio), and the threshing floor (aia), the traces of which can often still be identified in the structure of the hamlet. Surnames common in the Vasia parish records likely indicate the families that populated Torretta for generations.The core of the hamlet dates from the medieval period. However, it is crucial to understand that these settlements are palimpsests; they were built, modified, and expanded over the course of centuries. The oldest surviving structures likely have 13th- to 14th-century foundations, with significant modifications throughout the Renaissance and Baroque periods (16th- to 18th centuries). The hamlet as seen today is a cumulative result of this long evolution.The houses were not built by named architects or by a single entity. They were constructed by the inhabitants themselves, using local knowledge and techniques passed down through generations. They would have been skilled stonemasons and carpenters, working with their neighbours in a communal effort (aiuto).
Like countless rural hamlets across Italy, Torretta's fate in the 19th and 20th centuries was shaped by rural depopulation.Unification of Italy (1861)
While not an immediate cause, the subsequent economic changes and military conscription drew people away from the land.Industrialisation
From the late 19th century onwards, opportunities in the industrial cities of Genoa and Turin, and later in the Americas and Northern Europe, offered an escape from the hardscrabble life of the hills.Post-World War II Exodus
The most significant depopulation occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, during Italy's "economic miracle." Families abandoned Torretta for a modern life in coastal towns or larger cities.In recent decades, a slow trickle of restoration efforts has emerged to preserve this historic dwelling.