Cervo, Liguria

Cervo O Çervo
Comune
Comune di Cervo
The village of Cervo
Cervo Location of Cervo in Italy
Coordinates: 43°55′N 8°07′E / 43.917°N 8.117°E / 43.917; 8.117Coordinates: 43°55′N 8°07′E / 43.917°N 8.117°E / 43.917; 8.117
Country	Italy
Region	Liguria
Province	Province of Imperia (IM)
Area
• Total	3.39 km2 (1.31 sq mi)
Elevation	66 m (217 ft)
Population (31 May 2007)
• Total	1,157
• Density	340/km2 (880/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Cervesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	18010
Dialing code	0183
Patron saint	Saint John the Baptist
Saint day	24 June
Website	Official website

Cervo (Ligurian: O Çervo) is a small, ancient town and comune, built on top of a hill along the Italian Riviera in the province of Imperia. It has approximately 1,200 inhabitants.

The settlement began as a Roman mansion along the Via Julia Augusta. Slowly expanding, it became, in medieval times, a fief of the Clavesana marquis, who was a subject of the Republic of Genoa, to which Cervo had always been faithful. The present character of Cervo dates from these times: 16th-century towers and ramparts still protect the village.

One of its main attractions is the fine baroque church of St. John the Baptist, overlooking the sea. The Romanesque Oratorio di Santa Caterina contain 18th-century frescoes. The medieval Clavesana stronghold hosts the Ethnographic Museum of Western Liguria and the Palazzo Viale-Citati.

Inhabitants used to earn a living from coral fishing in the Corsican and Sardinian seas, in addition to growing olives and seafaring, but the modern economy of Cervo is based on tourism and agriculture.

Cervo's connections with classical music date from to 1964, when the International Chamber Music Festival of Cervo was established by the Hungarian violinist Sandor Vegh. The event has been held every summer ever since. Music master classes – Accademia di Cervo – are held in September, and a guitar academy is held in June.

Cervo is twinned with:

Part of the 1993 German film Stalingrad was filmed in Cervo.