Among the 15 and the 16 August 1809 the Roman Pontiff Pius VII, Gregorio Chiaramonti, passed in Vicoforte hostage of Napoleon Bonaparte. The Pope stopped at the Vatican on 5 July of that year was conducted to Savona: on the way you chose to travel the roads inside the monregalese, rather than along the coast because they are considered more secure against the local uprisings. Great was the emotion and affection shown by the population to the Pope: popular religious sentiment was quite strong especially in rural areas of the country.
Today you can visit, in one of the chapels of the basilica of Vicoforte sanctuary, the monument that was erected in honor of Pius VII and the sedan chair that he left as a gift to the people visited the EC as a sign of her passage.
It is celebrated even today the phrase with which Pope Chiaramonti refused to surrender to Napoleon:
"We must not, We can't, We don't want ".
Roberto Rossetti
