Gottasecca is a small hamlet offering enjoyable nature trails for walking or cycling. Its history has been documented back to the Middle Ages, when it came first under the control of the marquisate of Ceva (1142) and then the Del Carrettos (1268).
Date: 10th-11th century; modifications in the 17th century.
The sanctuary of Santa Maria Assunta is located in an isolated spot, about two kilometres from the village. Reached along a narrow road that passes through the woods, it is surrounded by wide green spaces, and has a nearby centre for welcoming pilgrims. The site of an ancient pieve (parish church), cited as the “plebs de Gudega” in Ottonian documents dating from 998, it must have been a stopping point for travellers who were journeying between Alba and Millesimo.
Built in local stone, the present structure, in baroque style, is in fact the result of significant rebuilding in the 17th century: the bell tower with two orders of arches, the façade divided by eight pilaster strips (four per side) standing on a stone plinth and the single-nave interior.
According to tradition, a miraculous stone kept in the main altar exuded a beneficial oil, able to heal the sick, but one day these drops dried up forever. This story is apparently the origin of the village’s name, from goccia (“drop”) and secca (“dry”).
