Gallinara is a small, densely wooded island sitting about a mile offshore from Albenga. The name comes from the Latin for "wild hens" — the island apparently swarmed with them in Roman times, and the Latin writers noticed. Today it is a regional nature reserve, and the only way to truly appreciate it is from the water.
The island has an unusually layered history. Between 356 and 360 AD, St. Martin of Tours lived here as a hermit before going on to become one of the most venerated saints in France. After him came a community of hermits, and eventually a Benedictine monastery dedicated to St. Mary and St. Martin — an outpost of Christian influence that became powerful enough to hold properties across Liguria, Provence, and Catalonia. By the 15th century the church of Albenga had taken over the island, and in more recent centuries it passed into private hands. The ruins of the monastery now sit beneath a private villa. The 16th-century tower at the island's edge was part of the coastal fortification network of the Genoese Republic.
The island is off-limits to visitors without a special permit, which in practice means you see it from a boat. The typical Ligurian macchia — rockrose, myrtle, lentisk — covers most of it, and it is a nesting and resting ground for migratory birds. The real draw for most visitors is underwater: the waters around Gallinara are a protected marine area and one of the better dive sites on the Ligurian coast. The highlight is the wreck of a 1st-century Roman cargo ship lying on the seabed nearby. Other Roman remains surface occasionally, and many finds are displayed at the Naval Museum in the region. Snorkeling and swimming around the island are popular even for non-divers — the water is clear, the sea floor varied.