Situated at the center of a wooded plateau in the upper valley of the Bormida di Millesimo, Bardineto became a fief of the Del Carretto of Balestrino in the thirteenth century. In 1795 it was the site of a battle between the Austrians and the French under General Masséna. Little remains of the polygonal feudal castle (with sixteen sides) and the medieval fortifications. The chapel of San Nicolò, erected on the hill of the same name, also dates from the eleventh century and houses fifteenth-century frescoes, while the parish church was built in 1720. In recent years it has developed a tourist industry, offering a good range of hotel accommodation and a large number of restaurants.