The village is situated on the floor of the Arroscia valley, at the confluence with the Lerrone. Originally a possession of the bishops of Albenga, disputed with the marchesi di Clavesana, it was given in fief to the Cazzulino in 1341. After ten years they ceded it to the commune of Albenga, and from then on it shared the fortunes of the republic of Genoa. In 1763 the inhabitants staged an uprising in protest against excessive taxation. In the locality of Pozzi stand the remains of the thirteenth-century castle of the Clavesana, along with the ruins of a tower and traces of an abandoned village. The parish church of San Silvestro was renovated in the nineteenth century. The circular chapel of the Immacolata dates from the baroque period. Like other parts of the Albenga plain, Ortovero has an agricultural economy: it is famous for its peaches and fine wines, now supplemented by the production of flowers (roses).