According to legend, Saint Barnabe is said to have created Gorbio. A former possession of the County of Vintimille, then of Provence. Gorbio was ceded to the Dukes of Savoy in 1388. The Sardes would rule over the village up until the 1860 referendum which declared France the new governing country.

Gorbio, a walled medieval town with gothic ogival gates, is constructed around a central castle. The streets paved in the 17th century tradition of interlocking stones lead to the central square of Saint Barthelemy’s church whose Baroque edifice also dates to the 17th century. Behind the church is the 19th century family home of the Counts of Malaussene.

From here one can see the ruins of the Lascaris Palace and the Defense Tower dating back to the 13th century.

In the town’s central square, the shade of a centuries-old elm tree and the coolness of a stone fountain provide a marvelous spot for old-timers and visitors alike to linger throughout warm afternoons.

Don’t miss
the central square with its fountain and giant elm tree planted in 1713, the Baroque church of Saint Barthelemy which dates to 1683, the "White Penitents Chapel" of 1455, and the grand castle of the Counts of Alziari which dominates the valley. The GR51 passes by the cemetery then follows the hill upward towards the Coupiere peak above the town of Roquebrune.