IMAGE: Old quarter houses, Ventimiglia
Read all of JOY DODDS’ previous Mediterranean Musings – from Italy to Spain and France, and including gastronomic delights …
East of the French/Italian border lies the Coastline of Flowers – Riviera dei Fiore, Liguria – which exudes a character all of its own.
The westernmost patch of Liguria, known as the Riviera dei Fiori, is renowned for its temperate climate. Part of the longer Riviera di Ponente, which extends 130kms southwest of Genova to Ventimiglia, it is unmistakedly Italian yet, in fact, the Italian influence upon the French Mediterranean region as far west as Nice is palpable, a product of history when the Var River (which enters the Mediterranean near Nice) marked the border between Gaul and Italy under the Roman Empire. Until both Nice and Savoy were annexed by France, a Ligurian dialect that some call Monagasque was spoken here.
Ventimiglia
Overlooked to the north by vine-clad slopes, a string of small towns, most with their own Old Town centres, make up the Italian Riviera. It creates more variety of landscape and architecture than its French counterpart to the west – and is generally less frenetic. And speaking of escaping the crowds, the mountains to the north of the coast, draped with terraced vineyards and olive groves and speckled with pretty old villages, offer respite from the standard beach promenade format.
Ventimiglia, just inside the border, sits at the mouth of the Roia River which divides the town in two, dissecting the old and new. A trek up the hill on the west bank of the river reveals the oldest walled part of town as well as a section of the Via Aurelia, the ancient Roman road that lead to Arles. Ventimiglia’s Romanesque cathedral San Michele Arcangelo on Via del Capo with its 11th century baptistery is built on the former site of a Roman temple.
Ventimiglia was known in Roman times as ‘Albintimilium’, and its Roman ruins along Corso Genova include an amphitheatre. The town was occupied by the Romans in the Punic Wars in 180BC. It’s a pity that most travellers pass through the pre-EU border without venturing into the town’s cobbled streets and vast history.
Ventimiglia
Even more fascinating is the Stone Age site of Balzi Rossi, 8kms west of Ventimiglia on the coast, with its palaeolithic skeletal remains of a family of Cro-Magnon people. The nearby Museo Preistorico includes a triple burial site. The entrance to the walk to the yellow sandy beach of Le Calandre, a relief from the otherwise pebbly ones on offer, is next to the archaeological museum.
The town also attracts tourists from the French Riviera, especially each Friday in summer when a street market is held along the waterfront, or lungomare, selling well-priced leather bags and casual clothes. Don’t miss the daily indoor food market either. On the Mortola promontory is the 45-acre Hanbury Botanical Gardens, which were created in 1867 by an English botanist and now include more than 3000 species.
North of Ventimiglia is the wine-producing village of Dolceacqua, with its medieval stone arched bridge over the fast-flowing River Nervi, and overlooked by its ancient castle. The local red vino is known as Rossese.
Heading east, Bordighera holds little appeal apart from supplying the Vatican’s white palm trees at Easter. Italy’s rose-growing centre is located at nearby Coldiroli, a village founded in the 11th century by the Knights of Rhodes.
Larger and quite interesting is St Remo, which sits between Capo Nero and Capo Verde. Known as the ‘City of Flowers’, its surrounding hillsides are covered with glasshouses. Italy’s main flower market is staged daily on Corso Garibaldi from June to October.
In the mid-19th century, San Remo became a great favourite of the Russian jet-set seeking winter warmth and a respite from a growing number of peasant dissidents. The Russian visitors even built an onion-domed church, reminiscent of Moscow’s St Basil’s Cathedral. Increasing its cosmopolitan reputation, the Casino Municipale was completed in 1906 and San Remo continued to attract jet-setters including Tchaikovsky who built smart villas lining Corso Felice Cavallotti.
San Remo
Today, in contrast to its glitzy past, San Remo attracts masses of everyday Italian families, many from the Milan/Lombardy region, seeking a beach holiday, the children playing football on the sand as their parents doze in deckchairs. It is also famous for its Italian Song Festival and to a lesser extent its casino and scenic golf course.
A great delight is to climb the hill to the alleys of the old town, called La Pigna, from where it is possible to glimpse sea vistas as far afield as Corsica. Another vantage point is Monte Bignone, reached by cable car from Corso degli Inglesi, with views as far as Cannes.
As a contrast to the coastal tract, inland from San Remo is the Silver Valley, or Valle Argentina. From Taggia inland there are wooded mountains and one mountain village, Triora, 780 metres above sea level, was the site of witch trials and executions in medieval times.
We’ve covered the first 100kms of the Italian Riviera on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. The term “Riviera” was in fact coined in this region with jet set connotations However, these days it’s a real, down-home coastal tract where it is possible to holiday with local Italians, without any of the pretences of Cannes or St Tropez. It’s where you will dine on local seafood and produce from the nearby Maritime Alpes, particularly ravioli with pesto, but also calamari, artichokes, olive oil as well as game. Absolute bliss – and that’s part of the innate beauty of this part of the Ligurian coast.
