The Garden Route of the Riviera

In the 18th century, only uppermost social classes were able to undertake travels through Europe. The French and Italian Riviera, discovered by these privileged few on their way to Rome and Athens, were soon appreciated for the sublime climate. In addition to its special climatic and geographic conditions, the Riviera also offered fine opportunities for accommodation.

In 1763, the Scottish physician and man of letters Tobias Smollet ) found a small community of winter residents from Britain, Switzerland, Germany and France and the publication of his famous letters from Nice contributed to whetting his compatriots' interest in the region. Shortly before 1789, the British built villas along the coastal trail that would become Promenade des Anglais. The strong fragrance of the citrus trees around Sanremo along with the palm trees standing tall against the sky of Bordighera attracted and fascinated the visitors who flocked to the Italian Riviera.

In the middle of the 19th century, new hotels arose in all the coastal towns from Hyères to Imperia to greet this rush of travellers. Soon, these luxury establishments were surrounded with exotic gardens, many of which have survived to this day. But what really ushered in the "Belle Époque" of tourism on the Riviera was the arrival of the railway, which considerably boosted the numbers of winter visitors to the coast.

From an architectural standpoint, the Belle Époque was characterized by an eclecticism that borrowed elements of decoration from the past to create a highly dynamic style. Of the sixty splendid gardens on the Route des Jardins de la Riviera, more than a third were the creation of foreign residents.

They included botanists, writers, businessmen, all fascinated with exotic plants. Today this heritage is almost entirely managed by public institutions, the Monuments Historiques or the State in particular. As a result, this heritage is better protected and more accessible to the public today.

Ventimiglia

Located on the western border of Liguria, this city has had a complex history. It begins with the ancient Roman settlement of Albintimilium, the largest town in this part of the province. Considerable Roman remains are visible near the mouth of the Nervia river, while the mediaeval town is perched on a rocky spur to the west. The modern city did not develop until the late 19th century around the railway station...

Bordighera

This was originally a little fishing and farming town, founded at the end of the 15th century with a grid layout. At the end of the 19th it underwent substantial transformation, becoming popular as a "seasonal resort". The city's villas and luxury hotels spread into the hills, while private homes, blocks of flats and services developed in the plain near the railway...

Ospedaletti

This very quiet elegant little town underwent complete transformation in the late 19th century, like Bordighera. From the fishing and farming town it was at the start, it grew in the 1880s into a prestigious residential resort for the upper class, on the initiative of the Société Foncière Lyonnaise. The climatic conditions, unique in northern Italy, had a decisive role...

Sanremo

A multiform capital city, alternating major periods of expansion (13th, 15th, 17th and 18th centuries and from 1870-1940) and others, more obscure and barren. A famous centre since the Middle Ages known for its very mild climate, ideally suited for growing citrus trees, in the 17th century San Remo became practically the second city in the Republic of Genoa...

Taggia

The commune of Taggia is made up of two small towns that are strikingly different from each other. Arma, on the sea, a former fishing and sailing town with a vast farming hinterland. With the expansion of tourism on the coast, it became a major seaside resort...

Imperia

This "virtual" town was created in 1923 by merging the two main communes, Oneglia and Porto Maurizio, with other smaller ones in the hinterland. These two little cities were very different in their history and spirit. Although both shared their climate and farming activity, Oneglia had an industrial vocation while Porto Maurizio's vocation was commercial...

Diano Marina

A seaside town, completely transformed by the reconstruction following the earthquake of 1887. Formerly a fishing and commercial town, it became a stylish health resort, especially popular with wealthy people from Lombardy and the Piedmont in winter...

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