THE HINTERLAND

OF THE RIVIERA DEI FIORI

Between the sea and the Ligurian Alps, the Riviera dei Fiori is divided into valleys steeped in history, due to its border location and the communication routes to the north, used to transport essential goods such as salt. To protect themselves from attack by Saracens and pirates, people preferred not to live by the sea, but in historic medieval villages further inland, often on the hillside, hidden round sweeping bends, with houses built one on top of the other and narrow uphill roads.

It’s exciting to visit these villages, to walk along their characteristic alleyways, known as carruggi, which intertwine with each other and create a typically Ligurian atmosphere.

Each valley has its own particular characteristics, but all together they reflect the great heritage that the Western Riviera offers its guests, made up of landscapes rich in history, culture and nature.

In the Diano Gulf we find an environment characterised by a favourable relationship with the marine environment, which has a considerable influence not only in terms of landscape, but also historically, gastronomically and culturally. Terraces of olive trees and the fragrant and varied Mediterranean vegetation alternate with one another. The climate is very mild, as is typical of the westernmost part of the region. Among the most interesting villages is Diano Castello, an ancient feudal town dating back to the year 1000, which historically belonged to the Committee of Albenga and later to the Marquises of Clavesana. Today it is the home of Ligurian Vermentino, which is celebrated every year in mid-July with the Vermentino Award.

Continuing towards the west, the Impero Valley, inland from Imperia Oneglia, the ancient link with neighbouring Piedmont, is a succession of olive groves, vineyards, dry-stone walls and vegetable gardens, bearing witness to rural tradition. The four municipalities in this valley (Pontedassio, Lucinasco, Borgomaro and Chiusavecchia) are villages with sweeping views over endless stretches of vegetation. The main road links Imperia with Colle di Nava and leads to the important town of Pieve di Teco in the Arroscia valley. This is home to some of the most well-known attractions in the valley: the Salvini Theatre, a little jewel of a building dating back to the 1800s, renowned as the world’s smallest theatre, the diocesan museum of religious art of the high Arroscia valley (housed in the deconsecrated church of the Madonna delle Ripa) and the Maschere di Ubaga museum.

The Arroscia Valley is shaped like a smile, a tourist destination of rare beauty, a typical “mountain” environment: expanses of sun-drenched meadows and the five hundred hectares of Rezzo wood, the largest beechwood in Liguria, with majestic, age-old trees, make its visit emotionally magical.

The hinterland of Imperia Porto Maurizio, the Prino Valley, is known as the Val d’Oro (Golden Valley) for its abundance of olive trees and rich production of oil. With the municipalities of Dolcedo, Molini Prelà, Valloria and its 142 painted doors, Lecchiorre and its famous pools, Villatalla and Bellissimi, also known as “U Paise di balui” – the village of hot-air balloons – due to the annual summer event organised and dedicated to these large aircraft, it is a multi-faceted valley. There are olive trees everywhere, immersed in the Mediterranean vegetation or cultivated on terraces, veritable silver-green forests with an intoxicating and unforgettable scent of oil.

Traditional oil making methods are used here, and the artisanal oil mills scattered throughout the valleys offer visitors a chance to see how the process unfolds.

In the area immediately inland between Imperia and Taggia are Civezza, Pietrabruna, Costarainera, Lingueglietta and Cipressa, with their beautiful Romanesque and Baroque churches. Set in a delightful middle-hill landscape, these villages are all surrounded by olive groves.

Their position was probably chosen to avoid constant plundering by Saracen pirates in the past, as proven by the watchtowers that can still be seen today. Cycling enthusiasts know the names of Costarainera and Cipressa because of the famous uphill climb, tackled every year by the champions of the Milan-Sanremo cycling race, which always offers athletes and spectators a wealth of emotions.

In the area immediately inland between Imperia and Taggia are Civezza, Pietrabruna, Costarainera, Lingueglietta and Cipressa, with their beautiful Romanesque and Baroque churches. Set in a delightful middle-hill landscape, these villages are all surrounded by olive groves.

Their position was probably chosen to avoid constant plundering by Saracen pirates in the past, as proven by the watchtowers that can still be seen today. Cycling enthusiasts know the names of Costarainera and Cipressa because of the famous uphill climb, tackled every year by the champions of the Milan-Sanremo cycling race, which always offers athletes and spectators a wealth of emotions.

Taggia and Valle Argentina are home to the Taggiasca PDO olive and the previously mentioned olive oil. Every town and village in Valle Argentina is worth stopping to visit: Taggia, which, apart from the Taggiasca olive, is rich in convents, churches and medieval and Renaissance buildings; Badalucco, which has been awarded the Touring Club’s orange flag and is renowned for its olive oil, murals and the mid-September stockfish festival; Montalto, with its slate doorways; Carpasio and its Resistance museum; Triora, another magnificent medieval village, recognised as one of the most beautiful in Italy, famous for the abuse perpetrated by the Inquisition against women accused of witchcraft, stories that can be explored at the local Ethnographic and Witchcraft Museum; and last but not least, Realdo and Verdeggia, two alpine villages of unique and uncontaminated beauty situated below Mount Saccarello.

A little further east, inland from Sanremo, we find the ruins of Bussana Vecchia, destroyed by an earthquake in 1887. The village is now home to the workshops and studios of local and international artists and is a unique place capable of transporting visitors way back in time.

Ceriana dates back to the days of the Roman Empire, with traditions, customs and habits that have been handed down through the centuries to the present day. These include ancient songs, known to ethnomusicologists all over the world, which can be heard in the streets of the village during Easter Week.

Ceriana is the town of the Brotherhoods, which annually re-enact rituals of religious devotion, combining the sacred and the profane.

A little further east, inland from Sanremo, we find the ruins of Bussana Vecchia, destroyed by an earthquake in 1887. The village is now home to the workshops and studios of local and international artists and is a unique place capable of transporting visitors way back in time. Ceriana dates back to the days of the Roman Empire, with traditions, customs and habits that have been handed down through the centuries to the present day. These include ancient songs, known to ethnomusicologists all over the world, which can be heard in the streets of the village during Easter Week. Ceriana is the town of the Brotherhoods, which annually re-enact rituals of religious devotion, combining the sacred and the profane.

Baiardo is an ancient Celtic settlement. The feast of King Barca, mentioned by Italo Calvin in his writings, has been held here since the Middle Ages and still takes place at Pentecost, with propitiatory dances and songs.

From Sanremo onwards, the hinterland is dedicated specifically not to the production of oil, although there are still some oil production facilities, but to the cultivation of flowers and ornamental plants. Carnations, roses, ranunculus, mimosa, broom and ruscus, are the varieties most commonly grown, and this has led to Sanremo’s consideration as the centre of Italian flower production, the city of flowers. And this has given the Italian Riviera the name of the Riviera dei Fiori. Countless terraces with greenhouses are visible, even from the motorway.

Behind Sanremo is Coldirodi, with the Rambaldi Picture Gallery at Villa Luca and the beautiful San Romolo park. This is the perfect place to seek out cooler air in summer and for organising picnics.

Further ahead, the town of Seborga, or rather the ancient ‘Principality of Seborga’, behind beautiful Bordighera, is an unusual place where history still reigns supreme. The church of San Martino, in the centre of the village, the prisons, the beautiful view overlooking the Riviera dei Fiori and the Côte d’Azur, the local currency, the Luigino, are all little pieces of Seborga which have allowed this municipality to obtain the Touring Club’s orange flag and be included among the most beautiful villages in Italy. Also in the hinterland of Bordighera, in Vallebona with its famous Piatti Center, a tennis centre of excellence where numerous international champions train, we find a Slow Food Presidium which is an absolute treasure: bitter orange blossom water used to make so many desserts.

Lastly, we come to Val Crosia, which, together with Val Nervia, shares a record of veritable excellence: the production of Rossese wine, the first DOC in Liguria since 1972. The Val Crosia is home to interesting villages, all of which are worth visiting, such as San Biagio della Cima, birthplace of writer Francesco Biamonti, to whom the event “D’autunno Francesco” is dedicated; Soldano, with its Rossese wineries; Perinaldo, with its astronomical observatory dedicated to Giandomenico Cassini, the famous astronomer and scholar of the rings of Saturn and Jupiter. Perinaldo is also home to Marvaldi Castle, said to have hosted a very powerful Cabal, which brought Napoleon Bonaparte to visit the area. The presence of the thornless Perinaldo artichoke, now a Slow Food presidium, is attributed to him.

And last but not least, Val Nervia, full of medieval history linked to its three castles, all of which are open to visitors.

The most famous is Doria Castle in Dolceacqua, which has overlooked the village since 1100 and was at the centre of history due to the various battles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines (14th century) and against the Savoy state (17th and 18th centuries). A loyalty pact with the Grimaldi family of Monaco was signed in 1523, linking the village to the principality. Monet was struck particularly by Dolceacqua when he visited, describing it as follows: “The place is superb, with a bridge that is a jewel of lightness”, and dedicating one of his famous paintings to this bridge. Today the castle and its “Sala Doria-Grimaldi” exhibition space are open to visitors. And of course, every visitor simply has to taste a glass of Rossese DOC and the typical Michetta cake, said to have been created in memory of Lucrezia, a local girl who refused to comply with the “ius primae noctis” (“right of the first night”) and let herself die in the castle dungeon.

Climbing upwards, Doria Castle in Isolabona hosts theatrical and musical evenings and the Harp Festival in summer. Just above Isolabona is Apricale and Lucertola Castle, now a museum and also a venue for exhibitions and cultural conferences. Apricale is an unforgettable village, with its houses that seem to run along the hillside, built one on top of the other. Giovanni Martini, the only survivor among General Custer’s troops at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, was born in Apricale, as was Countess Cristina della Torre. The Countess was at the centre of mid-19th century high-society and, with her niece Maria, she also found herself at the heart of international intrigue and influential friendships, such as that with Grand Duke Alexeij Romanov. You can learn more about these stories by visiting the local museum.

Pigna, with its sulphur springs and museum, is situated high up in the Ligurian Alps Natural Park, alongside the Argentina and Arroscia valleys.

The last border areas of Ventimiglia, where the Roya Valley separates Italy and France, are equally charming.

Once past the tunnel near Airole, a pretty medieval village with a baroque church, you suddenly find yourself immersed in one of the most beautiful landscapes in Liguria. The road runs quickly down the valley in the direction of Tende, in France, as far as the tunnel, currently under reconstruction to restore access to Limone Piemonte, one of the ski resorts preferred by the people of Liguria.

The railway that runs through this valley, connecting Cuneo, Ventimiglia and Nice, is known as the “Ferrovia delle Meraviglie” (the Railway of Wonders). Its name originates from the evocative views of its stunning route and the fact that it is so close to the Valle delle Meraviglie. In 2021 it was awarded the first place of the Places of the Heart by FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano).

The waters of the River Roya are clear, and deep green in places, with railway bridges crossing it at several points. For those who have time and are looking for something to arouse their emotions, a visit to the Valle delle Meraviglie (Valley of Wonders) with its 35,000 prehistoric rock engravings discovered by Charles Bicknell and hidden in the alpine landscape, a visit to the Sanctuary of Notre-Dame des Fontaines, also known as the Sistine of the Alps, and a ride on the Via Ferrata of Count Lascaris in Tende, are an absolute must.

The Roya Valley runs for a distance of sixty kilometres from the Riviera to Col de Tende. The route should be travelled with your eyes wide open, taking in all the details that characterise it, from the Mediterranean dimension of the Ligurian coast to an almost fairy-tale landscape.