Bordighera / The Queen of Palm Trees

Driving eastbound along the Côte d’Azur, sooner or later you will find yourself in Menton, the last town on the French Riviera, known colloquially as “the pearl of France” and architecturally a mix of French and Italian building styles.

After passing the Old Town, you will reach the small Plage Hawï (mainly visited by locals). And only 100 metres after the beach – which is the most eastern place one can go swimming on Côte d’Azur – you will reach the border to Italy. Crossing it takes only a few moments, but almost immediately, the vibe changes. 

Historically, the border has moved in various directions through the centuries, intertwining the two cultures, but there is still a discernible difference between the Italian Riviera and the Côte d’Azur, though it is difficult to explain exactly what the distinction is. It couldn’t only be the difference in culinary culture (though of course it helps).

Eating in Italy is a completely different experience than in France. Food here is not only sensual, but simple: the ingredients are generally of such high quality that most dishes only require the combination of very few flavours.

It could also be the difference in architecture and landscape: the French side tends to be more elegant, while the Italian part is more industrial, its many slopes covered with large greenhouses, where the many flowers that give the Italian Riviera its name – Riviera dei Fiori or Riviera of flowers – are grown. 

Bordighera is not far from the border, less than half an hour from Menton, and the French coast is clearly visible from the beach. 

The town includes the “Capo Sant’Ampello”, which protrudes into the sea, making Bordighera the southernmost commune of the region (on the same latitude as Tuscan Pisa). In the 11th century, a small church was built here, which still stands and is in use today. 

The industrial development has made an exception for Bordighera, and so the town has preserved its residential and sophisticated atmosphere, more similar to towns on the French side (though still decidedly Italian in character).

Similar to other towns in the same area, Bordighera benefits from a special microclimate. Because of its location between the Alps and the Ligurian Sea, it is protected from cold winds, making winters here warmer and more temperate. This affects the local fauna as well as the quality of air, and in the 19th century, this coastline was often visited both by botanists and those seeking to improve their health. 

It was also popular among British aristocracy and bourgeoisie, looking to avoid dreary English winters. In 1873, the opening of a railway station allowed for easy travelling between Bordighera and Paris, and ten years later, the Calais-Rome Express meant it took only 24 hours to get here from London.

This revived the town, and remnants of this illustrious past can still be seen in the many majestic villas from this period that still line many of the streets of Bordighera. 

Many who visit the Ligurian Riviera for the first time are surprised to find how dominant the architectural style of the 19th century is here, but the reason is that In earlier times, the coastal waters were heavily plagued by pirates, and so most people would live in the hills, at a safe distance from the sea.

The hillside Ligurian towns are therefore known for their ancient beauty, while the towns on the sea demonstrate more recent architectural styles. As pirate attacks grew increasingly rare, the strategic position of the area became clear to the different kingdoms in the area, and a century-long power struggle ensued.

At times throughout history, Bordighera has been part of an independent state, while at other occasions, it has belonged to the “Palms Jurisdiction”, with Sanremo as its official capital.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, what today is called “Bordighera Vecchia” or “Bordighera Alta” (in English, “old Bordighera” or “upper Bordighera”, as it sits on a small hill), a fortified small town, was built. Today, it remains the oldest part of town, visited for its many excellent restaurants and view of the sea. 

Perhaps the most imposing of all of Bordighera’s 19th century mansions is the former winter home of Queen of Italy Margherita of Savoy, wife of king Umberto I. Initially, she resided in nearby Villa Etelinda, but after a few years, she commissioned the building of Villa Regina Margherita, which would become her permanent winter home. 

A similar mansion, located a few blocks close to the sea, is Villa Garnier, built in 1872 by architect Charles Garnier (otherwise best known for designing the Garnier Opera in Paris and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo). He found his way to Bordighera thanks to his wife, whose family was from Menton, where the couple sought refuge during France’s war with Russia.

The outbreak of this war also forced botanist Ludwig Winter to leave Paris. After some travelling and odd jobs in the south of France, he found himself working with Thomas Hanbury to plan the park of Palazzo Orengo, situated between Bordighera and Ventimiglia and today considered one of the finest parks of Italy. Another famous visitor was Claude Monet, who spent three months here in 1884, which led to a series of paintings of the Ligurian landscape and sea. He had visited the town one year earlier, together with Renoir. This time, he travelled alone, and his letters home were filled with detailed descriptions of the British colony that lived here each winter. 

Because of the British presence, there is in Bordighera a British private library, an Anglican Church and Italy’s first tennis courts. Still today, the silhouettes of the lavish 19th century buildings define the character of the town. The bourgeois atmosphere of the Gilded Age is noticeable in the grand boulevards (of which Corso Italia is the most famous), botanical gardens and the elegant boardwalk. Since 1947, the latter has been known as Lungomare Argentina, to commemorate Eva Peron’s visit. With 2,300 metres, it is the longest promenade on the Riviera.

Though technically located in Italy, Bordighera was included in Stéphen Liégard’s 1887 book La Côte d’Azur, which became a guide to the increasing numbers of visitors around the turn of the last century, drawn to the south of France for its mild climate and beautiful natural scenery. In the book, Liégard named the town “La reine des palmiers” (in English, “the Queen of Palm Trees”), a name it has since been associated with. The reason behind the name was that Bordighera was the first town in Europe to grow date palms, and its citizens have maintained the exclusive right to provide the Vatican with palm fronds for Easter celebrations.

Links

To Stay

Hotel Villa Elisa – 35 rooms and a swimming pool, close to both the beach and the old town. 

If you want to stay more or less on the beach, Hotel Parigi is your best option. Many of its rooms have balconies facing the sea.

Villa Garnier is perhaps the best – or at least most original – option. Room rates in this historic and majestic villa include breakfast and dinner.

To Eat and Drink

Ristorante La Reserve is a beach club with nice restaurant. +39 0184 261322

Bagni Caranca/Ristorante Caranca is another relaxing beach club, close to the city centre. +39 0184 261292

Bar Trattoria Garibaldi serves Mediterranean cuisine, most of it locally sourced.

+39 0184 262415

Magiargè Osteria Contemporanea (Via Dritta, 2) – Reasonably priced restaurant serving local dishes, and with an extensive (and excellent) wine list.

To visit nearby: Bussana Vecchia

In 1887, an earthquake all but destroyed the Ligurian hillside hamlet of Bussana, just east of Sanremo and not far from Bordighera. It was decided it was too dangerous for the people to remain, and so the mediaeval town was deserted, and in its place a new town was built below the mountains, closer to the Ligurian Sea.

For decades, the town was left to slowly decay, until the 1960s, when a group of young artists discovered the ruins. They began to renovate and restore the dilapidated buildings, and soon a small international community of artists – led by Sicilian Vanni Giuffrè, who (together with his fellow peers) founded the Community of International Artists – had settled here. Its reputation grew, and today it has developed into a small but vibrant artistic community. Their goal is to live simply from what the land has to offer, and to work artistically within the village.

As Bussana Vecchia was deserted, for many years there was no proper infrastructure, and there was no easily accessible parking. Instead, you have to drive slowly – very slowly – up the steep hills on narrow roads, and park as close as you can get. The town in itself is not big, but has developed since it was first repopulated and today, you can find cafés, restaurants, art shops and even small hotels. 

With time, many commodities have been reinstated, and the town now has running water, electricity and even postal services.In many ways, it outlines not what it is like to live outside of society, but at the same time, not exactly as part of it, but somewhere in-between.

The town was founded in Roman times. In the 13th century, the town was bought by the Republic of Genoa, but its approximately 250 inhabitants maintained a relative autonomy. In 1404, the first church was completed, dedicated to Saint Giles, but in the 17th century, it was remodelled in the Baroque style. During the first half of the 19th century, there was a series of earthquakes, which led the inhabitants to reinforce existing structures with arches and columns in the town’s narrow alleys. 

The earthquake that occurred on Ash Wednesday in 1887 lasted only twenty seconds but killed more than 2,000 people. The buildings were too damaged to repair and the site was too dangerous to stay in, and so it was abandoned. Miraculously, the church belfry survived the earthquake and has become a symbol of the town, even though the church itself is too unstable and now can only be viewed from the outside.

For many decades, there were tensions not only with the local police but also within the community, in particular regarding ownership of land. Today, the organisation “The International Artists’ Village” organises the community, selling its handiwork to visitors and hosting artistic events.

To shop: Chiavari chairs

One of my greatest obsessions in life is Ligurian furniture, or more specifically, the Ligurian chairs. The “Chiavarina” was created in 1807 by a cabinetmaker from Chiavari, Giuseppe Gaetano Descalzi. The chair was a success and led to the opening of many factories in Liguria, creating versions of the chair. The success declined following the introduction of the Austrian chairs of Michael Thonet, which were mass-produced, simpler in design, and thus less expensive. In 1955, Gio Ponti designed the Superleggera chair, a modernised version of the Chiavari chair.

Today, Chiavari chairs can easily be found in many flea markets and secondhand shops around Liguria. If you want to buy a brand new chair, the best producer (in my opinion) is Fratelli Levaggi, operated by brothers Paolo and Gabrielle Levaggi. The wood they use is handpicked and comes only from local sources. The chairs are made entirely by hand. However, they have also expanded their production to include a table to go with the chairs – the Bene table, one of the best-looking tables ever designed, and of course made by hand by the brothers and their colleagues. Not to be missed!