Area Description: Capital of the Italian Riviera is San Remo, appreciated since the Nineteenth Century for its climate, and nowadays a famous end elegant tourist centre of international fame, renowned everywhere for its Casinò and the Festival of the Italian Song. But the tourist on visit also has the opportunity of discovering an Italian gem, a town placed in a wide inlet, a sort of natural amphitheatre, between Capo Nero and Capo Verde, in the Italian Riviera . While walking through the Pigna, the internal and oldest part of the town, one can discover its Medieval soul, with the steep streets called carruggi, and the castled houses. The modern town, instead, offers splendid promenades by the sea, streets in the town centre with some of the most elegant Italian Boutiques, interlacing with small alleys still emanating the fascination of the old fishermen’s village. With its wide choice of entertainments Sanremo is a town that has ... [Read More]

Area Description: Capital of the Italian Riviera is San Remo, appreciated since the Nineteenth Century for its climate, and nowadays a famous end elegant tourist centre of international fame, renowned everywhere for its Casinò and the Festival of the Italian Song. But the tourist on visit also has the opportunity of discovering an Italian gem, a town placed in a wide inlet, a sort of natural amphitheatre, between Capo Nero and Capo Verde, in the Italian Riviera . While walking through the Pigna, the internal and oldest part of the town, one can discover its Medieval soul, with the steep streets called carruggi, and the castled houses. The modern town, instead, offers splendid promenades by the sea, streets in the town centre with some of the most elegant Italian Boutiques, interlacing with small alleys still emanating the fascination of the old fishermen’s village. With its wide choice of entertainments Sanremo is a town that has a lot to offer. Those looking for mundanity will be satisfied by its most famous building, the Casinò, and by a visit to the nearby Montecarlo in the Cote d’Azur; lovers of culture will not miss what is now the Festival par excellence, the Italian Song Festival, the concert season of the Sanremo Symphony Orchestra, the theatre performances and the art exhibitions. The mild climate of Sanremo allows sport lovers to practice their favourite activity all the year round, surrounded by nature. Not only: the particular typology of the area is capable of satisfying both water and mountain sport lovers. The “Gli Ulivi” Golf Club, established during the 30s, offers an 18-holes golf course among the Riviera’s olive trees and a spectacular view of the Ligurian Sea, permitting the practice of this wonderful sport surrounded by luxuriant nature. The Solaro Sporting Club is provided with 12 tennis courts and 3 football courts, sauna and gym. The Solaro Riding Grounds host every year the races of the Formula 2 national circuit. The Sanremo Yacht Club organizes sailing courses for grown-ups and children and hires sailing and motorboats. The immersion centres can accompany scuba divers across the Ligurian sea waters, one of the most clean of Italy, to the discovery of reptiles and of a rich variety of flora and fauna. People who love mountains can practice their activity among a distance of 30 km, easily reachable both by auto and by bus: hand and paragliding, canyoning, trial, trekking and rock-climbing. People who love being in touch with nature will be also gratified: the rich variety of paths that can be travelled over by foot or by bicycle offers routes for all the levels, whereas lovers of marine fauna cannot lose the excursions on the motor vessel “Diana II”, equipped for whale-watching. is a region of simple and natural tastes and where the culinary art fully reflects the Mediterranean diet principles. The wine and food tradition of Sanremo is based on ingredients such as the extra-virgin olive oil, produced by means of a cool pressing of little, dark and tasty Taggiasca olives. The product is a sweet and perfumed oil with low pikes of acidity, perfect for exalting the typical dishes of this land. Vegetables stuffed only with lean meat, fritters of “gianchéti” (juvenile fishes of blue fish), the “cundiùn” (a salad with “cuori di bue” tomatoes, basil, garlic, oregano and olives), the green cake (of pumpkin or chards, or artichokes, or courgettes preferably of “trombetta” type) are only some of the dishes that you can taste in the typical restaurants. Furthermore, it deserves attention “pan e pumàta”, that is to say the steak of Sanremo, prepared with wet stale bread, tomato, basil and seasoned with extra-virgin olive oil, but also the “coniglio al vermentino” and the “sardenàira”, a focaccia (not a pizza!) seasoned with tomatoes, olives, capers, unpeeled cloves of garlic and anchovies. All these dishes can be tasted at their best with one of the excellent wines of the Riviera of Flowers. Among the local labels, the position of honour belongs to the wine Rossese, followed by Pigato, Vermentino and Ormeasco. Rossese of Dolceacqua, the first Ligurian wine to obtain the title of D.O.C. wine, has a ruby red colour, a delicate flavouring and a dry and soft taste. The area of production has as its epicentre the medieval village of Dolceacqua and Valle Nervia, a few kilometres away from San Remo. It is fit for meat dishes, particularly for rabbit casserole. Ormeasco Wine, on the other hand, is a “mountain” wine: it has an intense ruby red colour, a fruity and spicy perfume and a dry taste with a rather bitter vein. The area of production of this wine is comprised among the cities of Imperia, San Remo and Ventimiglia. It is ideal for accompanying ravioli “cu u tuccu” (the meat sauce), important meat dishes and tender cheeses. Among the white wines, the protagonists are Pigato and Vermentino. The Vermentino vine is the most common in the area but, particularly renowned, is the wine produced on the Riviera of Flowers, which is characterized by a fresh and slightly fruity taste and by the typical straw colour. It is suitable for accompanying a wide range of dishes, such as sea food hors d’oeuvre, stuffed vegetables, pansotti with a walnut sauce, lasagna with pesto, rice with cuttlefish sauce, ravioli of fish in stock, boiled or roasted sea-bass. Pigato is characterized by an intense and pleasantly aromatic perfume, a rather bitter taste that recalls the almond and by a straw-yellow colour. In order to taste it at its best, we recommend accompanying it to sea dishes. Villa_Nobel of Sanremo, capital of the Italian Riviera, has seen its best artistic and architectural expression during the “belle époque” period. Indeed, the dominant style is the Liberty one that, with its marked floral style, characterizes hotels, villas and Casino. From 1874 to 1906, Sanremo lived a period of great building development: 25 hotels and 190 villas were built up. Since this moment, the nature of use of buildings is changed but their charm still remains the same. Among the monuments stand out the Orthodox Russian Church, built in 1913, that recalls the Church of San Basilio in Moscow, the Borea d’Olmo Palace, built up during the fifteenth century, that houses the Civic Museum, the San Siro Cathedral, built during the XII century, in pure Romanic-gothic style and the St John Baptistery, near the Cathedral, that dates back to the Baroque period (1688), where you can admire the "Holy Communion of Magdalene" by Orazio de Ferrari. At the end, the Torre (tower) della Ciapela, an impressive building that was once part of the sixteenth-century town walls. You can find it in Piazza Eroi, in the town centre and close to “La Pigna”, the Medieval part of Sanremo, closed by walls, doors, and towers with stone buildings with many columns and engraved portals. Shopping in San Remo offers to shopping lovers a series of typical shops and refined and luxury multibrands boutiques, for example Annamode . Wandering along the central street Via Matteotti, you will be enchanted by the countless shop windows that host the most prestigious Italian and international brands. Moving toward the town centre, in Via Palazzo and in Via Corradi, you will be fascinated by the atmosphere of the Ligurian “carrugi”, in the succession of shops and craft workshops. On Tuesday and Saturday morning, you cannot lose the appointment with the colourful travelling market of the Piazza Eroi Sanremesi zone, a few steps away from the San Siro Cathedral. During the shopping tour, you can rest in one of the countless bars or restaurants. Among the attractions, the position of honour belongs to Casino with its traditional green tables, but also with its electronic slot machines in a perfect Las Vegas style. During the year, there are many entertainment opportunities: film and art film festivals, theatre seasons and concerts, sport events among which stand out the famous Milano-Sanremo and the Rally, musical events as the well-known Art Song Festival, the Tenco Prize Competition, the Sanremo Imagine Jazz, the Sanremo Blues and, above all, the Italian Song Festival. Parks Sanremo is well-known around the world as the “town of flowers” and this feature reveals itself in all the numerous parks and gardens that are spread on the whole citizen area. It is worth walking in these places that still today recall the splendour of the noble families that inhabited the villas. You can begin to walk on the Corso Felice Cavallotti where there is Villa Ormond Park, a wide oasis rich in exotic vegetation, in which stands out an antique fountain of stone. Here you can admire the Japanese garden in the suggestive angle characterized by a rich flora coming from the Mid-East land and inspired to ZEN philosophy. In Corso Cavallotti there is also Villa Nobel, which was the residence of the famous Swedish scientist from 1890 to 1896. The park that surrounds the villa includes several rare tree-species, among which the tall "Cupressus macrocarpa", a Californian species. Villa Zirio, one of the most prestigious villas, is located in Corso Cavallotti too. Here the vegetation is essentially constituted by palms. Going on you will see Bellevue palace, today the municipal building, rich in flowers and with a fountain animated by luminous water games. Between Corso Cavallotti and Via Val d’Olivi, there is also the “Parco del Sole”, with its typical residential gardens of the Eighteenth century. At the top of the “La Pigna”, there are the so called “Giardini Regina Elena”, with their terraced gardens and a wonderful view of the city and of the gulf. Going on toward the town centre, you will find the big flower beds of Corso Mombello as the background of refined palaces. However, the most suggestive park of all is definitively “Parco Marsaglia”. It is located in Corso Imperatrice, in the West area of Sanremo and with its wide avenues it offers enchanting panoramic views and a vegetation rich in tropical plants. People, who love walking, will be satisfied by Corso Imperatrice, one of the most famous promenades of the Riviera, so called because the tsarina Maria Alexandrovna donated the palms that still today embellish the Corso to the town. The promenade is also decorated by two famous statues: the Spring Statue by Vincenzo Pasquali, the symbol of the town, and the monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi. The promenade “Salvo D’Acquisto” begins in Corso Trento e Trieste and offers a suggestive view of Porto Vecchio and Portosole. Here you can see the anti-tank defences which were built up during the Second World War and the monument to Orazio Raimondo, an esteemed lawyer and a great politic (1876-1921), by Leonardo Bistolfi.