Ventimiglia and Bordighera

Ventimiglia

A small town of more than 20,000 inhabitants, Ventimiglia (Ventimiglia in Italian) is a genuine Italian town, lively and dynamic, with a bustling trade fueled in particular by the French who come to do their shopping for Italian products.
The town has a long history and preserves beautiful remnants of it. Prehistory itself is documented in the museums and in the caves of the Balzi Rossi. It was a Roman town, as evidenced by the remains of the theater and other ancient buildings.
The Middle Ages also left beautiful monuments and Romanesque churches such as its cathedral.

Bordighera

Bordighera was an old fishing village that became a fashionable tourist destination in the early 20th century, with its pleasant seafront, its very mild climate and its pretty upper old town of medieval origin called Bordighera Alta protected by old walls.
Today it is a small, active and pleasant town to live in, with its seafront, its elegant houses and its gardens and parks. There are several beaches in and around it, mostly pebble beaches, lively in summer with many bars and restaurants.
Near the pretty Cap San’Ampelio is the pretty little 11th-century church almost with its feet in the water.
Several beautiful villas occupy the heights, such as the Villa Mariani from the 19th century, originally a cottage designed by the French architect Charles Garnier with its magnificent park enlarged by the painter Mariani.
The Villa Etelinda was also designed by Garnier with its slender and elegant style, and the polychrome mosaics of the facade. It also has gardens.
The Bicknell Museum dates from 1888, preserving books, drawings, naturalist and geological discoveries that were the fruit of the research of Clarence Bicknell, a multi-talented English scientist who lived in Bordighera. Monumental plants grow in front of the entrance, including a Ficus.
The majestic Villa Garnier was built by the same Charles Garnier in 1871, with its elegant tower, surrounded by a beautiful garden, housing a vacation home run by nuns.
The Pallanca Exotic Garden is a rich botanical garden with many succulents including cacti, nearly 3,000 varieties.
To the east lies the locality of Arziglia, and on the heights one can walk the slopes of Monte Nero (Black Mountain in English).

Map

Information

• Ventimiglia: www.comune.ventimiglia.im.it, nonsoloturisti.it, en.wikipedia.org
• Bordighera: Bordighera, www.idealista.it