Bordighera

Bordighera(Italian pronunciation:[bordiˈɡɛːra];Ligurian:A Bordighea, locallyA Burdighea) is a town andcomunein theProvince of Imperia,Liguria(Italy).
Bordighera is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the land border between Italy andFrance, the French coast is visible from the town. Having the Capo Sant'Ampelio, which protrudes into the sea, it is the southernmost commune of the region. The cape is at around the same latitude asPisaand features a little church built in the 11th century for Sant'Ampelio, the patron saint of the city. Since Bordighera is built where theMaritime Alpsplunge into the sea, it benefits from theFoehneffect which creates a special microclimate with warmer winters. Most of the population of Bordighera is aged 50 or more. It normally rains more than a month.
It seems that Bordighera has been inhabited since thePalaeolithicera, as archaeologists have found signs of human activities in the caves along the Italian and French coast. In the 6th century BC came the Ligures, from whom the name of the region, "Liguria" in Italian, is derived. They were the first people to alter the land and create a structured society.
The area was particularly prosperous during Roman times because it was situated on thevia Julia Augustain the 1st century BC. After the fall of theRoman Empire, the village was abandoned because of the frequent attacks by pirates.
The name of the city appears for the first time as "Burdigheta" in 1296, in a papal Bill of by Pope Boniface VIII, but it was only in 1470 that some families from nearby villages, such as the Borghetto San Nicolò, decided to return to Bordighera to live. By then, Moorish pirates became rarer and rarer, but some particularly cruel raids still occasionally happened, such as the one by the pirateHayreddin Barbarossain 1543. With these attacks diminishing, the strategic importance of the area became obvious to the Dukes of Savoy and theRepublic of Genoa, which fought for the territory in the 16th century. The small village was quickly transformed into a fortified town and gained importance until it became independent from the rival city ofVentimigliain 1683.
On 20 April 1686, the representants of eight villages,Camporosso,Vallebona,Vallecrosia,San Biagio della Cima,Sasso,Soldano,Borghetto San Nicolòand Bordighera had a meeting at the "St. Bartholomew Oratory (Bordighera)" to build what came to be called "Magnifica comunità degli otto luoghi" (in English "The magnificent community of the eight locations"). The goal of this meeting was to unite and gain independence from the nearby rival city ofVentimiglia. In 1797 Bordighera lost its independence completely and became part of the "Palms Jurisdiction", a region including all the land fromVentimigliatoArma di TaggiawithSanremoas its capital.
On 23 July 1813, French shore batteries fired onHMSArmadawhen the seas pushedArmadainto range.Armadalanded hermarineswho captured the eastern battery and then entered the battery on the point of Bordighero after the French had tried to blow it up. The landing party took fire from the nearby town so the frigates accompanyingArmadafired on the town.
The next change of power in the region came in 1815 when the whole of Liguria was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia after theCongress of Vienna. The Napoleonic influence, however, remained and continued to influence the area. A good example of this is the "La Corniche" road whichNapoleon Bonapartehad wanted, and which reached Bordighera, facilitating the movement of people and goods and boosting the development of what was once called "Borgo Marina" and today constitutes Bordighera. The old town is simply called Old Bordighera or Upper Bordighera due to its position over the hill (in Italian "Bordighera Vecchia" or "Bordighera Alta").
The Golden Age of the city came in the 19th century when the lower city was built next to the "Corniche" road and the sea which attracted English tourists. Touristic interest in Bordighera seems to have been sparked by a novel fromGiovanni Ruffini,Il Dottor Antonio, which was published in 1855 in Edinburgh and featured the town. In 1860, five years after the famous novelIl Dottor Antoniowas published, Bordighera's first hotel was opened, then called in French "Hotel d’Angleterre", now known as Villa Eugenia, at Via Vittorio Emanuele 218. The hotel hosted its first famous resident in 1861, British Prime Minister LordJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, grandfather ofBertrand Russell.
In 1873, the railway station was opened, allowing travel fromParisto Bordighera in only 24 hours, which at the time was remarkably fast. With the opening of the Calais-Rome Express railway on 8 December 1883, travel times got even shorter and 24 hours would be enough to travel fromLondonto Bordighera.
In 1887,Stéphen Liégeard, in his famous book "La Cote d’Azur", dedicated several pages to Bordighera and gave it a name that stuck: "Queen of the Palm Trees". He also noted that the "Grand Hotel de Bordighera" hostedEmpress Eugeniein the autumn of 1886.
In the 1890s, the Irish naturalist and early modernist writerEmily Lawlessvisited Bordighera a number of times, studying the local flora. In 1894, she wrote the essay "Two Leaves from a Note-Book" about a trip to Bordighera, describing the stunning changes in the landscape during and after a drought.
In 1918 the Bordighera War Cemetery was built to commemorate fallen British soldiers who died in the area during theFirst World War. It was designed by SirRobert Lorimer.
On 12 February 1941, the prime minister of the time,Benito MussolinimetFrancisco Francoin Bordighera in order to discuss Spain's entry intoWorld War IIon the side of theAxis powers.
In July 1947,Evita Peronvisited Bordighera and, in order to honour her visit the seaside promenade was named Lungomare Argentina. The road is 2,300m long, which makes it the longest promenade on the Riviera.
Bordighera was the first town in Europe to grow date palms, and its citizens still have the exclusive right to provide the Vatican with palm fronds for Easter celebrations.
The Scottish writerGeorge MacDonaldlived and worked for parts of the year in Bordighera. His house was an important cultural centre for the British colony. He is buried at the churchyard of the former Anglican church.John Goodchildalso ran a medical practice here for a number of years. It was here that he bought the blue bowl which he later took toGlastonbury.Jane Morris, the wife of William Morris stayed in Bordighera in the winters of 1881, 1885, 1887 and 1892.
Claude Monetstayed in Bordighera for three months in 1884 and painted numerous pictures of the town and surrounding area.
Other famous British-Italians who wintered and were buried here were the writerCecilia Maria de Candiaand her husband Godfrey Pearse. Cecilia, a writer, novelist and herbalist researcher, spent seasons writing in residence and eventually retiring at her cottage in this community until her final days.
The Anglo-Irish writer Elizabeth Bowen wrote her first novel,The Hotel, published in 1927, after a visit to Bordighera.
The novelCall Me by Your Nameis set in and around Bordighera.Also the novelThe Last Train from LiguriabyChristine Dwyer Hickey, set during theFascistera.
The typical dishes of Bordighera are part of the Ligurian cuisine. These are the most widespread dishes:
The local economy is mainly based on tourism; the beauty of the area and the mild climate attract tourists as well as artists. The production of olives and their derivate products such as olive oil is important as they have acquired a reputation throughout Italy. The variety "Olive Taggiasche" is particularly famous and praised, and obtained a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) in 1997.
A secondary activity is the cultivation of plants and flowers.