Sanremo is a splendid seaside resort, just 15 minutes by car from our hotel. Although famous for the Song Festival of the same name, the City of Flowers has much more to offer. Among the various districts, which meet along the route of the ancient Via Aurelia, villas of the Liberty period are hidden, with splendid fragrant and colorful gardens, which magically bring us back to the splendor of the Belle Epoque.
The ideal route to discover these corners of paradise starts in the west, from the Marseille Park. This lush garden is located in Corso Imperatrice, with its palm trees donated to the city by Tsarina Maria Alexandrovna and the splendid Orthodox Church, full of ancient icons. It once surrounded a castle belonging to a Sanremo high bourgeois family, which was demolished after the war. The park can still be visited and is ideal for enjoying a beautiful view of the Gulf of Sanremo.
Walking along the narrow alleys of the old city, called Pigna for its particular shape, you reach the little frequented Giardini Regina Elena, obtained from the eighteenth-century demolition of the Sanremo Castle and the ancient houses damaged by the 1887 earthquake, and the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Costa , temple of the city Baroque, with important sculptures by the Genoese Maragliano, also enjoying a splendid 360 ° panorama over the city of Sanremo. All these elements make it the ideal place to relax, without straying too far from the center.
On Corso Cavallotti, located to the east, it is possible to admire three parks of great interest.
The gardens of Villa Zirio, designed by the German architect Ludovico Winter, which preserve two monumental specimens of Ficus Macrophilla and a plaque in memory of the stay of the Kaiser of Germany.
Not far away are the gardens of Villa Ormond, former residence of a wealthy Swiss entrepreneur and his wife Marie Margherite Renet, a French poet. Particularly striking are the ” Japanese Garden ”, based on the harmony and philosophy typical of this country, and the ” Palmetum ”, where various species of palm trees from various corners of the world are preserved. In the lower part, between the course and the sea, you can admire a fountain adorned with statues, designed by the architect Pietro Agosti and considered the most beautiful in the city.
In the surrounding area, you can discover Villa Nobel, the historic residence of the author of the award of the same name, in the last years of his life. The Moorish-style building was built in 1870 and is also accessible from the cycle path, which runs along the coast from Ospedaletti to San Lorenzo al Mare. Its park covers 6,000 square meters, where numerous exotic plants were planted already at the time. In the garden you can see the cannons used by the Swedish scientist, inventor of dynamite, for his experiments on gunpowder.
Our tour ends with a walk in the gardens of Villa del Sole, built by the famous architect Pio Soli and the occasional residence of Queen Elena of Montenegro Savoia: an oasis of serenity surrounded by greenery, with some areas dedicated to children, to allow them to play little explorers.
