Tom`s travels: Bussana Vecchia & Sanremo (01/08/2021)

After reaching Pio's house in Liguria, precisely in the town of Riva Ligure, and settling down we decided on our first day there to head on foot and visit a few nearby places. We woke up at a decent hour and then followed the nice and rather new bicycle path which was once the old railway line running along the coast. We followed it for a couple of kilometers until we reached the modern town of Bussana, located on a low hill right above the sea. Here we headed towards the interior and further uphill, passing through rather wild hilltops covered in bushes until we reached the town of Bussana Vecchia. A violent earthquake hit the town in 1887 destroying many buildings and damaging many others causing the population to abandon it and found a new one further down and closer to the sea; the one we had just passed through. During the 1960s a group of local and foreign artists who were attracted by the peculiarity of the place renovated and made habitable again the less damaged buildings which over the years, created a form of characteristic "village of artists" in a medieval village setting now famous worldwide. After reaching the town we walked around its pretty historical center, filled with mostly artists' craft shops and some cafes, and restaurants, particularly in the most immediate southern zone close to the main road. We then wandered around the narrow medieval streets with many buildings still damaged or fully ruined. We passed by the still ruined 18th-century church of Sant'Egidio, which was closed as still deemed unsafe, but with the bell tower which miraculously survived that 1887 earthquake and is now the symbol of the town. We also visited some of those artists' houses, including the Casa La Barca, where a mixed group of artists, with some dutch, British, French, Italian, and American individuals were there just living among the furniture and other random things they kept in the garden while smoking weed. After the visit to the town, we decided to head out and descend the hilltop on which it stands heading west, down through a cultivated valley filled with greenhouses, which due to the sun, water, and fertility of the area make it an ideal place for growing all kinds of things. Then we headed back uphill reaching then the small town of Poggio with its typical medieval conformation of the old town and the baroque main church. We continued westwards and soon after came in sight of the city of Sanremo in the distance. We descended back down past more greenhouses, admiring the beautiful view in front of us, with the warm bright sun, the clear light blue sky, and the dark blue color of the sea. After a bit more walking we finally reached the city of Sanremo, known for its pleasant climate all year round and for being an important tourist retreat town since the early 19th century. In fact, since that period the town grew rapidly, in part due to the development of tourism, which saw the first grand hotels built and the town extended along the coast. The Empress "Sissi" of Austria, Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, and Emperor Nicholas II of Russia vacationed in Sanremo, while Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel made it his permanent home. As we approached the city center, we passed by some nice hotels, residences, and art nouveau houses, including the palace, once lived in by Nobel. Along the waterfront we stopped at a pizzeria, Al Sessantuno, to have lunch with a delicious fluffy Neapolitan-style pizza. We then entered the pretty old town with its narrow streets and colored houses, typical of the Ligurian coast. There were some really nice palaces, such as Palazzo Borea d'Olmo, and as we walked past the closed church of Santo Stefano, we reached the Pigna neighborhood, the oldest area of Sanremo, built atop a hill with really old houses and extremely narrow streets, known all around Liguria as caruggi. We walked up through the maze of that area and visited the main church there, the church of San Giuseppe built in a typical baroque style during the 17th century. From there we then headed through the Porta San Giuseppe, a 14th-century medieval gate, the last to have survived up until now, and then up to reach the Santuario Della Madonna della Costa. Located on the highest point in town and dominating the old town below, this nice sanctuary was built in 1630 over a pre-existing one and features a beautiful baroque interior filled with marble, altars, and decorations. After seeing the church we then admired the amazing view of the coast from there and then descended back down through the old town until we reached the Co-cathedral of San Siro. It is the oldest religious building in the city and once featured a baroque facade which was removed in order to grant the church its older Romanesque appearance. Despite the facade now looking a bit too modern the interior is rather nice and still presents the typical medieval features. After that, we continued along the main street and passed by the large structure of the Casino, built in a beautiful and eclectic art nouveau style in 1905 and one of only three gaming houses in all of Italy. Not far from it we then reached the interesting and unusual church of Cristo Salvatore, an Orthodox rite church, dependent on the Russian Orthodox Church and built in San Remo at the beginning of the twentieth century by the Russian nobility, who had chosen the city as a tourist place and for curative stays. It was rather interesting to admire such a type of architecture here in northwestern Italy. Finally, after a bit more walking, we decided to stop at the nearby city beach where we got a bit of sun-tan and enjoyed the waves and sea breeze.After relaxing by the sea we decided it was time to head back so we went on to follow the bicycle path which, leading us along a pleasant walk on the waterfront, eventually brought us back to Riva Ligure ending a fine day.