RIVIERA DEI FIORI

The Riviera dei Fiori (the Riviera of Flowers) occupies the Western part of the Italian Riviera which runs along the Gulf of Genoa. The very name of “Riviera” comes from Genoese, itself derived from the Latin “ripa” which designates the shore.

Genoa separates the Riviera du Levant (to the East) from the Riviera du Ponant (to the West), itself composed of the Riviera of the Palms in the province of Savona and the Riviera of the Flowers in the province of Imperia.

The Riviera dei Fiori, which combines the mountains and the seaside, experienced a cosmopolitan tourist development at the end of the 19th century. The mountains were already full of small picturesque medieval villages, built by the inhabitants of the region to protect themselves from Saracen invasions, but the modern English, Russian, German, Belgian and French aristocrats never stopped building holiday resorts far from the big preexisting cities such as Nice and Genoa.

Casinos, theaters, luxury hotels, churches – Orthodox or not – were built everywhere – as in San Remo for example.

Unfortunately, urbanization never stopped since, but the difficult landscape somewhat preserved the Riviera of Flowers. One quickly forgets the many greenhouses that run down the hills, in which flowers and fruits are grown, because the attention is always focused on the sea.

Colors dominate everywhere – be it the deep blue of the sea or the colorful facades of the buildings.

Churches are everywhere. Even the smallest, most rustic village will have its imposing church – sometimes baroque and of crazy decorative decadence like in Cervo or Dolceacqua – sometimes neoclassical like in Imperia.