Page 166 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italian Riviera

164  THE IT ALIAN RIVIER A AREA B Y AREA

d Tour of the Armea and Crosia Valleys

This itinerary follows a route which can be covered easily in a day. It takes the visitor
to some of the most picturesque villages in the far west of the Riviera del Ponente,
on the slopes of the hinterland behind the strip between San Remo and Bordighera.
Interesting though the coastal towns are, this part of the Ligurian interior also has a
great deal to offer. Here visitors will find ancient towns and villages which grew up
along the old salt routes, often very close to the border with France. Set Pigna
among green hills which rise rapidly to become mountains, many of
these ancient centres have managed to preserve their old Pigna
appearance and atmosphere, despite the passing of time.

R. Bonda

Isolabonana •

3 Apricale
At the heart of this medieval village, set T. Nervia
in a panoramic position, is Piazza Vittorio
Emanuele, with the parish church of the
Purificazione di Maria, the Oratory of San
Bartolomeo and some castle ruins. Apricale T. di Vallecrosia
(from apricus, which means “facing towards
the sun”) is also known as the “artists’ village”,
because of the modern murals painted on
the façades of the old houses. • Seborga

4 Perinaldo
At the top of Val Crosia, this village was the
birthplace of Italy’s greatest astronomer,
Giaovanni Domenico Cassini (1625–1712),
discoverer of asteroids and moons, and famous
for his work for Louis XIV. A museum in the
Palazzo del Comune is dedicated to him. The
parish church of San Nicolò dates from 1495.
Nice
• Ventimiglia

5 Vallecrosia Alta •
Set among fields of flowers and Bordighera
vineyards which produce Rossese, one of
Liguria’s most prized wines, this town is the
older twin of the modern seaside village of
Vallecrosia, just west of Bordighera. In the
medieval quarter is the church of San Rocco.
Nearby, at Garibbe, there is the unexpected
Museum of Song and Sound Reproduction.

164-165_EW_Italian_Riviera.indd 164 09/09/16 10:48 am