In the fifth century a hermit called Ampelio arrived from the Thebaid and settled in a cave among the rocks, bringing with him, so the legend goes, date stones. Hence the palms, and the name Queen of the palms that Bordighera has carried ever since.
Capo Sant'Ampelio is the southernmost point of Liguria and of all northern Italy. When the town rebelled in 1140, Genoa punished it by carrying off the saint's relics. Much later, in 1855, a novel by Giovanni Ruffini published in Edinburgh, Il dottor Antonio, made the English fall in love with this coast. There are 10,416 residents.
villa Mariani · Villa Regina Margherita · Istituto Internazionale di Studi Liguri and 3 more
Pesto alla Genovese
24 places to stay · top rated: Royal Hotel Sanremo 9.1 · Miramare The Palace Resort 9.1
Next up: Feast of Saint Ampelio, Friday 14 May
Nearest airport: Genova, 117 km away
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📅 Every year, on 14 May
On 14 May Bordighera celebrates Saint Ampelio with the procession and fireworks launched from the cape that bears his name: the hermit to whom legend owes the first palm tree.
villa Mariani The house and studio of Pompeo Mariani, the painter who kept the queen waiting ten minutes. 
Villa Regina Margherita The house Queen Margherita of Savoy had built in the park of Villa Etelinda, closed since 2015. 
Istituto Internazionale di Studi Liguri Clarence Bicknell's museum, saved by the Berrys and turned into a research institute. 
Villa Garnier The house Charles Garnier built for himself above the Arziglia, with the tower he called Mon mirador. 
ex chiesa Anglicana The church of the British who wintered in Bordighera, now a hall for exhibitions and concerts. 
chiesa di Santa Maria Maddalena Stucco from 1670, a Magdalene by the Parodi and a bell tower built to watch for pirates. Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
