Thanks to the even temperament of this signorina - an extraordinarily mild climate - Sanremo in its time won the glory of the best winter resort in Europe. In those days (and this was the second half of the 19th century), important persons were not yet keen on skiing and preferred to escape from extreme temperatures to the sea during the winter months. It is pleasant to realize that Russians were among the first to discover the charm of these places. A visit here by a royal person - Empress Maria Alexandrovna - made, as they would say today, publicity for the city in European aristocratic circles. The tsarina's love for Sanremo turned out to be mutual and was immortalized in the name of the main local promenade - the Corso Imperatrice embankment, where the palm trees she donated to the city still grow. After such a touching romance, the resort quickly raised its reputation and began to be settled by wealthy people from different countries, built up with villas and luxury hotels.
As for compatriots, following the court, our industrialists and intelligentsia, nobles and revolutionaries began to come here. Russian churches and clubs, bakeries and baths appeared in the city. At various times, the Sheremetevs, Apraksins, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Georgy Plekhanov, Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy spent winters in Sanremo. The direct train St. Petersburg - Nice deposited more and more vacationers at this intermediate station. When a revolution broke out at home, many of them preferred to stay here forever and rested at the end of their lives in the "Russian corner" of the Della Foce cemetery. The star of Italian cinema of the 30s, Assia Noris, also a native of St. Petersburg, Anastasia von Hertzfeld, lived here on Carducci Street until 1998 and was awarded the honorary title "Friend of Sanremo".
Today the Italian resort is experiencing another wave of "Russian seasons", now not only winter but also summer ones. Being very close to the French Riviera (40 minutes by highway from Nice overflowing with vacationers), it could not but attract the attention of our wealthy travelers. After spending the summer on the Italian Riviera, many prefer to rent and buy villas here rather than in France.
Francophiles jealously blame slightly lower Italian prices and the easy-to-learn language for this, but it is not only about that. Simply the spirit of Italy, its cuisine smelling of basil and olives, the relaxed atmosphere - these are factors that are hard to resist. Our compatriots, sensitive to status, are fascinated by old Italian villas, the most famous of which is Alfred Nobel's villa, now a museum. There are almost two hundred such works of art of the Belle Epoque era in Sanremo.
Many properties of this level, and even more so luxury villas of later construction, are for sale. Prices range from 2 million to 5 million euros. Not all descendants of the rich and famous have succeeded in business, and an ordinary person cannot afford to maintain such a house (practically a palace). The introduction of the euro aggravated the situation: the pan-European leveling of prices pushes many owners to move to more modest dwellings. In this sense, the market conditions for the buyer are now very favorable; there is a choice - from properties that are sold forcedly, due to the impossibility of making repairs, to villas sold by resellers that are brought into perfect condition.
• By the way, abroad they have long preferred to install plastic windows when renovating. New double-glazed windows not only perfectly maintain the temperature regime in the room, but also look great against the background of ancient architecture. And for a resort city, you will agree, this is important.
In addition to villas, there are, of course, more modest properties: for example, summer bungalows by the sea. In such inexpensive villages, not only Italian vacationers but also summer residents of various nationalities - Germans, Dutch, English - purchase real estate. One of the condominiums of this type is currently being built in the vicinity of Sanremo, in a very prestigious area where Adriano Celentano rents a villa. The construction cycle is still at zero, but very soon it will be possible to inquire about prices.
However, Sanremo is not the only option. In fact, the city is the western gateway to a huge resort area - the Ligurian Riviera, stretching from the border with France to Tuscany. It, in turn, is a natural continuation of the French Riviera. The region of Liguria consists of four provinces (Imperia, Savona, Genoa, La Spezia), each of which has its own reasons to settle there. Lovers of urbanism will prefer the ancient and at the same time modern city of Genoa, the European Capital of Culture 2004. Art lovers will stop in towns near Tuscany to be able to visit beautiful Florence again and again. You can choose a quiet town unknown to us, or aim for Portofino itself - the Italian Saint-Tropez, where Walt Disney once lived, and now the prime minister and one of the richest people in Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, rents a villa. Buying anything in Portofino is extremely difficult: listings are rare, and demand is huge. According to real estate agents, properties here sell within two to three hours after being listed.
But nothing is impossible. He who seeks and is ready to wait will find the very best in Italy.