The Port of Sanremo is the westernmost port on the Italian mainland. Located about 40 nautical miles east-northeast of the Port of Cannes in France and some 63 nautical miles west-southwest of the Port of Genoa, the Port of Sanremo is the most popular tourist destination on the Italian Riviera. About 57 thousand people live in the Port of Sanremo.
In addition to its tourist appeal and popular festivals, the Port of Sanremo is an active producer of Extra Virgin olive oil. Flower-growing is also important to the local economy, as the Port of Sanremo is also known as La Cittá dei Fiori (the City of Flowers) by many people in northwest Italy, and it is an important international flower market.
When Romans settled the Port of Sanremo area, they called the settlement Matutia or Villa Matutiana. It remained a small little-known village until the early Middle Ages when people moved to the high grounds there to escape raids by the Saracens. The newcomers built a castle and a wall around the village of La Pigna to find safety from the raids.
Rule of the infant Port of Sanremo went from the countship of Ventimiglia to Genoese bishops to the wealthy Doria and De Mari families of Genoa. In the latter 15th Century, the Port of Sanremo became a free town and grew on the Pigna hills. Today, the old village still stands, almost perfectly preserved.
For many centuries, the Port of Sanremo was independent from Genoa. In 1753, the Port of Sanremo ended 20 years of encroachment by Genoa in a revolt. In response to the rebellion, the Republic of Genoa constructed a fortress called Santa Tecla on the beach near the Port of Sanremo. Used as a prison until the early 21st Century, the fortress is now being converted into a museum.
After the Napoleonic Wars, the Port of Sanremo, along with most of Liguria and Genoa, was annexed in 1814 into the Kingdom of Sardinia. It then became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 when the Kingdom of Sardinia was dissolved.
Since the mid-18th Century, the Port of Sanremo has grown steadily and quickly. Located on the beautiful Riviera coast, the Port of Sanremo was a popular early holiday location. As early as the 18th Century, the first luxury hotels were built and the town grew along the coastline.
Many famous people stayed in the Port of Sanremo over the years including Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Italo Calvino, and Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Alfred Nobel lived in the Port of Sanremo during the last years of his life.
Review and History Port Commerce Cruising and Travel Satellite Map Contact Information