The Muretto di Alassio is perhaps the symbol of the city. This is not a simple brick tongue, but an artistic installation. Above this wall, built in the 1950s on Corso Dante Alighieri by the painter Mario Berrino, who wanted to transform the bare and anonymous wall in front of his bar, Caffè Roma, ceramic tiles and tiles appear year after year, with the signatures of illustrious people and celebrities from around the world. A sort of all-Italian wall of fame. Ernest Hemingway's name was one of the first to appear on the wall.
Over the years, many other celebrities have helped make the wall iconic with autographed tiles (there are now more than 550 affixed), including Salvador Dali, Woody Allen, Giorgio Gaber, Dario Fo, Vittorio De Sica, Salvatore Quasimodo, Fernanda Pivano, Jacques Prévert, Nino Manfredi, Charlie Chaplin, Mina, Giovanni Guareschi, Anita Ekberg, Carlo Levi, Louis Armstrong, Thomas Mann and many others.
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Gardens of the Villa della Pergola
A green lung, with enchanting botanical collections, a stone's throw from the sea. Here, the gardens of the Villa della Pergola, built at the end of the 19th century on a plot of 22 thousand square meters. Arriving here means not only discovering rarities, exotic plants and flowers, but also enjoying a breathtaking panoramic view of the Gulf of Alassio and Gallinara Island.
The Gardens are open every day from March to October and can only be visited with a guide. Among the historic buildings in the garden is a splendid villa, the Villa della Pergola itself, whose origins date back to the last years of the 19th century, which houses a famous hotel and a starred restaurant.
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Gallinara Island
Gallinara Island – currently part of the municipality of Albenga – has an ancient history. In fact, it dates back to the times of the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, as demonstrated by the various objects and wrecks found in the surrounding seabed.
The island boat trip from Alassio is highly recommended. It can be walked around and admired while keeping the required distance, but without docking. This islet, visible on a clear day, even from the seaside, is covered with lush Mediterranean vegetation and more than 200 species of flowers. Along its jagged coasts are sea caves and colonies of herring gulls that come here to lay their eggs.
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The Saracen Tower
The Torrione Saraceno, also known as Torrione della Coscia, is another symbol of Alassio. It can be found almost on the opposite side of the gut, all along the waterfront, in the Borgo Coscia neighborhood.
It is an ancient defensive bastion from the 16th century, which represents the fortified tower that served to protect the city from the siege of pirates who threatened the Mediterranean.
The most beautiful beaches of Alassio
Beachfront
Alassio beach stretches for more than four kilometers along the coast, offering vast areas of fine, golden sand. It is dotted with private and developed beaches, but also public spaces and small bays managed by the city's windsurfing clubs.
Bay of the Sun
Baia del Sole is one of the largest and most popular beaches in Alassio. It is located in the northern part. It is the ideal beach for families with children, as the waters are crystal clear and shallow. In this coastal area there are also equipped bathing establishments, with bars and restaurants.
The rescuer
Beach in the historic center of Alassio, frequented mainly by residents and those looking for a truly authentic atmosphere. Small and intimate, it is the oldest in the city. You can stay there with your own equipment, or rent deckchairs and parasols. Next to it there is also a kiosk where Ligurian specialties such as fried fish and cheese focaccia are prepared every day, to be enjoyed strictly facing the sea.
Lighthouse beach
Faro beach is located in the southern part of Alassio. The spectacular view of the Capo Mele lighthouse makes it a postcard destination. For those who love sailing and surfing, but also immortalize fiery sunsets.
Santa Croce Beach
One of the most fascinating and picturesque in Alassio. It is located a few steps from the hamlet of Solva, away from the center which is often teeming with tourists in high season. Mediterranean vegetation surrounds it, without being too wild. There is no shortage of catering services, cabins, showers, deckchairs and parasols.
What to do in Alassio
Taste Baci di Alassio at Caffè Balzola
Colorful neon signs, old-fashioned advertising posters and windows full of sweets characterize an unmissable address in Alassio: the Cafe Balzola, which more than a café and pastry shop is a historical and cultural heritage. Founded in 1902, Caffè Balzola is the kingdom of the city's best-known product: the “Bacio di Alassio”, which continues to be prepared today with the authentic recipe from a century ago.
Cafè Balzola where the famous Baci di Alassio were born @iStockThese delicious kisses made with chocolate and hazelnuts were created by Rinaldo Balzola, who became the personal pastry chef to King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy from 1932 to 1938.
Taste the typical focaccia
The Baci di Alassio are not the only ones to conquer the palace. Who says Liguria says focaccia. So, even in Alassio, there is no shortage of places to taste (and appreciate) it. The first: the Fornaio di Alassio which has been offering focaccia platters in every way since 1963, from the simple to the – essential -. one with Taggiasca olives or onions.
And about Hand catcher, the pastry-bakery in Viale Hanbury? Her fame precedes her. As well as Canepa cheese focacciawhere you can also find masterful versions based on tomatoes, Ligurian herbs and gourmet dishes that are cornerstones of tradition, such as Torta Pasqualina, Pesto Lasagna, Cima and Brandacujun, for lunch on the edge from the sea or directly on the deckchair.
Go to art galleries
Advertising posters that have marked history, pop sculptures and designer furnishing accessories. All within a few hundred meters. Alassio is undoubtedly a destination for art lovers. Some addresses: L'Image, where we find advertising posters and original engravings which made the history of the 20th century; the Matteo Bellenghi Gallery, focused on the collection of works by contemporary artists; The Rodari Art Gallery, exhibition space of the artist Alessia Rodari, which however hosts other personal exhibitions such as the permanent exhibition of the artist Roberto Comelli.
Hiking on Mount Bignone
What if we tried to go a little higher? Leaving the beaches of Alassio, you soon arrive at Monte Bignone, which, with its 1300 meters above sea level, offers hiking routes that lead to majestic viewpoints from where you can admire the city and the Gulf of 'up.
Where to eat in Alassio
Nine
In the lush setting of the Villa della Pergola, between the setting of a contemporary art museum and a prestigious and famous historic residence, chef Antonio Romano holds the reins of the cuisine of Nove, a 1 Michelin star restaurant, where Liguria triumphs, in a journey of recognizable, but at the same time surprising aromas and flavors.
The vegetable garden is an added value: we often draw from it to compose dishes. Raw materials do not travel far, they come from the territory, in a symbiotic relationship with it and its inhabitants. And then off we go to taste fennel with Ligurian saffron, ras el hanout, un plin, blue cheese from the upper Elvo valley, apricots, roasted pepper, purple shrimp, with coconut, cherry and cucumber , or amberjack, with razor clams, grilled spelt, lovage and plankton.
Lambert
At the gates of the center, 30 meters from the sea, Lamberti is the classic refuge for those looking for revisited but not too much seafood cuisine, which brings Liguria (and also the hinterland) onto the plate. Downstairs is also the Lambertino wine cellar-bistro, with more than 500 Italian and international labels, including Champagne.
Where to sleep in Alassio
Grand Hotel Alassio Beach & SPA Resort
Its structure, right in the water, is incomparable. It is part of the architectural heritage of Alassio, the Grand Hotel, which has a spa, three restaurants, including a gourmet restaurant on the beach, a Bistro, a Neapolitan pizzeria with pizza. signed by Stefano Miozzo, Italian Pizza Gourmet champion, and even the ice cream will be signed by Massimiliano Scotti, European ice cream champion.
And then the environments, transformed into pop art galleries, where you can admire sculptures and paintings, but also buy them. The works – canvases, sculptures, posters, photographs and designer furniture by Talassio 4 Art – are everywhere, from common areas to the spa.
For fans of pop icons, there is the president-art suite: 88 square meters with collectibles; for those who love literature, however, a view of the sea which bears the signature of Hemingway, in the suite of the same name where there is the original portrait of Hemingway by the painter Mario Berrino, as well as the feather of the parrot Pedrito. find.
The flagship of the structure? The benefits of the sea in all seasons: at the Grand Hotel Alassio Beach & SPA Resort the doors of the Thalassio Medical SPA open, 1500 m2 where, as protagonists, are the powers of the sea and those provided by the expert hands of them. therapists who study a personalized course for each person.
Pergola Villa
An enchantment. It can be summed up like this: the Hotel Villa della Pergola, immersed in the famous gardens of the same name from the end of the 19th century, like an immense Mediterranean scrub overlooking the sea. The suites are different from each other by their style, their atmosphere, their colors and their furniture. They house watercolors, Victorian paintings, memorabilia and antique furniture.
La Meridiana Hotel & Golf Resort
Twenty-six charming rooms, all different, for an exclusive stay of relaxation and sport for golf lovers. A stone's throw from La Meridiana Hotel & Golf Resort, among centuries-old olive trees and green hills, is the Garlenda Golf Club, one of the most popular courses in Liguria.
There is also room for flavors, with the Ligurian tradition of cuisine at the Il Rosmarino restaurant, and a simpler formula at the Bistrot, where you can have lunch with borage and ricotta ravioli, Ligurian minestrone, potato and anchovy tarts, hot focaccias. , panissa, washed down with a good glass of Pigato.
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