Town in Liguria, Italy
Comune in Liguria, Italy
Ventimiglia
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Citta di Ventimiglia
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Panorama of Ventimiglia
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Flag
Coat of arms
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Location of Ventimiglia in Liguria
Show map of Italy
Ventimiglia (Liguria)
Show map of Liguria
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Coordinates:
43°47′25″N
7°36′30″E
/
43.79028°N 7.60833°E
/
43.79028; 7.60833
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Country
| Italy
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Region
| Liguria
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Province
| Imperia
(IM)
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Frazioni
| Grimaldi
,
Mortola Inferiore
,
Mortola Superiore
(i
Ciotti
),
Latte
, Carletti, Sealza, Sant'Antonio, Villatella, Ville, Calandri, San Lorenzo, San Bernardo, Seglia, Bevera, Calvo, San Pancrazio, Torri, Varase, Roverino, Porra,
Trucco
,
Verrandi
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? Mayor
| Enrico Ioculano (Since June 8, 2014) (
PD
)
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? Total
| 54.01 km
2
(20.85 sq mi)
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Elevation
| 9 m (30 ft)
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? Total
| 24,120
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? Density
| 450/km
2
(1,200/sq mi)
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Demonym
| Ventimigliesi
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Time zone
| UTC+1
(
CET
)
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? Summer (
DST
)
| UTC+2
(
CEST
)
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Postal code
| 18039
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Dialing code
| 0184
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Patron saint
| San Secondo
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Saint day
| 26 August
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Website
| Official website
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Ventimiglia
(
Italian:
[venti?mi??a]
;
Intemelio
:
Ventemiglia
[veŋte?mi?a]
,
Genoese
:
Vintimiggia
;
[3]
French
:
Vintimille
[v??timij]
;
Provencal
:
Ventemilha
[vente?mi??]
) is a resort town in the
province of Imperia
,
Liguria
, northern
Italy
. It is located 130 km (81 mi) west of
Genoa
, and 7 km (4.3 mi) from the
French-Italian border
, on the
Gulf of Genoa
, having a small harbour at the mouth of the
Roia
river, which divides the town into two parts. Ventimiglia's urban area has a population of 55,000.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The name
Ventimiglia
derives from
Album Intimilium
, which later became 'Albintimilium',
Vintimilium
, then
Ventimiglia
. The similarity to the phrase
venti miglia
("twenty miles") is coincidental, although the town was almost exactly 20
statute miles
from France between 1388 and 1860.
History
[
edit
]
Ventimiglia is the ancient
Album Intimilium
, the capital of the
Intimilii
, a
Ligurian tribe
.
In the
Gothic Wars
it was besieged by the Byzantines and the Goths, and later suffered from the raids of
Rothari
, King of the Lombards, but flourished again under
Rodoald
. In the 10th century, it was attacked by the Saracens of
Fraxinet
. After a period as an
independent commune
, it was ruled by the Counts of Ventimiglia, and often had to fight against the
Republic of Genoa
.
In 1139 the Genoese attacked it by land and sea and forced it to surrender; the count continued to hold the city and countship as a vassal of the victors. The city rebelled more than once against the Genoese and sided with their enemies.
In 1271 in a war with Genoa, its
podesta
Luca Grimaldi
was captured. Ventimiglia was thus temporarily held by the
dukes of Savoy
(1389 and 1746) and
King Ladislaus of Naples
(1410). In 1505 it was annexed to the Genoese Republic, sharing its history until the early 19th century.
In 1269 the Count of Ventimiglia,
Guglielmo Pietro I Balbo
married
Eudossia Laskaris
, daughter of Emperor
Theodore II Laskaris
.
[4]
From them started the dynasty of the
Lascaris
of Tenda. They maintained the sovereign
County
of
Tenda
until 1501 when the last of them,
Anne Lascaris
, married
Renato of Savoy
(in French Rene de Savoie) and transferred the County to his cadet branch of the
Savoy dynasty
.
Main sights
[
edit
]
Remains of a Roman theatre (first half of the 2nd century) are visible, and remains of many other buildings have been discovered, among them traces of the ancient city walls, a fine
mosaic
, found in 1852 but at once destroyed, and a number of tombs to the west of the theatre. The ruins of the ancient
Albintimilium
are situated in the plain of
Nervia
, c. 2 kilometres (1 mile) to the east of the modern town.
[5]
The caves of the
Balzi Rossi
have proved rich in
palaeolithic
remains of the
Quaternary
period.
[5]
Remains of a family of
Cro-Magnon
people were discovered, with several skeletons of men, women and children.
Very important architecturally and historically is the ancient medieval city centre, perched on a hill overlooking the new town. The Church of
San Michele Arcangelo
was erected in the 10th century by the Counts of Ventimiglia on the foundations of a pagan temple. Later it was entrusted to the Benedictines of
Lirins
. In the 11th-12th centuries, it was rebuilt in
Romanesque
style. In 1628 its aisles were lost after an earthquake. It houses milestones from the old
Via Iulia Augusta
, two of which are used as
stoups
and one supports the
crypt
's vault.
The present
Romanesque
Cathedral
dedicated to the Assumption, Cattedrale di Nostra Signora Assunta, with an 11th-century baptistery,
see
of the present
Diocese of Ventimiglia-San Remo
(just Ventimiglia until 1957, founded 670), is built on the ruins of an earlier Lombard church, which in turn was on the site of a Roman building, possibly a temple.
[5]
The municipal library has the second-largest collection of 17th-century manuscripts and books in Italy (the biggest collection is in
Venice
).
The
Giardini Botanici Hanbury
(Hanbury Botanical Gardens), surrounding the villa of
Sir Thomas Hanbury
, La Mortola, are the biggest in Italy and among the finest in Europe, boasting many varieties of tropical and sub-tropical species that thrive in this mild climate.
Near Ventimiglia are the Genoese fortresses of Castel d'Appio, Forte San Paolo and Fortezza dell'Annunziata.
Tourism
[
edit
]
Ventimiglia is a popular summer destination for tourists on the
French Riviera
. Particularly popular all year with visitors from France is the weekly street market (held on a Friday), along the seafront of the new town, which causes major traffic congestion.
Transportation
[
edit
]
Ventimiglia is on the
Via Aurelia
Provincial Road, and has a junction on the A10 Motorway.
The
Ventimiglia railway station
connects the
line from Genoa to France
with the line to
Cuneo
.
International relations
[
edit
]
There is a Royal Spanish honorary consulate in Ventimiglia.
Twin towns ? Sister cities
[
edit
]
Ventimiglia is
twinned
with:
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011"
. Italian National Institute of Statistics
. Retrieved
16 March
2019
.
- ^
"Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018"
. Italian National Institute of Statistics
. Retrieved
16 March
2019
.
- ^
Frisoni, Gaetano
[in Italian]
(1910).
Dizionario Genovese-Italiano e Italiano-Genovese
(in Italian). Genova: Nuova Editrice Genovese.
- ^
The History of the Col de Tenda
, W.A.B. Coolidge,
The English Historical Review
, Vol. XXXI, ed. Reginald Lane Poole, (Longmans, Green and Co., 1916), 202.
- ^
a
b
c
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911). "
Ventimiglia
".
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 1012.
External links
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National
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Geographic
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