Riviera of Flowers
The section of the Riviera in the area around Sanremo and Bordighera is called the Riviera of Flowers (Riviera dei Fiori) because of the characteristic flower fields and flower markets . Today the image of the Flower Riviera is also shaped by greenhouses.
origin
The French writer Alphonse Karr (1808–1890) was banned from France because of his revolutionary writings and lived in Nice, Italy at that time . He devoted himself to growing flowers and had great success sending flowers to Paris. The Ligurian peasants followed suit. Large-scale flower fields displaced gradually the olive - and citrus groves .
On the 3rd weekend in June there is always a big flower festival (Bottiglieri dei Fiori in Ventimiglia). It begins with a parade with figures made of flowers and ends with a great flower battle in which citizens and tourists throw flowers at each other. Mainly the carnation is seen here.