San Remo is a place much recommended by physicians, often in
preference to Mentone. Its air is said to possess all the invigorating
qualities of that of Nice, with the warmth of that of Mentone; to be
warm, exhilarating and soothing, and conducive to sleep. The mean
winter temperature is stated by some accounts to be from 54° to 59°
Fahrenheit; spring, 63° to 68°; summer, 72° to 85°; and autumn, 66° to
72°.[26] The icy Tramontane wind is said to be only slightly felt, and
that in the west and more exposed end of the town, while the mistral
is only known as a high wind. It is also asserted that the natives are
healthy and long–lived. With all these recommendations as a health
resort, San Remo cannot be considered to possess the attractions of
Mentone, and it was with a feeling of disappointment we first entered
the place. Perhaps our disappointment was increased by the difficulty
of obtaining accommodation, and by the contrast in what we did obtain
with what we had enjoyed at Mentone.
Arriving at the West End, we found all the hotels there full, and
were glad to secure accommodation in one within the town, possessing
a garden, dreary and overlooked by houses. The place—at all events
externally—was not inviting; and as the weather was, during the greater
part of our sojourn on this occasion, bad, with rain, our first
impressions were not favourable.
* * * * *
San Remo is, like Mentone, surrounded by a half circle of mountains,
but of a much softer–looking character. Bignole, the highest, is 4300
feet high. They do not approach so closely to the town, nor do they
rear their heads so boldly, grandly, and picturesquely, but they do so
without gap. In rear of them, though not visible from the town, are
other and higher mountain ranges, belonging to the Maritime Alps. What
are called rivers exist,—small narrow streamlets, scarcely amounting
to what in Scotland we should term ‘burns,’—which trickle through the
town (the Romulo after heavy rain was only three or four feet wide and
a few inches deep); but they do not pass through valleys like those
which give so marked a character to Mentone. San Remo also wants the
protecting arms which Cape Martin, and Belinda, and Bordighera send
out west and east into the sea. Capo Nero on the west and Capo Verde
on the east no doubt create a bay, but are comparatively stunted arms.
Then the railway passes along the coast and cuts the inhabitants off
from the sea. There is therefore no promenade or road along the coast—a
stupid mistake, to which the authorities ought never to have consented,
and which deprives San Remo of what otherwise would have been its
main attraction as a place of residence. The new town contains only
a few good shops, in which things are not cheap. The old town, with
a population double that of Mentone, is much larger than that of its
rival. It is situated on a similar, but larger and loftier hill; but,
unlike Mentone, which rests on the east, it rests mainly on the west
slope of the hill, and is no doubt very picturesque, probably one of
the most picturesque towns of the kind built for protection from the
Algerine pirates. But though this may give value to it in the artistic
eye, it is not a quality which contributes either to health or comfort;
and one may justly say, parodying a common saying, ‘picturesque and
nasty.’ Dirt, indeed, everywhere reigns—nay, some of the drains, even
in the newer portion of the town, would seem to be above ground; and
we found on our first visit the smells villanous,—a remark I am bound,
however, to observe was not so applicable on occasion of our visit in
the following year.
The railway station occupies a prominent position in the town, and
passes by or cuts off the harbour, which lies outside of it. From the
battlements or breakwater of this most untidily–kept harbour, a good
view is had of the town and the mountains behind it. I made the ascent
of the town through long narrow dirty winding vias, like Edinburgh
High Street closes, only they are narrower, steeper, and tortuous, and
far more dirty and unsavoury. Sometimes the road, paved with stone
throughout, lies under dismal arched vaults, while the houses on each
side are irregular and dilapidated—foul, dark, and dreary dens, rather
than habitations for human beings. It was some relief to reach the
platform on the summit, on which the large church called the sanctuary
stands. From this point an excellent view is had all around. I
descended by another of those curious vias, in which the houses support
each other by arched flying buttresses, intended as a security against
the effects of earthquakes, of which, however, we obtained no specimen
shock during either of our visits to San Remo.
* * * * *
The mountains and hill–slopes surrounding San Remo are densely covered
with olive trees, and to some extent with lemons, and afford shelter
and walks to the visitors, but of a character differing entirely from
those at Mentone. On the hillsides many wild flowers grow in rich
profusion—hyacinths, narcissi, anemones, tulips, mignonette, gladioli,
and others. Those who have been out exploring the country in the
spring, return generally laden with bouquets, or rather bundles, of
bright–coloured flowers.
* * * * *
Various excursions which may be taken to places among the mountains
by assistance of donkeys, are described in a little volume called
_San Remo as a Winter Residence_, by an Invalid, 1869 (Wm. Hunt and
Co., London), to which, for further information regarding the town
and locality, I would refer. I believe a lady is bringing out another
guide–book with information up to date. In 1869, it would appear from
the ‘Invalid’s’ little book that there were then only five hotels and
twenty–three villas. Since the extension of the railway to San Remo,
the number of both has largely increased. Now there are nine hotels and
pensions in the east division of San Remo, and eleven in the west, some
of which are said to be expensive. Of the West End hotels, one or two
are situated well up on a hill–slope, the fatigue of greater ascent and
the additional exposure being no doubt considered to be balanced by
the expanded prospect. There are now also fully eighty villas east and
west.
* * * * *
San Remo possesses, besides, a small public garden to the west of the
old town—a very nice piece or strip of ground at the West End, laid
out in walks and shrubbery, gifted by the Empress of Russia, who had
honoured San Remo by her residence there some years ago. The gift is
an accession to the place, and a pavilion has been erected, in which
the band plays on certain days of the week. On other days it plays
in the public garden or in a rondo at the East End. The West End of
the town, where several of the best hotels are, has an open view to
the sea,—that is to say, the sea can be seen from the road and public
grounds,—and it is consequently more cheerful than the east; but it is
much more exposed to the winds. The east end is more sheltered, and
is thought to be more healthy. From the centre of the town eastwards,
a broad pavement runs, provided here and there with wooden seats for
the wearied pedestrian, and is practically terminated by the Hotel
Victoria—a comfortable house, having a large garden reaching down to
the sea, though the railway intersects a small portion of it at the
bottom. A large hotel, called the Mediterranée, has recently been built
adjoining the Victoria, having a similar piece of ground stretching to
the railway and sea also, though of course more newly laid out as a
garden. All along this road, till it reaches a point nearly two miles
from the old town, it is cut off even from the view of the sea, to
which the only access is by many narrow filthy walled lanes. Beyond
the Victoria there are various nice villas, one especially, called the
Villa Patrone, a choice specimen of elegant design, and of a mode of
wall ornamentation in pebble peculiar to the Riviera.
* * * * *
I found, from a list of strangers published at San Remo on 21st January
1877, the following interesting analysis:—
Allemands, dont 46 avec fam., 160
Anglais, ” 56 ” 126
Austro–Hongrois, ” 8 ” 20
Belges, ” 2 ” 2
Danois, ” 0 ” 1
Espagnols, ” 2 ” 2
Français, ” 8 ” 17
Hollandais, ” 1 ” 5
Italiens, ” 16 ” 41
Roumains, ” 1 ” 1
Russes, ” 14 ” 30
Suedois, ” 0 ” 1
Suisses, ” 2 ” 5
Americains, ” 12 ” 23
Asiatiques, ” 0 ” 1
——— ———
Total, dont 168 avec fam., 435
In the following year, the _Liste Générale des Étrangers_, dated 16th
February 1878, gives the names of the strangers then in San Remo
under their several nationalities, and winds up with the following
‘recapitulation,’ showing an increase on the whole. But it should be
kept in view that, generally speaking, places in the Riviera are fuller
in February than in previous months, the number of visitors being, in
fact, then at its maximum.