Alassio

This is Alassio’s landmark: a wall along Corso Dante, next to the public gardens, covered in ceramic tiles signed by actors, singers, sportsmen and writers. The idea dates from 1953 and came from Mario Berrino, a painter who ran the Caffè Roma opposite and kept an autograph book of famous customers. Ernest Hemingway, a regular at the café, was among the first to sign.

There are now hundreds of tiles and new ones are added every year. From 1953 to 2014 the wall also gave its name to a beauty contest, Miss Muretto. Spend a few minutes reading the names: it is the quickest way to understand how fashionable Alassio was in the 20th century.

The Budello is the main carruggio, a narrow lane that follows the line of the beach along the axis of the medieval town. Enter from Borgo Coscia, towards Laigueglia, or from Piazza Partigiani, towards Albenga, and walk past shops, bars, ice-cream parlours and small stores. The side alleys open straight onto the sand.

On summer evenings it is busy until late. To see it properly, go early in the morning or out of season, when you can notice the doorways and the old façades.

East of the centre, the Torrione Saraceno, also called the Coscia tower, is a defensive tower built in the 16th century by the Republic of Genoa against pirate raids. It is privately owned and closed to visitors, but you can see it well from the beach and the promenade. Around it is Borgo Coscia, the old fishermen’s quarter, with colourful houses facing the sea.

Further east you reach the Luca Ferrari harbour, where boat trips around Gallinara depart. Just beyond, the Cappelletta is a tiny chapel on a rock that remembers those lost at sea and is a favourite sunset spot. In the centre of town, the Bestoso pier stretches out over the water and is the classic evening stroll.

On the hill above the station, the gardens of Villa della Pergola cover 22,000 square metres. They were created in the late 19th century by the British general Montagu McMurdo; in 2006 they were saved from property development and restored by the landscape architect Paolo Pejrone. They are famous for their wisteria, which flowers in spring, and their agapanthus, which blooms in early summer.

Visits are by guided tour only and last about 80 minutes. In 2026 the gardens are open daily from 20 March, with tours at 9.30, 11.30, 15.00 and 17.00; a full ticket costs 19 euros and a reduced one 15. Places are limited, so book online on the gardens’ website. There is no car park: it is about ten minutes on foot from the station.

On the headland to the west, towards Albenga, the small Romanesque church of Santa Croce was built in the 11th century by the Benedictine monks of Gallinara. Abandoned for years, it was restored and reopened in the 1970s. From the terraces beside it you can see the whole Baia del Sole and, on clear days, Corsica. This is where the Via Iulia Augusta to Albenga begins.

The island belongs to the town of Albenga: 21 hectares of Mediterranean scrub, 89 metres high, with a 16th-century tower and one of the largest colonies of yellow-legged gulls in the Ligurian Sea. According to tradition, Saint Martin of Tours lived here as a hermit in the 4th century; a Benedictine monastery followed. The name comes from the wild hens mentioned by Latin writers.

The island is private and you cannot land on it. You can see it up close on boat trips from Alassio harbour, or underwater with authorised dive centres: the surrounding waters are a regional nature reserve.

The town’s sweet was created in the early 20th century in Rinaldo Balzola’s pastry shop in the centre: two soft hazelnut, sugar and cocoa biscuits joined by chocolate cream. Every pastry shop in Alassio sells them and they are the classic gift to take home. Try them fresh, not in travel packs.