Villa Pompeo Mariani

The painter and the villa

Pompeo Mariani was a painter born in Monza and tied to Bordighera, where he lived for many years and died. The core of the villa was a cottage attributed to Charles Garnier. Mariani bought the property in 1909 and enlarged it. Today the villa houses the foundation dedicated to him.

The most interesting part is the Specola, built in 1911: a large studio-museum of about 250 square metres with works by Mariani and by his uncle Mosè Bianchi. The visits show it as it was when the painter worked there, with his tools.

The park and Monet's olive trees

The garden, about one hectare, was part of the old Moreno Gardens. It has palms, citrus trees and olive trees 200–400 years old, including two that are over 500. In the park you can see the three spots where Claude Monet set up his easel in 1884, marked with panels, and the olive tree he portrayed in his “Study of Olive Trees”. For the rest of the story, see the guide to Monet in Bordighera.

Getting there

The villa is just above the old village. For parking, see the Bordighera parking guide. To complete the walk, go down to via Romana and the Bicknell Museum.