Alassio

The history

This is the magical and fantastic legend
associated with the birth of Alassio.

According to legend Adelasia, daughter of Emperor Ottone I of Saxony, was hopelessly in love with Aleramo.

Thwarted by the Emperor, the two lovers decided to flee from Germany and reached Liguria where they hid in a beautiful bay with a few fishermen's houses.

Happy ending thanks to the value and courage shown in battle by Aleramo and through the mediation of the bishop of Albenga: when Ottone went to Albenga was reconciled with the couple. Then arose a town which in honor of the princess was called Alaxia (that became Alassio).

This is the magical and fantastic legend associated with the birth of Alassio. In reality, the center of Alassio was born around the year 1000 when first settlers came down the hill and settled near the beach, perhaps taking advantage of a lull in the Saracen invasions.

Through the years developed more and more commercial activities because the boats stationed in the sheltered bay for unloading and loading goods stowed on the dock overlooking the numerous alleys.

The crisis began between the seventeenth and eighteenth century when the trade routes moved elsewhere and the threat of Napoleon created hardship.

In 1800 Alassio is again a small fishing village and many residents are forced to seek work in traps scattered around the Mediterranean.

But the turning point was in 1872 when the railway line opened: for the navy is the “coup de grace”, but paradoxically for Alassio economy is the beginning of a new era. With the train, British people coming remained so captured by climate, sea, untouched nature, unspoiled scenery, that decided to buy land and build villas to spend the winter. That is how the British colony was born and with it the Church of England, the English library, the tennis club, the villas in the hills and hotels, the clubs, the tea rooms and the casino.

The small fishing village became one of the most famous seaside centers across Europe, attended by celebrities who managed to keep its fame, even when the British left in early thirties because of the international situation.
The tourist vocation of Alassio restarted in the Fifties and Sixties, the era of so-called "Dolce Vita" of Alassio. The focus was the Cafe Roma, on which stage performed the most famous names of show business. During those years were born the famous beauty contest of Miss Muretto and the wall designed by Mario Berrino and Ernest Hemingway, who signed the first tile, which has become a symbol of Alassio.