Sanremo is the capital town of the Italian Riviera of Flowers and it is located in a natural amphitheatre between Capo Verde and Capo Nero. Inhabited since the Paleolithic Age, it was known with the name of Matuzia, referring to Caio Matuzio's patrician villa, set on the western part of the moder city center.
The town's vocation for élite tourism dates back to the nineteenth century, with the construction of the first large hotels and the expansion of the town along the coast.
The modified cathedral of San Siro originally dates back to the thirteenth century: the original parts that remain are the central rosace and part of the lateral mullioned windows. The interior preserves a Crucifix by Maragliano and a canvas by Pancalino showing San Siro and other saints (1548). Nearby is the oratory of the Immacolata Concezione (sixteenth century), with frescoes by Merano, and the baptistery, which was built on former Roman foundations and those of an earlier church: it holds a painting by Orazio De Ferrari. The church of Santo Stefano was rebuilt by the Jesuits in the middle of the seventeenth century and preserves a painting by Piola and frescoes by Merano.
The single-nave sanctuary of the Madonna della Costa goes back to the seventeenth century: here you can admire frescoes by Giacomo Antonio Boni and a painting from the Barnaba da Modena school (late fourteenth century) as well as a painting by Domenico Fiasella.
Palazzo Borea d'Olmo is an impressive Baroque building that was partly rebuilt in the eighteenth century: it houses the Archaeology Museum (prehistoric and Roman exhibits). The late nineteenth-century buildings are also of great charm: among the most interesting are Villa Ormond, with its surrounding parkland, and Villa Alfred Nobel, the residence of the famous scientist. The municipal casino, in liberty style, was designed by Eugenio Ferret.