MENTONE
As a resort both for the healthy and for invalids, Mentone is delightful, as it is generally free from cold winds, owing to the close protection of the mountains, and there are also many valleys to penetrate, in which the Ligurian rock village is seen at its best. The sea-front is shaded with big eucalyptus-trees, and there is a complete freedom from that monotony which is so characteristic of Nice, Brighton, and other favourite resorts. The old town is a pleasant contrast to the newer parts. It stands on higher ground above the harbour, where the shore curves in towards the suburb of Garavan.
The road into Italy is cut out of the lofty rock faces, which in Napoleon’s time carried only the narrow Via Aurelia of the Romans.
At the Pont St. Louis there is an international bridge across a small gorge, and here the customs formalities are arranged. If one is armed with a tryptique there is scarcely more than a delay of a few minutes.
The road soon afterwards passes the beautiful gardens of La Mortola, where the late Sir Thomas Hanbury lived for many years. The extraordinary variety of tropical plants and trees he collected there is one of the best testimonials to the mild winters experienced in this sheltered part of the Riviera.
VENTIMIGLIA
is the first Italian town after passing the frontier. It stands at the mouth of the River Roya, and is a place of exceptional picturesqueness.
The old town has retained its ramparts, and is built in the typical Ligurian fashion, with innumerable narrow tunnelled passages, in which the stranger easily loses his way.
The Cathedral is Romanesque, with a very early baptistery, whose fabric is hidden under plaster. Considerable restoration took place after the earthquake of 1831. Another church which should be seen is that of San Michele. It is Romanesque, and the crypt has a Roman milestone supporting the vaulting.