OSPEDALETTI - THE PAST

Corso Regina Margherita, 111 - Ospedaletti (Imperia)
Per informazioni: Tel. +39 338 9383132 Fax +39 011 5628815
info@viasanrocco.com

Ospedaletti was founded in the fourteenth century by a group of Rhodes knights who built a church and dedicated it to St. John. The church had an annex which became an almshouse where pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land could stop and rest. In Italian almshouse is “ospizio” and the town took its name from this.

The nobility of central Europe discovered this enchanting place in the nineteenth century. Aristocrats and important representatives from the world of international culture came here to spend long periods even during the winter season.
Very few people are aware of the fact that in 1911 in order to liven up the mundane evenings of the upper classes and other travellers, the first Italian casino was opened at the Villa Sultana in Ospedaletti.
The resort was also at one time the seat of an important motoring circuit where exciting formula one races took place. In 1951 the famous Sanremo Granprix was held here.