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15-696: 43°47′02″N 7°32′02″E  /  43.784°N 7.534°E  / 43.784; 7.534 The Balzi Rossi caves (Ligurian: baussi rossi "red rocks") in Ventimiglia comune , Liguria , Italy , is one of the most important archaeological sites of the early Upper Paleolithic in Western Europe . It has been continually excavated by archaeologists for more than 150 years. Ventimiglia The name Ventimiglia derives from Album Intimilium , which later became 'Albintimilium', Vintimilium , then Ventimiglia . The similarity to

30-654: A junction on the A10 Motorway. The Ventimiglia railway station connects the line from Genoa to France with the line to Cuneo . There is a Royal Spanish honorary consulate in Ventimiglia. Ventimiglia is twinned with: Via Iulia Augusta The Via Julia Augusta (modern Italian Via Giulia Augusta ) is the name given to the Roman road formed by the merging of the Via Aemilia Scauri with

45-587: Is the ancient medieval city centre, perched on a hill overlooking the new town. The Church of San Michele Arcangelo was erected in the 10th century by the Counts of Ventimiglia on the foundations of a pagan temple. Later it was entrusted to the Benedictines of Lirins . In the 11th-12th centuries, it was rebuilt in Romanesque style. In 1628 its aisles were lost after an earthquake. It houses milestones from

60-735: Is the highest point of the Via Julia Augusta and the site of the Tropaeum Alpium , a monument built by Augustus to celebrate his victory over the Alpine tribes. Later it was extended, taking a route away from the coast via the valley of the River Laghet, north of Nice and westward to Arles where it joined the Via Domitia . By about 420 CE, when Rutilius Namatianus returned to Gaul from Italia, he took ship past

75-549: The Maritime Alps rather than rely upon the decaying road. In 1764 Tobias Smollett similarly travelled by sea rather than use the seaside tracks, fit only for "mules and foot passengers". Road access was not restored until the time of Napoleon. In 2006, the French Riviera Community and Ventimiglia cooperated to restore the Via Julia Augusta. There are the remains of a number of Roman bridges along

90-575: The Via Postumia . The Via Julia Augusta was begun in 13 BCE by Augustus , and its engineering works were repeatedly renewed by later emperors. The road runs from Placentia (modern Piacenza) to Arelate (modern Arles), initially westward along the edge of the plain of the River Po to Derthona ( Tortona ), then southward to the Ligurian coast. There it formed a continuous route westward along

105-571: The 10th century, it was attacked by the Saracens of Fraxinet . After a period as an independent commune , it was ruled by the Counts of Ventimiglia, and often had to fight against the Republic of Genoa . In 1139 the Genoese attacked it by land and sea and forced it to surrender; the count continued to hold the city and countship as a vassal of the victors. The city rebelled more than once against

120-607: The Genoese and sided with their enemies. In 1271 in a war with Genoa, its podestà Luca Grimaldi was captured. Ventimiglia was thus temporarily held by the dukes of Savoy (1389 and 1746) and King Ladislaus of Naples (1410). In 1505 it was annexed to the Genoese Republic, sharing its history until the early 19th century. In 1269 the Count of Ventimiglia, Guglielmo Pietro I Balbo married Eudossia Laskaris , daughter of Emperor Theodore II Laskaris . From them started

135-556: The Genoese fortresses of Castel d'Appio, Forte San Paolo and Fortezza dell'Annunziata. Ventimiglia is a popular summer destination for tourists on the French Riviera . Particularly popular all year with visitors from France is the weekly street market (held on a Friday), along the seafront of the new town, which causes major traffic congestion. Ventimiglia is on the Via Aurelia Provincial Road, and has

150-654: The ancient city walls, a fine mosaic , found in 1852 but at once destroyed, and a number of tombs to the west of the theatre. The ruins of the ancient Albintimilium are situated in the plain of Nervia , c. 2 kilometres (1 mile) to the east of the modern town. The caves of the Balzi Rossi have proved rich in palaeolithic remains of the Quaternary period. Remains of a family of Cro-Magnon people were discovered, with several skeletons of men, women and children. Very important architecturally and historically

165-635: The dynasty of the Lascaris of Tenda. They maintained the sovereign County of Tenda until 1501 when the last of them, Anne Lascaris , married Renato of Savoy (in French René de Savoie) and transferred the County to his cadet branch of the Savoy dynasty . Remains of a Roman theatre (first half of the 2nd century) are visible, and remains of many other buildings have been discovered, among them traces of

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180-463: The old Via Iulia Augusta , two of which are used as stoups and one supports the crypt 's vault. The present Romanesque Cathedral dedicated to the Assumption, Cattedrale di Nostra Signora Assunta, with an 11th-century baptistery, see of the present Diocese of Ventimiglia-San Remo (just Ventimiglia until 1957, founded 670), is built on the ruins of an earlier Lombard church, which in turn

195-720: The phrase venti miglia ("twenty miles") is coincidental, although the town was almost exactly 20 statute miles from France between 1388 and 1860. Ventimiglia is the ancient Album Intimilium , the capital of the Intimilii , a Ligurian tribe . In the Gothic Wars it was besieged by the Byzantines and the Goths, and later suffered from the raids of Rothari , King of the Lombards, but flourished again under Rodoald . In

210-579: The precipitous descent of the Ligurian mountains into the sea. This takes it to Vada Sabatia ( Vado Ligure ) and Albenga. The Via Julia Augusta leaves Albenga at the Porta d'Arroscia, the south gate of the city, and proceeds to Alassio . The route is lined with Roman funerary monuments. The section from Albenga to Alassio is one of the better preserved parts of the Via Julia Augusta. From there it continues to Ventimiglia and La Turbie . The Col de La Turbie

225-658: Was on the site of a Roman building, possibly a temple. The municipal library has the second-largest collection of 17th-century manuscripts and books in Italy (the biggest collection is in Venice ). The Giardini Botanici Hanbury (Hanbury Botanical Gardens), surrounding the villa of Sir Thomas Hanbury , La Mortola, are the biggest in Italy and among the finest in Europe, boasting many varieties of tropical and sub-tropical species that thrive in this mild climate. Near Ventimiglia are

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