Alassio is a town and "comune" of 11.312 inhabitants in the province of Savona situated in the North West of Italy and approximately 80 km from the French border.

Alassio is known for its natural beauty and scenic views. The town centre is crossed by a pedestrianized cobbled road known as the Budello.

The town has sandy beaches, blue sea, and many bars and restaurants on the sea front. Alassio has also a pier known as "Molo di Alassio" or "Pontile Bestoso" which offers views of the town.

Alassio is situated on the Riviera di Ponente Coast, and it has a small turist port (porticciolo) named "Luca Ferrari".

Alassio is notable as a health resort in winter and a bathing place in summer and has many hotels.

History

Alassio is thought to have been founded in the 10th Century, in the area of "St Anna ai Monti Church" where a family nucleus first resided, then subsequent members moved in the hilly area of "Madonna delle Grazie" which is still known with the name "Caste'". Here you can still see one of the first Heraldic symbols of the town.

Control of the town was eventually taken by the monk

Monk

A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

s from the island of Gallinara

Gallinara

Gallinara or Isola d'Albenga lies in the Ligurian Sea off the coast of Albenga in the Province of Savona, Liguria, Italy.On the island, then called Gallinara, Martin, destined to become Saint Martin of Tours, decided in his youth to seek shelter and live the solitary life of a hermit, before he...

 and later by the commune

Medieval commune

Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread...

 of Albenga

Albenga

Albenga is a city and comune situated on the Gulf of Genoa on the Italian Riviera in the Province of Savona in Liguria, northern Italy.left|thumb|220px|Towers of Albenga.The economy is mostly based on tourism, local commerce and agriculture-History:...

.

Main sights

• Parish church of St. Ambrose.
• Palazzo Ferrero de Gubernatis Ventimiglia.
• Saracen
  Saracen
  Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
  
   Tower.
• The Muretto, a wall with 550 tiles signed by celebrities.

Heritage

The English composer Edward Elgar wrote a concert-overture called "In the South (Alassio)

In the South (Alassio)

In the South , Op. 50, is a concert overture composed by Edward Elgar during a family holiday in Italy in the winter of 1903 to 1904.The work is dedicated "To my friend Leo F. Schuster".- History :...

" whilst staying on holiday in Alassio in the winter of 1903/04.

Alassio is featured as the location for a holiday in the 1944 film The Children are Watching.

Immigration

http://www.comuni-italiani.it/009/001/statistiche/stranieri.html - Demografic Stats

Number of immigrants at 2009 (the first five for nationality)  Kingdom of Romania Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... : 185  Albania Albania Albania Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea... : 150  Morocco Morocco Morocco Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara... : 143  Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world... : 127  Ukraine Ukraine Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia... : 47