This event follows the Euroflora flower festival and exhibit in the city of Genoa and, for this festival, many towns around Liguria dress up in colors and scents, inviting their visitors to walk along the cobblestones alleys and winding streets that reveal medieval beauties and that are still intact in many ways.
Each borgo (old town) ‘challenges’ the others in a competition of imagination and creativity. Each town’s residents embellish their doors, streets, courtyards and gardens with colorful flowers, ornaments and plants giving life to artistic and original creations that make the towns gorgeous, making the gaze of the traveler amazed and curious to go further.
Borgio Verezzi in bloom
The towns are then shown and presented by some volunteers of the villages who explain visitors some picturesque viewpoints and often show little-noticed parts of the village, narrating old stories and anecdotes as well as describing the historical, traditional and folkloric events that have been handed down to the present day.
For those who choose to venture alone, guide signs are usually posted that briefly summarize some stories, information on the buildings or characteristic historical figures and present the floral displays.
During the event indeed thematic exhibitions are often set up, such as the exhibition of vintage linen, wedding dresses and ancient crafts.
This festival is significant as flowers are a fundamental element of the Ligurian heritage and landscape.
Eight villages participate in the “Borghi in Fiore” contest, presenting themselves with beautiful floral arrangements: colorful creations transform the squares of eight villages into authentic enchanted gardens, offering visitors an unforgettable experience in the name of beauty and creativity. The photos are then published on the official social media pages of the Liguria Region associations giving life to an engaging online contest to get the most ‘likes.’
This is how the winner is chosen, by popular vote.
These floral works of art are normally created by talented local floriculturists and transform the squares, a confirmation of the ability and professionalism of the Ligurian Horticultural District.
In Genoa city, if you say flowers the camellia garden of Villa Durazzo Pallavicini comes to mind, the largest in Italy and among the most important in Europe. Right now it is blooming again in its maximum splendor in the Pegli district, a few steps from the romantic promenade on the seafront. Guided tours are scheduled during the weekends here.
As above mentioned, eight municipalities take part in “Borghi in fiore”, the social contest promoted by the Liguria Region Tourism Department with the collaboration of the Ligurian Flower and Plant District that awards the most beautiful flower arrangement in the region.
There are two villages competing for each province, usually one coastal and one inland. For the province of Imperia, Cervo and Perinaldo, for the province of Savona, Borgio Verezzi and Millesimo, for the metropolitan city of Genoa, Santa Margherita Ligure and Santo Stefano d’Aveto and for the province of La Spezia, Ameglia and Varese Ligure. The requirements for applying to enter the contest are that the Municipality must have at least one Blue Flag or an Orange Flag or that it is listed and recognized among “The most beautiful villages in Italy” (an official recognition that can be found online and that is always mentioned at the entrance of each village).
In Liguria, we often mention the blue flags that represent the clearest and cleanest sea waters or the green flags announced by Italian pediatricians to indicate the most child-friendly beaches, and lately we are hearing more and more about the so-called orange flags that reward the tourist quality of small hinterland villages.
