Bajardo

Bajardo is located in the sunniest area of Liguria, and it has Europe’s highest olive plantations. Here you find the best climatic requirements for living, working, relaxing, or simply resting your spirit and finding yourself anew.

Bajardo is a village with about 350 inhabitants; it lies within the province of Imperia, in Italy’s region of Liguria. The village is located in the Ligurian Maritime Alps at 900 m over sea level, and spreads over 24,000 hectares, most of which are covered by olive groves. The remaining area is fallow ground, on a part of which flowers are now grown, and then there are vineyards, chestnut trees and woods. A vast pine-wood in the Armea valley is recognised by the EU as a biotope.
The historical village core was founded in the first millennium b.C. and has maintained up to the present day its typical Ligurian country architecture.

“We must travel to the foot of the Himalayas to find another similar landscape.” (Verin, p. 75)

The village is located in the sunniest position in Liguria, and has optimal climatic characteristics, since two different climatic zones meet here, the typical Mediterranean climate and the Alpine climate, that create a particular micro-climate. The olive oil produced here has always been renowned for its extraordinary quality and fine taste.

Apart from the particularly favourable climate, other factors speak for the ‘Ligurian Maritime Alps’: the particular social situation social relations, an intact wildlife as well as an unexploited environment. These are all basic requirements for an ideal place for living, working and spending the holidays enjoying an optimal quality of life.

Liguria offers a lot: the discovery of an unpolluted nature oasis, the varied landscape, good Ligurian food and the hospitality of a people of ancient traditions.

Location

Coordinates (43,9°, 7,7°)
Bajardo is located in the wonderful Italian region of Liguria – in the province of Imperia.

Nestled, but not out of the way, since a half-an-hour drive takes you to the coastal town of San Remo and the sea. But even Monaco, Nice or Genoa are easily reached (Bajardo – Nice about 1 hour, Bajardo – Genoa 2hrs. by car), and from there you have plane connections for the whole world.

The Mediterranean diet – the taste of nature

The name “Mediterranean Diet” was invented by nutritionists. Here people laugh about it. The common diet here is not based on fish alone, since the Mediterranean is poor in fish. Typical specialties such as “focaccia sardenaira”, of the sailors who used to “commute” between the coast and Sardinia, the “olio extra vergine”, the tasty “Torta Verde”, a vegetable pie, the anchovy paste with salt and olive oil, that is called “Macheto”, “pasta fresca”, fresh pasta dishes, “minestrone”, vegetable soup, mushrooms and sweets, all in never-ending variations. The quality of the soil, the sea air and the sun make this delicious food grow with a particular taste, a true garden of Eden.
In Massimo’s “Ristorante Jolanda” in Bajardo you have the opportunity to taste these wonderful regional dishes in rustic surroundings.

Holiday & Leisure – Activities

The region offers a variety of leisure activities: the panoramic mountain ridges, that divide Liguria from France, invite you to beautiful excursions, walks or mountain-bike tours. You can enjoy bathing in still mountain lakes or in the Mediterranean, walking along Roman trade roads or admiring the abundance of wildlife species, since Liguria is one of the regions in Europe with a wider variety of flora and fauna.

The torrents in the Ligurian hinterland are a very popular destination for canyoning fans. Along with many sports activities in nature, there is also the possibility to let yourself be pampered in the Roman thermal baths in the nearby town of Pigna. The Ligurian Maritime Alps belong to those preferred alternative tourism regions, that balance the growing demand with “low impact” requirements. “Low impact” means in this case environmentally sustainable, socially sustainable, preserving the cultural and regional peculiarities – in conclusion, not madly exploiting our environment.

History

The historical centre of the village of Bajardo has existed since the first millennium b.C. Since then Bajardo has lived through an eventful history:

Druid worship place

Before the Romans came to plunder it, the mountain peak was a druid shrine. Some of the historical stone obelisks have survived over the millenniums. Where the shrine was a fortress was then built, that served as a protection for the surrounding village. A part of the fortress was substituted by a church in the 17th century.

Towards the end of the last century, in 1887, about one hundred peasants came under the church’s vaults to celebrate Ash Wednesday, before going to work in the fields. But this was not to happen anymore. During the mass the mountains were shaken by a violent earthquake, and more than one hundred people died when the roof of the church crumbled. After the earthquake most people left their houses on the upper part of the mountain, though these had not been destroyed, and settled lower down in the valley.

The Second World War and destruction
The nation divided into three groups. The fascists, the partisans, who fought against the fascists, and the independents, who did not take any position. The region around Bajardo was one of the forts of partisans, where extremely violent actions took place.

The rediscovery of Bajardo

Thanks to the initiative of Bioliguria-EcoArchitettura, of the government and town council, the village will be restored. The remnant walls of the church were protected, to hinder further damage. The upper side of the mountain was gradually inhabited again and most remnant houses are being restored or reconstructed.