At Arziglia, at the eastern entrance to Bordighera, a small park of palms slopes down to the sea: these are the Giardini Winter, what remains of the garden and nursery created at the end of the 19th century by Ludwig Winter, the German botanist and landscape gardener who, more than anyone else, shaped the green face of the Riviera.
Today it is a public garden owned by the town, reopened in 2015 after a long period of neglect: a secluded oasis among palms of many species, olive and citrus trees, where you can stop in the shade and rediscover the Bordighera “city of palms” that drew travellers from all over Europe.
Ludwig Winter, the gardener of the Riviera
Ludwig Winter was born in Heidelberg in 1846 and trained as a botanist and gardener in Germany. On arriving on the Riviera, from 1869 he worked for about five years with Thomas Hanbury on creating the gardens at La Mortola, near Ventimiglia, acclimatising plants that came from Australia, New Zealand and California.
In 1875 he settled in Bordighera and created his garden and nursery, covering several thousand square metres, between the Arziglia beach and the Vallone del Sasso. It was a laboratory, a nursery and a showcase all at once: here Winter acclimatised and propagated exotic plants, especially palms, which were then sold and shipped all over Europe. His name soon became tied to the landscape of Bordighera, already famous for its grove of date palms, among the northernmost in the world.
From Bordighera Winter designed and looked after many gardens on the Riviera. In the town his works include the park of Villa Etelinda, later that of Villa Regina Margherita, and the garden of Villa Garnier, created with Christian Garnier. He also made a second garden, at Madonna della Ruota, near today’s Giardino Esotico Pallanca, now privately owned. His son Rudolph, an architect, designed buildings such as the Waldensian church and the studio at Villa Mariani.
Winter died in 1912. Bordighera remembers him with the street that bears his name and with a bust, unveiled in 1954 in the gardens behind the town hall.
From neglect to reopening
In the 20th century the nursery lost its purpose and the garden was left abandoned for a long time. The part that can be visited today, owned by the town, was restored with work funded partly by European money and reopened to the public on 17 May 2015. Like many palm groves on the Riviera, it too has suffered from the red palm weevil, the insect that has killed many palms in recent years.
Today the garden is also kept alive by the cultural association Amici di Winter, which organises art projects and, in summer, evenings of music and theatre beneath the palms.
What to see
Winter’s palms
The garden holds a collection of palms of various species, including the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), symbol of Bordighera, and the Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis), now very common all along the Riviera. Around them grow olive trees, citrus and Mediterranean plants, arranged along paths with benches.
The 19th-century garden nursery
More than an ornamental park, this was a place of work: palms were grown, raised and transplanted to be shipped to gardens and villas across Europe. Among the trees there are still specimens from the early 20th century: looking at them, you understand where the palms that still define the landscape of the Riviera came from.
Art among the palms
Since 2021 the WinterArt project has turned the trunks of some dead palms into art installations, a way of remembering the garden’s history and the scars left by the red palm weevil.
Tips for your visit
- How long you need: about twenty minutes for the garden; longer if you combine it with a walk around Arziglia.
- Getting there: the garden is in Via Lodovico Winter, in the Arziglia area, at the eastern end of town. From the station it is about a 20-minute walk.
- Combine it with: the Arziglia palm grove, Villa Garnier and the Sentiero del Beodo, which climbs the Vallone del Sasso.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Ludwig Winter?
A German botanist and landscape gardener (1846–1912) who worked on the Hanbury gardens at La Mortola and then settled in Bordighera, where in 1875 he created his garden nursery. He designed many gardens on the Riviera and spread the palms grown in Bordighera throughout Europe.
Where are the Giardini Winter?
In Via Lodovico Winter, in the Arziglia area, at the eastern entrance to Bordighera, near the sea and the Vallone del Sasso.
Is there an admission fee?
No, it is a public garden owned by the town of Bordighera. The summer evenings organised by the Amici di Winter association, however, are ticketed.
When did they reopen?
On 17 May 2015, after a long period of neglect and a restoration project promoted by the town council.
What are the “Palm-Garden” and Madonna della Ruota?
The Palm-Garden was the palm garden and nursery Winter created at Arziglia, of which the Giardini Winter are the part that is public today. At Madonna della Ruota, further west, Winter made a second garden, now privately owned.
