{"id":1630,"date":"2026-09-27T14:33:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T14:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/?post_type=luogo&p=1630"},"modified":"2026-09-30T18:15:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T18:15:21","slug":"norfolk-island-pines-lungomare-argentina","status":"publish","type":"luogo","link":"https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/en\/places\/norfolk-island-pines-lungomare-argentina\/","title":{"rendered":"The row of Norfolk Island pines on the Lungomare Argentina"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anyone strolling along the Lungomare Argentina<\/a> walks in the shade of a row of more than fifty araucarias, the pines of Norfolk Island. Trunks as straight as columns, horizontal branches arranged in regular tiers, crowns rising up to thirty metres: they give Bordighera\u2019s seafront promenade its unmistakable profile, between the railway, the gardens and the beach.<\/p>\n

The row is listed in Italy\u2019s official register of monumental trees as a \u201chomogeneous group\u201d, meaning it is protected as a whole, for its botanical rarity and landscape value. It is one of the few monumental trees in Bordighera that you can see at any time and freely, a few steps from the centre and the station.<\/p>\n

The promenade of the araucarias<\/h2>\n

The Lungomare Argentina is the longest pedestrian seafront promenade on the Riviera: a straight stretch of about two kilometres squeezed between the railway and the beach, with gardens of succulents and flowers and, on the inland side, flowerbeds shaded by the araucarias. In July 1947 it was opened by Evita Per\u00f3n, wife of the Argentine president, during her visit to Bordighera: since then it has borne the name of her country.<\/p>\n

The araucarias had already been there for some time. In photographs from 1939 the promenade is lined with tall, slender trees, with the tiered silhouette that can still be recognised today: the row has flanked the seafront since before the war, and together with the bandstand it has become its most recognisable feature.<\/p>\n

In recent years, with the project to redevelop the seafront, the protection of the row has returned to the centre of local debate. The Soprintendenza asked for the roots to be safeguarded during the works and, in 2024, for the shaded gardens along the railway to be kept as they are: the cycle path planned next to the trees was dropped in favour of a pedestrian path with seating.<\/p>\n

The Norfolk Island pine<\/h2>\n

Despite its name, Araucaria heterophylla<\/em> is not a true pine: it is a conifer of the Araucariaceae family, native only to Norfolk Island, a small Australian territory in the Pacific between New Zealand and New Caledonia. In 1774 James Cook, who first described it, hoped to use it for ships\u2019 masts, but the wood proved unsuitable. Today the species is considered vulnerable in its natural habitat, where it exceeds fifty metres in height.<\/p>\n

It is recognisable at first glance: the trunk rises straight and every few metres puts out a whorl of almost horizontal branches, giving the tree the shape of a tiered pagoda. The name heterophylla<\/em>, \u201cwith different leaves\u201d, recalls that the needles of young branches are soft and thin, while those of mature trees are short and scale-like. It withstands wind and sea salt well, which is why it has been planted on coasts all over the world, and in the gardens of the Riviera it is also known by its old name, Araucaria excelsa<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A monumental tree of Italy<\/h2>\n

The row is listed in the regional and national registers of monumental trees with the code 05\/A984\/IM\/07. It is protected by the law on monumental trees and, having been declared of significant public interest for its landscape value, also by the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape: no work can be carried out without the approval of the relevant authorities.<\/p>\n

Bordighera is the town with the most monumental trees in the province of Imperia. Besides the araucarias there are the fig trees at the Museo Bicknell<\/a>, the wisteria<\/a> covering the museum\u2019s pergola, the fig tree at Palazzo Garnier<\/a>, the Canary Island pine<\/a> on the Via Romana and Monet\u2019s olive trees<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Botanical profile<\/h3>\n