{"id":1661,"date":"2026-09-27T16:38:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T14:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/?post_type=luogo&p=1661"},"modified":"2026-10-03T17:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T15:02:09","slug":"former-anglican-church","status":"publish","type":"luogo","link":"https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/en\/places\/former-anglican-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Anglican Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

Among the villas and gardens of the English quarter, in Via Regina Vittoria, rises a small bell tower with a red dome: this is Bordighera\u2019s former Anglican church, the church of All Saints built in 1873 for the large British community that spent the winter in town.<\/p>\n

Today it is a cultural centre run by the town council: you can go in during exhibitions, concerts and talks, and even from outside, with its stone fa\u00e7ade and arched portico set in greenery, it tells the story of cosmopolitan 19th-century Bordighera very well.<\/p>\n

The church of Bordighera\u2019s English<\/h2>\n

In the second half of the 19th century many English people chose Bordighera for the winter, from October to May. At first the community gathered for services in hotels, such as the Hotel d\u2019Angleterre, and then in the private chapel of Villa Rosa, the residence of Mrs Walker Fanshawe.<\/p>\n

In 1873 Mrs Fanshawe donated part of her park to build a proper church, dedicated to All Saints. Charles Henry Lowe, of the Giardini Lowe<\/a>, also contributed to the fundraising. As the community grew, the church was enlarged in 1883 and in 1900, when the side aisles, the vestry and the organ room were added.<\/p>\n

It was not only a place of worship: the chaplain received members of the community for tea on Thursday afternoons, and the chaplains included Clarence Bicknell, the naturalist and scholar who gave his name to the museum on the Via Romana.<\/p>\n

What to see<\/h2>\n

The fa\u00e7ade and the bell tower<\/h3>\n

The exterior is in local stone, in the neo-Gothic idiom typical of English churches of the period. In front of the entrance is a portico with three arches; above, a row of windows with leaded glass. The square bell tower ends in a small red dome that can be recognised from afar, among the palms of the quarter.<\/p>\n

The three-aisled interior<\/h3>\n

Inside, the space is divided into three aisles by pointed arches, with mullioned windows: the plan is the result of the late 19th-century extensions. Today the large hall hosts exhibitions and concerts, which make the most of its acoustics and light.<\/p>\n

The garden and Villa Rosa<\/h3>\n

The church stands amid greenery, on what used to be the park of Villa Rosa. The church, the gardens and the villa are protected by the Soprintendenza as part of Liguria\u2019s architectural and landscape heritage.<\/p>\n

Today: exhibitions, concerts and talks<\/h2>\n

Once religious services ended, the building was bought and restored by the town of Bordighera, which turned it into a multi-purpose cultural centre: art and photography exhibitions, concerts, talks and shows. In 2022 restoration work was carried out on the exterior and the bell tower, and the historian Gisella Merello devoted a book to the church, La chiesa anglicana di All Saints a Bordighera<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Tips for your visit<\/h2>\n