Casa Coraggio (c.d. 1880 CE) [1] [2] is one of the historic buildings of the city of Bordighera in Liguria, Italy. Built with stones, the 19th-century building is located at 34 Via Vittorio Veneto, at the latter's merge with Via Regina Vittoria. It is roughly between Chiesa Valdese and Chiesa Anglicana. ( 43°46′53″N7°39′43″E / 43.7813°N 7.6619°E )
Around Christmas 1880, Scottish writer George MacDonald and his family moved to Casa Coraggio, which they had built with the help of financial donations from friends. The family lived there from October to May. They originally came to Italy when one of MacDonald's daughters, Mary, was ill with tuberculosis, as they believed the dry and warm climate would improve her chances of recovery. Although she died before the house was completed, the family continued spending winters in Italy because it greatly improved the health of MacDonald, who was prone to illness. The family even planted Scotch firs outside the house to remind them of Britain. [3]
The vast living room could host as many as two hundred people, and it rapidly became a centre of the British community and the intellectual groups that resided in the area. MacDonald organised several entertainments like concerts and theatrical representations. Every Wednesday he presented and read aloud the verses of the best British poets of the time. [4] All of this made his house an important cultural building in the city and it was named “Casa Coraggio” (Courage House) as a tribute to MacDonald’s motto: “Corage! God mend al”. [5]
After MacDonald died, the house was sold and transformed into the Hôtel de la Reine, which was chosen by Edmondo De Amicis as a winter residence because of its historical links to MacDonald. De Amicis even wrote one of his “Pagine spiritose” in Bordighera, calling it the "Englishman’s paradise" (1903). Bordighera was also the place in which De Amicis died on 11 March 1908 due to a cerebral haemorrhage. [6]
After the Second World War put an end to British and German tourism in Bordighera, the hotel went into a severe crisis from which it never recovered. It later closed and was transformed into an apartment block. On the façade one can see memorial plaques that remember both MacDonald and Amicis [7]
George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He became a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow-writer Lewis Carroll. In addition to his fairy tales, MacDonald wrote several works of Christian theology, including several collections of sermons.
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Edmondo De Amicis was an Italian novelist, journalist, poet, and short-story writer. His best-known book is Cuore, a children's novel translated into English as Heart.
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Vittorio Veneto was the second member of the Littorio-class battleship that served in the Italian Regia Marina during World War II. The ship's keel was laid down in October 1934, launched in July 1937, and readied for service with the Italian fleet by August 1940. She was named after the Italian victory at Vittorio Veneto during World War I, and she had three sister ships: Littorio, Roma, and Impero, though only Littorio and Roma were completed during the war. She was armed with a main battery of nine 381-millimeter (15.0 in) guns in three triple turrets, and could steam at a speed of 30 knots.
The Littorio class, also known as the Vittorio Veneto class, was a class of battleship of the Regia Marina, the Italian navy. The class was composed of four ships—Littorio, Vittorio Veneto, Roma, and Impero—but only the first three ships of the class were completed. Built between 1934 and 1942, they were the most modern battleships used by Italy during World War II. They were developed in response to the French Dunkerque-class battleships, and were armed with 381-millimeter (15.0 in) guns and had a top speed of 30 knots. The class's design was considered by the Spanish Navy, but the outbreak of World War II interrupted construction plans.
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The Anglican Church was a religious building of the Church of England in via Regina Vittoria in Bordighera on the Riviera, Province of Imperia. Purchased by the City of Bordighera, and then restored, the former church is now a multi-cultural centre and venue for exhibitions, concerts, lectures and performances. The church, its gardens and Villa Rosa are part of the properties protected by the Superintendent of Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (Italy).
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