History
The Lowe gardens are one of the many British gifts to a city many of them like and visit regularly. April 26, 1902, Charles Henry Lowe gave these gardens to the city, with a precise goal: "... to promote the leisure of the people in old age and fragile health». [1] The gardens contain more than 60 ancient olive trees, as well as a very old Stone pine, a Grevillea robusta and numerous palms including a Butia capitata. The gardens are almost unchanged from the act of donation, except for the construction of a platform that allows the organisation of open-air concerts in the summer.
The stone pine, botanical name Pinus pinea, also known as the Italian stone pine, umbrella pine and parasol pine, is a tree from the pine family (Pinaceae). The tree is native to the Mediterranean region, occurring in Southern Europe, Israel, Lebanon and Syria. It is also naturalized in North Africa, the Canary Islands, South Africa and New South Wales. The species was introduced into North Africa millennia ago, such a long time that it is essentially indistinguishable from being native.
Grevillea robusta, commonly known as the southern silky oak, silk oak or silky oak, silver oak or Australian silver oak, is a flowering plant in the family Proteaceae. It is a tree, the largest species in its genus but is not closely related to the true oaks, Quercus. It is a native of eastern coastal Australia, growing in riverine, subtropical and dry rainforest environments.
Butia capitata, also known as jelly palm, is a Butia palm native to the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás in Brazil. It is known locally as coquinho-azedo or butiá in (northern) Minas Gerais. This palm grows up to 8m. It has feather palm pinnate leaves that arch inwards towards a thick stout trunk.
Charles Henry Lowe [2] also donated to the city the land to build a small theatre, the Victoria Hall, which was also used to host exhibitions, such as one that remained famous in Bordighera of Hermann Nestel. [3] The building has now been converted into a private residence and is located at 40 Via Vittorio Veneto.
However, the first gift of Lowe to the city was the Lawn Tennis Club, officially recognized as the oldest in Italy, because it was built in 1878, only a year after the Wimbledon lawns. A commemorative plaque, placed on the older court, honours the arrival of the "magic box" of Major Walter Clopton Wingfield which included: a net, two rackets and four tennis balls. Charles Henry Lowe was the first president of the club. [4]
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam tennis event still held on grass. Initially an amateur event that occupied club members and their friends for a few days each summer, the championships have become far more prominent than the club itself. However, it still operates as a members' tennis club.
Major Walter Clopton Wingfield was a Welsh inventor and a British Army officer who was one of the pioneers of lawn tennis. Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1997, as the founder of modern lawn tennis, an example of the original equipment for the sport and a bust of Wingfield himself can be seen at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum.
In the beginnings, tennis was seen as a playful moment waiting for teatime. [2] However, rapidly, the game of tennis became popular and the Tennis Club of Bordighera turned into one of the most competitive of the Riviera, even surpassing the one form Monaco. In addition to the club, the “Sirt” (standing for Società Italiana Racchette Tennis) racket factory was established in 1901. The rackets were manufactured in via Roberto, a stone's throw from the club. This period of glory, however, ended with fascism and the Second World War, when many of the club members died or left permanently. The club was bombed and only 3 courts of the original 15 were left.
Riviera, pronounced [riˈvjɛːra], is an Italian word which means "coastline", ultimately derived from Latin ripa, through Ligurian rivea. It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria, in the form riviera ligure, then shortened to riviera. The two areas currently known in English as "The Riviera" without additional qualification are:
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state, country, and microstate on the French Riviera in Western Europe. France borders the country on three sides while the other side borders the Mediterranean Sea. Monaco is about 15 km (9.3 mi) from the state border with Italy.
The Lawn Tennis Club of Bordighera still exists today, it counts 6 courts and is located at 15 Via Antonio Stoppani, a few meters from the Lowe Gardens and the Victoria Hall.
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United States, formerly royal tennis in England and Australia, and courte-paume in France.
The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the prestigious annual Queen's Club Championships grass court men's lawn tennis tournament. It has 28 outdoor courts and eight indoor. With two courts, it is also the national headquarters of real tennis, hosting the British Open every year. The Queen's Club also has rackets and squash courts; it has now become the headquarters for both these sports due to the Prince's Club closure in 1940.
The Province of Imperia is a mountainous and hilly province, in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between France to the north and the Ligurian Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Its capital is the city of Imperia.
Rackets or racquets is an indoor racket sport played in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, United States, and Canada. The sport is infrequently called "hard rackets", possibly to distinguish it from the related sport of squash.
The Prince's Club was a socially exclusive gentlemen's multisports club in London, England. The original 'Prince's Club' was founded in 1853 in Chelsea by George and James Prince and its main sports were rackets and real tennis. Cricket, croquet and lawn tennis were also played. After most of its ground was lost to building developments it closed in 1887. Its successor, the 'New Prince's Club', located in Knightsbridge, opened in 1888 and kept its focus on rackets and real tennis, but no longer had any outdoor sports. In 1896 the Prince's Skating Club was opened. The Prince's Club was in operation until the 1940s.
The 1877 Wimbledon Championship was a men's tennis tournament held at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London. It was the world's first official lawn tennis tournament, and was later recognised as the first Grand Slam tournament or "Major". The AEC & LTC had been founded in July 1868, as the All England Croquet Club; lawn tennis was introduced in February 1875 to compensate for the waning interest in croquet. In June 1877 the club decided to organise a tennis tournament to pay for the repair of its pony roller, needed to maintain the lawns. A set of rules was drawn up for the tournament, derived from the first standardised rules of tennis issued by the Marylebone Cricket Club in May 1875.
Phyllis Helen Satterthwaite was a female tennis player from Great Britain who was active from the early 1910s until the late 1930s.
Casa Coraggio is one of the historic buildings of the city of Bordighera in Liguria, Italy. Built with stones, the 19th century building is located at the 34 of Via Vittorio Veneto.
The Villa Regina Margherita di Savoia is a museum site on the via Romana of Bordighera in Riviera in province of Imperia.
Baron Friedrich von Kleudgen, sometimes known by his nickname Fritz, was born in Germany and studied painting in Weimar. He later moved to the Academy of Art Dresden where he met Adrian Ludwig Richter. Like many artists of his time, he visited Italy, with extended stays in Naples and Venice.
The Town hall of Bordighera is located at 32 Via XX Settembre in Bordighera, Liguria.
The 'Waldensian Evangelical Church' is a religious building in Via Vittorio Veneto in Bordighera on the Riviera, province of Imperia.
Villa Garnier is a building in Bordighera in western Italy. Villa Garnier and Villa Amica are part of the properties protected by the Superintendent of Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (Italy). The villa is located 11 Garnier Street in Bordighera on the Italian Riviera.
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).
The church of the Immaculate Conception, officiated by the Frati Minori Francescani, is at via Vittorio Emanuele 75, in Bordighera, Province of Imperia. The church is also called the Church of the Terrasanta, in honour to the first missionary priests who officiated Mass returning from Palestine. The church is part of the properties protected by the Superintendent of Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (Italy).
The Winter Gardens were created by the German botanist Ludwig Winter and they are located at 6, Via Ludovico Winter in Bordighera, Liguria, Italy.
Giovanni Palmieri was an Italian male tennis player who was active during the 1930s.
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