The entire history of the Flower Course

The Corso Fiorito has been one of the most important events in the Sanremo panorama for many years.
Its "unofficial" origin dates back to around the last twenty years of 1800, when, on the occasion of the carnival festivities, in addition to masquerades and allegorical floats, carriages, decorated in a more or less showy way, began to parade along the "Via Nuova" (then Via Vittorio Emanuele III and now Via Matteotti). They were normal rental cars or manor cars, belonging to the most prominent families of Sanremo, but they could also be the first cars circulating in the city. Both the coachmen and the "chauffeurs" were particularly jealous of their vehicles and watched carefully to make sure that some unscrupulous decorator did not damage the bodywork. The bridesmaids on board the cars were either young girls of high social standing or young foreigners wintering on the Riviera, showing off in the latest fashion and shyly exchanging flowers with the public. They represented an essential aesthetic component for the cars prepared by the hotels, and the carriages were also a showcase for flowers: the whole thing served to discreetly promote floriculture and tourism.
The event was not only a moment of pure fun, but also a public demonstration of important economic possibilities and a superior social condition, in fact it is said that some noble or rich landowners sometimes threw to the public not only confetti or chocolate coins, but also authentic "marenghi" of gold.

This is how an unknown chronicler of the end of the 19th century described those events in this short extract from an old chronicle of the time:

in italics " ... The Carnival is over. After the course on Thursday, which was very animated thanks to the role played by the foreigners of Bordighera and Ospedaletti, we attended the two courses on Sunday and Tuesday and we admired the very elegantly decorated cars, the sumptuous floats, the masks on foot, which with their bloodless battle based on flowers and sugared almonds spread a lively joy and a lot of fun on their way.
Count Gallatin's chariot was splendid: it represented a Louis XV style pavilion.
Among the other floats to be remembered are the "Triumph of Sport" and the "Automobile".
Many masquerades were full of spirit and grace.
Numerous prizes and trophies (banners) were generously distributed...".

As far as the "official" origin of the event is concerned, it is believed to date back to January 1904, with the name "Festa della Dea Flora", during which there was a parade of carriages decorated and decorated with local flowers, resuming and extending the tradition already in place in previous years, to cheer the many foreign visitors who, attracted by the mild climate and the beauty of the places, wintered in our territory. They also paraded some floored carriages that the hoteliers of Sanremo had made available to their customers so that they could participate directly in popular events.
The success of the initiative was such that it soon became a fixed annual appointment in the calendar of local events, scheduled right in the middle of winter, when the particular climate of the Riviera and the beautiful flowers of local production already showed a taste of spring and highlighted the difference with the weather situation in the rest of Italy and Europe, attracting more and more tourists and spectators every year.
Over time the event has sometimes taken the name of "Battaglia dei Fiori" or even "Getto dei Fiori", but the most classic name was "Corso Fiorito".
It should be remembered that the event was usually included in the week of carnival festivities when, according to a more ancient and rooted tradition, a Carnival Course was also organized, famous and applauded parade of floats, masks, bands and other attractions.
In fact, during the first editions of the flowery course, vehicles were paraded that represented a compromise between the allegorical style and the floats. This detail sometimes generated a certain confusion and overlap between the two courses, but in reality they were distinct events that were held at different times or on different days.
The carriages of the early years were later flanked by large floats in bloom and this novelty, as well as expanding and improving the show, made it possible to show and know more quantities and species of flowers, with beneficial effects for floriculture which had become increasingly important in the local economy.
In that period the tradition of throwing flowers between the floats and the spectators was also strengthened, engaging in real battles, while previously almost exclusively sugared almonds and other sweets were thrown.
The flowery course continued more or less unchanged in the following years, until the period of the First World War, when it was suspended from 1916 to 1918 due to mournful events and objective organisational difficulties.
It was restored in 1919, with great happiness and participation of the population, to celebrate, with the return of peace, the end of a long period of anxiety and mourning.
It was a memorable edition, with a profusion of thousands of multicoloured flowers and the parade took place on a route of unusual length, which went from c.so Cavallotti (at the crossroads with via Duca degli Abruzzi) to the end of the Imperatrice walk. The climax of the festival was the election of the "Goddess Flora" and a beautiful English girl was unanimously acclaimed as the winner.
Among the most admired floats of the '20s it is worth remembering "Sogno d'Amore" by G. Carlo, "Pittori a spasso" by A. Bellone and "Piedigrotta" by R. Zanfi. Among the wagon fitters of the time there were: D. Ardissone, V. Gioffredi, G. Martini, G. Bestagno and others.
The event was again suspended from 1925, due to some particularly harsh winters and great frosts that irreparably damaged most of the floricultural production of those years. It should be remembered that at that time cultivation took place almost entirely in the open air, with only the shelter of a few mats or tarpaulins.
It was not resumed until 1929, with a particularly successful edition, despite the fact that a copious and memorable snowfall in the preceding days had put it at risk.
In those years the usual route took place on via Vittorio Emanuele III (now via Matteotti) and at the end of via Principe Amedeo (now via Mameli) and via Privata (now via Escoffier) as well as in the widening in front of the Caffè Européen (popularly known as "Rigolé", from the dialectal mispronunciation of the name of the first owner Rigollet) wooden stands and metal pipes were mounted to host the authorities and the special guests, as well as the jury. The public watched disciplinedly from the pavements and only four civic guards were needed to enforce order. It seems that the barriers were installed for the first time on the occasion of the Corso in 1929, in order to hold the large crowd of spectators with greater security. A stage was also set up for the Municipal Musical Band that entertained the spectators by performing classical and popular songs in vogue at the time.
Over the years the floats were presented not only by the most famous florists of the city but also by various bodies such as the Casino, the Italian Cableway Company, the Autonomous Tourist Board, the Associations representing Hoteliers and Traders and others that existed during the period in question.
The subject of the floats was free, left completely to the imagination and skill of the individual fitters and remained so for a long time, until the mid-1950s.
A special jury evaluated the course participants from a technical and artistic point of view, since for each of the two categories, wagons and cars, there was a prize for the first three winners, and sometimes rivalries or lively disputes arose between competitors who did not always share the jury's verdict.
The inhabitants of the buildings overlooking the route also took part in the party, decorating the terraces and balconies from which they watched the parade with garlands of flowers and long green or flowery festoons, throwing bunches of flowers, confetti and streamers on the floats and spectators.
In 1930 the course took the name of "Festa di Flora" perhaps to recall the name of the very first edition.
During the 1930s it gained further momentum, gaining more and more fame and attracting numerous spectators. The route was extended to include Via Roma and sometimes the two lower stretches of Corso Umberto (now Corso Mombello).
In that period floats with patriotic and propagandistic themes were also set up, inspired by the regime of the time.
Another particularly famous edition was that of 1939, which was called "Corso Fiorito di Eleganza". The figures who occupied floats and cars had to wear only elegant and fashionable clothes instead of the usual costumes.
In the same carnival period was also organized the first and unfortunately only edition of the "Festopoli Sanremese" with the city centre, in particular the area of Piazza Eroi Sanremesi, transformed into a kind of amusement park, where you could also admire a stretch of water with small motorboats. Unfortunately, despite the great success with the public, the event was never repeated again.
During the Second World War the flowered course was interrupted again and was resumed only after the war.
It was in fact restored in 1949 to the great satisfaction of the population who wanted to quickly forget the horrors of war.
During the '50s fame and success grew more and more, attracting more and more spectators from all over Italy and also from abroad.
There was never a lack of folk music bands that cheered the public: in particular the "Rumpe e Streppa" of Finale Ligure, the "Florelia" of Ospedaletti, the "Tiralogni" of Bordighera and the "Canta e Sciuscia" of Sanremo, with which "Batifìbia" (born Giovanni Battista Ameglio), a well-known character characteristic of Sanremo of some time ago, often paraded. Many editions have also seen the welcome participation of Italian and foreign folk groups.
Until the end of the 50s the visual testimony of the event was essentially entrusted to the numerous photos that were taken before and especially during the parade; after a few days you could go around the various photographic studios of the time: Moreschi, Ceresani, Martini, Tagliabue, Bleynat, Foto Ars, etc. to buy the photos of floats or cars of major interest.
Sometimes short films were also shot to be included in the newsreels that were seen at the cinema between one screening and another; some clips are still visible in the archives of the Istituto Luce.
The television, born in 1954, was not yet resuming its flowery course, as it did a few years later.
In 1955 the event took the name "Italia in Fiore" (Italy in Bloom), with floats no longer on a free theme, but inspired by various Italian cities, based on projects proposed by the Tourist Bodies of the centres concerned.
The formula was repeated also in 1956. In the same year the classic draught horses disappeared, covered in coloured guards, accompanied by the drivers on foot who regulated their pace, stops and departures according to the rhythm of the parade. The tractors took over, certainly more modern, but also more prosaic, noisy and polluting than the horses.
With the flowery course of 1957 it was decided to return to free subjects and that same year the RAI cameras appeared for the first time, broadcasting the presentation tour, allowing an ever-increasing number of spectators to watch the event.
The course was progressively expanded to include sections of the so-called Orazio Raimondo and via Nino Bixio.
In 1959 it was decided to relaunch the flowery course by setting up floats dedicated to the ten finalists of the "Festival della Canzone" of the same year and inviting some of the singers who had taken part in the kermesse canora to take part in the floats; in addition, the actors of the film "Primo Amore" screened in Sanremo in world premiere also took part in the homonymous float, thus increasing interest in the event.
In 1960 the connection continued with the Festival, which celebrated its first decade of programming that year and ten floats inspired by the winning songs of each edition were set up.
The relationship between the world of floriculture and the world of song was often punctuated by controversy and dispute: the two events usually maintained a certain mutual disinterest, despite the fact that they were usually programmed on close dates, but for that year it was possible to witness the integration, at least for a few hours, between the flowers and the songs.
From 1961 the course gained even more prestige and fame at international level and took the name "Europe in Bloom", with the participation of floats, bands and folklore groups representing numerous European nations.
The formula was successfully maintained until 1966, after which, unfortunately, there was a very long and in some ways inexplicable interruption of the event.
Only in 1980 there was the much hoped-for return, also thanks to the active interest of Dr. Carlo Poletti, president of the Tourist Board in office at the time, with the name "Sanremo in Fiore".
In a very short time the interest around the flowery course has regained and currently the floats are set up by the various municipalities of the Riviera, while the theme is assigned annually and covers the most diverse fields, from cinema to sport, from song to comics and so on.
Recently the course has found its ideal location, in an enviable setting, in front of the blue sea, on the Italo Calvino promenade and on the Carlo Dapporto square, also involving a section of the cycle-pedestrian path built on the old railway station, without excessive interference with city traffic and with a greater availability of space for the public. The period of execution has been moved to the first half of March in order to be able to count on more favourable weather conditions and the timetable has been brought forward to 12.20 p.m. to allow live broadcasting on RAI during the "Linea Verde" programme.
The flowery course was also accompanied by the "Festival delle Bande" with musical groups from various Italian and foreign locations taking part in a special parade and accompanying the flowery floats the following day.