Dalla cura alla mondanità. Reinventare la stagione turistica in Riviera durante la Belle Époque

Seaside tourism on the shores of the Mediterranean has always been a seasonal activity. Initially, when it was still an elitist phenomenon, it was concentrated in the winter period, spurred on by medical treatises illustrating the beneficial effects of the sea climate in the treatment of lung diseases. At this early stage, competition between coastal resorts was based on environmental factors, in particular the healthiness of the location, the mildness of the climate, and the beauty of the landscape. However, from the last decades of the nineteenth century, starting from the Côte d’Azur, the initial therapeutic rationale faded away and the rivalry between the different destinations was increasingly determined by amusements, leisure, and entertainment. Although winter remained the dominant season for visitors, their motivations for staying and their expectations became quite different. Hence, the tourist season was completely reinvented to follow the new fashion and to satisfy the tastes of a sophisticated and demanding international clientele. This contribution examines the impact of these transformations on the climatic and seaside resorts of the Ligurian Riviera, a leading Italian tourist destination of the time. It focuses on the organization and the strategies of tourism entrepreneurs in facing this new challenge.