Bussana is an Italian hamlet (''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'') of the municipality of

Sanremo Sanremo, also spelled San Remo in English and formerly in Italian, is a (municipality) on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination ...

in the

Province of Imperia The province of Imperia (; ; ) is a mountainous and hilly Provinces of Italy, province in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between France to the north and the west, and the Ligurian Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Its capi ...

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

. As of 2009, its population was 74. The original Bussana (now known as

Bussana Vecchia Bussana Vecchia is a former ghost town in Liguria, Italy. Abandoned due to an earthquake in 1887, it was renovated and repopulated by an international community of artists in the early 1960s. It is administratively a hamlet (''frazione'') of ...

, or Old Bussana) was partly destroyed and abandoned after an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

in 1887. The residents founded a new settlement, which is sometimes known as Bussana Nuova (New Bussana).

History

The area where Bussana is situated was already inhabited in

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingd ...

; along the Via del Mare, near the mouth of the Armea river, an archaeological dig uncovered a Roman villa. In 1797, following Napoleon's rule, which caused the fall of the Republic of Genoa, the hamlet was annexed to the

Ligurian Republic The Ligurian Republic (, , ) or Republic of Liguria was a French client republic formed by Napoleon on 14 June 1797. It consisted of the old Republic of Genoa, which covered most of the Ligurian region of Northwest Italy, and the small Imper ...

, and in 1805 to the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

. In 1815, it was incorporated into the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

, and later into the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

in 1861. In 1887, the original town was destroyed by an earthquake, as a result of which it was abandoned and re-founded a few kilometres downstream. Bussana was an autonomous

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

until April 1928, when it was absorbed by the

municipality.''Si è costituito il comitato promotore dell’associazione “Pro Bussana”'', article of ''Ma. Gu.'' on 1 September issue o
www.riviera24.it
(accessed on May 2016) Starting from the 1950s, the original, partially destroyed site of Bussana was recolonized by artists, who began calling it Bussana Vecchia, from which Bussana is sometimes distinguished using the name Bussana Nuova.

Geography

The village is located 6 km to the east of

and 2 km west of Arma di Taggia. It is 3 km from

, 5 from Taggia, and 19 from

Imperia Imperia (; or ) is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the Regions of Italy, region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Mussolini create ...

. The southern part, known as Bussana Mare (''Maritime Bussana''), extends along the Tyrrhenian Coast. The Capo dell'Arma Lighthouse is located nearby.

Gallery

File:Villa romana di Bussana - 1 - Vista sud.jpg, Roman villa File:Bussana (Sanremo)-P1010127.JPG, Town centre

References

External links

*
Bussana and Bussana Vecchia website
{{authority control Frazioni of the Province of Imperia Sanremo Former municipalities of the Province of Imperia