Barely 6km east of the border, VENTIMIGLIA is the first stop inside Italy, a scruffy frontier town that had several centuries of minor prosperity courtesy of the constant border traffic, but is now experiencing hard times. In 1995 the Schengen agreement, permitting unhindered passage between France and Italy, rendered Ventimiglia's time-honoured role as customs post and refreshment point redundant. Even the excuse of stopping to spend your last lire will ev... [More]