Villa Nobel

I didn't realise that Alfred Nobel lived in an amazing villa on the waterfront at San Remo...and that now this Villa Nobel and its gardens are maintained as a museum. A short visit was more educational than I had expected. Although born in Sweden, he lived a truly European life, and this villa was his last of many homes. It seems that he was both a scientist and a businessman. His scientific career was focussed around developing explosives. In 1867, he discovered that mixing nitroglycerine with silica would create a malleable paste called dynamite. He used this discovery to open factories in many countries, such that at his death in 1896 he had 93 factories in 20 countries producing 66,500 tons of dynamite.

There was a big emphasis on dynamite's use in mining and drilling tunnels - his scientific discoveries were considered crucial for the creation of the Gottard tunnel - a 13 km tunnel in the middle of Switzerland, built in the late 1800's and today a crucial transport link through Switzerland.

In the museum, we saw his last will and testament in which he used his amassed wealth in the creation of Nobel prizes; for the person who had conferred the greatest benefit for mankind in physics, chemistry, physiology, literature, economics (since 1965) and peace. We also saw massive boards documenting the winners and their nationality in all categories since 1901 - truly inspirational.

And outside in the adjoining public park, there are so many different types of palms, reminescent of my house in Morningside, but on a much grander scale. It is so impressive to see so many this far north...