Tourism Imperia - Italy

Imperia: Tourism information Imperia

Province of Imperia

The Province of Imperia (It. Provincia di Imperia) is a mountainous and hilly province, in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between the Maritime Alps to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Its capital is the city of Imperia.
To the east lies the Italian province of Savona while its western edge forms part of Italy's frontier with France (the département of Alpes-Maritimes) and it shares its northern border with the Piedmontese province of Cuneo. The mountain chain to the north of the province has several peaks above 1600 m, with some peaks on the French border above 2000 m. Ranges of hills run down to the coast in a generally north-south direction, in effect making the province of Imperia a succession of hills and valleys. Each valley tends to have its own seasonal torrent and only one valley can lay claim to a year round river - the River Roia whose upper stretches are within France.
Notwithstanding the terrain, the main communications infrastructure runs east-west along the coast. Several international express trains serve this coast while the motorway is characterised by many tunnels and viaducts. The nearest international airport is at Nice in France.
Prehistoric cave remains were found near the French border at Balzi Rossi, although there is far more evidence of Roman civilisation. The Coast road was the original Roman Via Aurelia and there are remains of a town including a Roman theatre near Ventimiglia. Most coastal towns and many hill-top villages date from mediaeval times although there has been much development during the 20th century. In general the coastal strip has become over-populated while inland villages are steadily becoming depopulated.
This stretch of coast shares much sentiment and history with the French coast, which as far as Nice was at one time part of Italy. The local dialect of Imperia province is a mix of French and Italian, the cuisine and architecture also show many similarities. Indeed Menton in France and Ventimiglia in Italy claims to be the first international joint-community.
With its close proximity to France, the province of Imperia is geographically a continuation of the French Riviera and this stretch of coast is often referred to as the Italian Riviera. Indeed many historians claim that the Imperia resorts of Sanremo (also referred to incorrectly as San Remo), Bordighera and Ospedaletti (plus Alassio which is found in the adjoining province of Savona) formed the world's first 'Riviera', predating and originally outshining the French Riviera.
In the 19th Century these resorts became very popular with wealthy Europeans, especially the British who can lay claim to starting the local tourism industry. It is claimed Britain's Queen Victoria once stayed on this coast and at one time there were large communities of resident British and Russian aristocrats who favoured the mild winter climate. Amongst those who lived on this coast are Queen Margaret of Savoy who lived in Bordighera, Alfred Nobel who died in Sanremo, the Russian Tsarina Maria Alexandrovna, Tchaikovsky who wrote Eugene Onegin in Sanremo, Monet who painted around Bordighera and finally Grock the famed Swiss clown who died in Imperia. These resorts remained popular with the British until the mid 20th century when Spain became more favoured.
Today there are few descendants of these communities although traces of its grand past can be found in the Villa Hanbury near the French border, famed for its tropical and sub-tropical gardens founded by Sir Thomas Hanbury and the Russian Orthodox church in Sanremo.
Nowadays the term 'Italian Riviera' is used for the whole Ligurian coast as far east as La Spezia, so it is more accurate to refer to the coast of the Imperia province as the Riviera dei Fiori (or Riviera of Flowers). It takes this name from the exotic flora and important flower-growing industry centred on the Sanremo and Ventimiglia flower markets.

Imperia

Imperia is a city and comune in the region of Liguria, Italy. It is also the capital of the province of Imperia. Historically it was also capital of the part of the Liguria region once known as Intemelia.
Imperia is well known for its floriculture and olive industries, and is a popular tourist destination for maritime visitors in summer. The local indoor-pool "Piscina Felice Cascione" already hosted quite a number of national and international aquatics events.

Imperia: History

Through wars, treaties and purchases, Porto Maurizio and Oneglia came into the possession variously of Genoa, France, Spain, Savoy and Piedmont, before becoming part of the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
The city of Imperia was created on 21st October 1923 by the union of Porto Maurizio and Oneglia and the surrounding village communes of Piani, Caramagna Ligure, Castelvecchio di Santa Maria Maggiore, Borgo Sant'Agata, Costa d'Oneglia, Poggi, Torrazza, Moltedo and Montegrazie.

Imperia: Main sights

Porto Maurizio
The classical Cathedral of San Maurizio, built between 1781 and 1832 by Gaetano Cantoni, is the largest church in Liguria.
Old Town, called "Parasio".
Convent of Santa Chiara. First established in 1365, the existing structure dates from 1741.


Oneglia
Museo dell' Olivo (The Olive Tree Museum).
Church of San Giovanni Battista, built in 1739-1762.

Imperia localities:
APRICALE Aquila Di Arroscia Aurigo BADALUCCO Baiardo Bordighera Borghetto D''arroscia BORGOMARO Camporosso Caravonica Carpasio Castel Vittorio Castellaro CERIANA Cervo Cesio Chiusanico Chiusavecchia Cipressa Civezza Cosio Di Arroscia Costarainera Diano Arentino Diano Castello DIANO MARINA DIANO SAN PIETRO DOLCEACQUA Dolcedo IMPERIA Isolabona Lucinasco Mendatica Molini Di Triora Montalto Ligure Montegrosso Pian Latte Olivetta San Michele OSPEDALETTI Perinaldo Pietrabruna Pieve Di Teco PIGNA Pompeiana Pontedassio Pornassio Prela'' Rezzo Riva Ligure Rocchetta Nervina SAN BARTOLOMEO AL MARE San Biagio Della Cima San Lorenzo Al Mare San Remo Santo Stefano Al Mare Seborga Soldano Taggia Terzorio TRIORA Vallebona Vallecrosia VASIA VENTIMIGLIA Vessalico Villa Faraldi

Part of the information regarding the history, the art, the traditions and the events of the province of present Imperia on this page is drawn from the situated one www.wikipedia.org respecting the GNU Free Documentation License.