Imperia is a city of 42,000 people (2017) in Liguria. Imperia is well known for the cultivation of flowers and olives, and is a popular summer destination for visitors.

Understand

The economy of Imperia is based on tourism, food industry (olive oil and pasta), a specialized agriculture (olive groves and flowers in greenhouses) and on trading and harbour activities. The seaside tourism represents an important aspect of the economy of Imperia.

The urban centre of Imperia includes the former towns of Porto Maurizio and Oneglia (which in turn includes Castelvecchio).

Oneglia, to the east, is the largest part of the city, on the left of the mouth of the Impero stream, gathering around Piazza Dante, from which some of the main modern streets of the city open. It is the industrial centre of the city, mainly linked to the production of olive oil. It is characterized by a Piedmontese-style architecture (the inspiration from the arcades of Via Roma and Piazza San Carlo in Turin is evident), inheritance of the period in which it was part of the territories of the Savoy and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Immediately north of Oneglia is the village of Castelvecchio di Santa Maria Maggiore.

Porto Maurizio, west of the Impero stream, is located on a promontory jutting out into the sea on the left of the mouth of the Caramagna stream and extends over the coastal selvedge; it has a predominantly residential and tourist vocation. It is intricate and picturesque, full of caruggi (alleys), small creuze (alleys) and prestigious buildings.

The territory behind the city, in the center of the Riviera dei Fiori , has an orographic trend characterized by short valleys, placed perpendicularly to the coast and uniformly sloping down, in which many settlements have developed that have managed to keep intact or almost their original structure.

The cultivation of the olive tree, introduced around the 12th century, has profoundly marked the history of the Imperia territory, as well as, centuries later, flowers and tourism did. Olive trees grown on terraced hills with the characteristic dry stone walls are the dominant element of the landscape.

Get in

By plane

Airport of Genoa Cristoforo Colombo

By car

• A10 motorway (Autostrada dei Fiori)
• Provincial road 1 "Aurelia"

By ship

In Porto Maurizio there is a tourist port which, especially in the summer season, acts as a fulcrum for marine tourism

By train

Imperia station, on the Genoa - Ventimiglia line

By bus

Bus services carried out by the Riviera Trasporti.

See

• International Naval Museum of Western Liguria.
• MACI Museum of Contemporary Art of Imperia, Villa Faravelli, Viale Giacomo Matteotti,

Porto Maurizio

Cathedral of San Maurizio

• 1 Cathedral of San Maurizio (Duomo San Maurizio). Main place of Catholic worship in Imperia, the largest church in all of Liguria, built between 1781 and 1832. (updated Oct 2021)
• Museo del presepe e pinacoteca civica di Imperia, Piazza del Duomo. Civic museum and art gallery. (updated Oct 2021)
• Old Town
• Covent of Santa Chiara — established in 1365, the existing structure dates from 1741.
• Central Museum of the Historical Institute of the Resistance, in via Cascione .

Oneglia

• Villa Grock
• Church of San Giovanni Battista
• Museo dell' Olivo (the Museum of the Olive) at the Fratelli Carli plant in via Garessio

Montegrazie

• Church of Santa Maria Maggiore
• Shrine of Nostra Signora delle Grazie

Do

Hike, bike and discover the still largely untouched hinterland of Imperia.

Go next

Routes through Imperia

Nice ← Sanremo ←

W  E

→ Albenga → Genoa