Province of Imperia

Coordinates: 43°53′11.28″N 8°01′46.75″E / 43.8864667°N 8.0296528°E / 43.8864667; 8.0296528
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Province of Imperia
Provincia di Imperia
Province
ISTAT
008

The province of Imperia (Italian: provincia di Imperia; French: province d'Imperia; Ligurian: provinsa d'Imperia; Occitan: província d'Impèria) is a mountainous and hilly 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 capital is the city of Imperia.

Overview

To the east lies the Italian

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 1,600 metres (5,200 ft), with some peaks on the French border above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) such as Monte Saccarello at 2,200 metres (7,200 ft). 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 ending at the coast in rocky headlands and small pebbly bays. Each valley tends to have its own seasonal river or torrential stream and only one valley can lay claim to a year-round river - the River Roia (or Roya in French) whose upper stretches are within France. This coast is in an earthquake zone and the deserted ruins of Baiardo and Bussana Vecchia
are reminders of the 1887 earthquake. Bussana has become the haunt of hippies and artists.

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 Nice Côte d'Azur Airport in France.

This stretch of coast shares much sentiment and history with the French coast, which as far as the

Ventimiglia and Clavesana. Many hill-top villages date from this period when the coast was subject to raids from Saracen pirates and evidence of Saracen watchtowers can still be seen along the coast. It was only after this feudal period that Savoy and Genoa vied for control over this part of Liguria for over two centuries, in turn being replaced by French and Milanese dominance until the 16th century after which Genoa reasserted its control. During the years of Napoleon's French Empire, this coast became part of the French annexed 'Ligurian Republic'. Indeed, It is believed that Napoleon over-nighted in Imperia during his Italian campaign. The overthrow of Napoleon eventually led to this coast reverting to the House of Savoy and the Kingdom of Sardinia
.

With its close proximity to France, the province of Imperia is often viewed as just a continuation of the French Riviera and this stretch of coast is often referred to as the Italian Riviera. However, 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 today's far more glitzy Côte d'Azur or 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

Tchaikovsky who wrote his Eugene Onegin in Sanremo, Claude 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 remnants of these communities although traces of its past can be found in the Villa Hanbury (or Giardini Botanici Hanbury) near the French border, famed for its tropical and sub-tropical gardens founded by Sir Thomas Hanbury. Other examples are the Russian Orthodox church in Sanremo and the Villa Grock in Imperia.

Nowadays, the term "

Ventimiglia
flower markets.

There are several ports and marinas along the coast including Sanremo and Imperia, although fishing boats have given way to pleasure craft of the rich. Tourism is still very important today, but apart from flower growing, olive cultivation and oil pressing are important mainstays around the city of Imperia. Sanremo is the tourist capital and chic-est and largest resort on this coast. As well as a Casino, Sanremo is home to the Sanremo Music Festival, a TV event in Italy. Bordighera supplies palms to the Vatican for Palm Sunday.

As well as sharing a common history, the local

Principality of Monaco: Seborga near Ospedaletti
claims an unrecognised and much-humoured independence from Italy dating back to those early feudal days.

Although there are few examples of Renaissance or Baroque architecture in this part of Italy, most coastal towns and many hill-top villages still exhibit picturesque old quarters dating from the Middle Ages. 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.

View of Porto Maurizio and easternmost Oneglia from the sea

Largest comuni (by population)

This is a list of the ten most populous comuni (municipalities) as of 31 December 2010:[2]

Rank City Population
1 Sanremo 54,807
2 Imperia 41,999
3
Ventimiglia
 24,310
4 Taggia 14,116
5 Bordighera 10,469
6 Vallecrosia 6,956
7 Diano Marina 5,977
8 Camporosso 5,632
9 Ospedaletti 3,367
10 San Bartolomeo al Mare 3,129

References

  1. ^ Regions and Cities > Regional Statistics > Regional Economy > Regional Gross Domestic Product (Small regions TL3), OECD.Stats. Accessed on 16 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Demo-Geodemo. - Mappe, Popolazione, Statistiche Demografiche dell'ISTAT".

External links

Media related to Province of Imperia at Wikimedia Commons

43°53′11.28″N 8°01′46.75″E / 43.8864667°N 8.0296528°E / 43.8864667; 8.0296528

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