Imperia

Imperia, a Ligurian province and an important seaside resort, was born out of the union of a dozen small towns in 1923. Formerly known as Intemelia, the city is home to the main floricultural Italian farms as well as a relevant industrial and commercial centre. Regarding its historical roots, Imperia is the result of the evolution of two major settlements- Porto Maurizio, a legacy from Genoa and probably of Roman origin, and Oneglia, under the Doria and Savoia families’ ruling and the main maritime mouth of the Duchy of Savoy. Imperia’s beaches are among the most appreciated ones in Italy: its numerous inns, hotels, bed and breakfast accommodations and restaurants lodge tourists from all over the world that come to this city fascinated by its landscape. The top-quality services offered have been the reason why the local tourist harbour has been awarded the 2006 Blue Flag. Imperia offers the numerous tourists that visit it every year interesting architectural and cultural attractions: the impressive Cathedral of San Maurizio, with its typical Neoclassical pronaos, the Parasio, also called the old town, the Convent of Santa Chiara and the Oratory of San Pietro, which exhibits a painting by De Ferrari. Since 2005, the city is the headquarters of the CICAP- the Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims on the Paranormal- founded and managed by Piero Angela in 1989.