Altitude: 10 m a.s.l.
Area: 45.38 sq km
Distance from Imperia: 0 km
Inhabitants: in 1881: 7219 - in 2017: 42154
Patron Saint Day: June 24th - San Giovanni
Information: Municipality phone 0183 7011
Imperia Oneglia was founded in 1923 with the merger of the two towns of Oneglia and Porto Maurizio in a single administrative structure, whose name has been taken from the watercourse that separates them, the stream Impero.
The project of unifying the two urban centers into a stronger entity had gradually developed since the early nineteenth century, yet it had to face many obstacles due to parochial rivalries that persisted for a long time after the unification and that had their roots in contrasting historical events.
Oneglia, originally a fief of the bishop of Albenga who sold it to the Genoese Dorias in 1298, was purchased in 1576 by the Savoys and since then has always remained under their rule.
Porto Maurizio, on the other hand, was a fief of the Clavesana until 1239 when the Genoese Fulcone Guercio arrived "with thirteen galeas and other woods; and since (the inhabitants of Porto Maurizio) didn’t want to surrender to Genoa nor to Fulcone who wanted to take them on behalf of Genoa, this Fulcone descended to the ground, and devastated the lands and certain buildings and killed those men".
Thus subjected to Genoa, Porto Maurizio became one of the strongholds against Savoy expansionism, of which Oneglia was instead a significant bridgehead.
Visit of the town
In Oneglia certainly deserves a visit Villa Grock, built in 1927 by the famous Swiss clown Adrian Wettack (aka Grock), who chose to spend the last part of his life in Imperia.
The villa, whose design was inspired directly by the artist, presents a very exuberant style; in the spectacular interweaving of Baroque, liberty and oriental elements with pure inventions, the ingenious and extrovert character of its creator is well reflected.
The park is very impressive and the Clownerie museum housed inside is interesting.
The villa is located on Via Fanny Roncati Carli at number 38 in a dominant position along a hillside not far from the center of Oneglia.
In Piazza Edmondo De Amicis is the birthplace of the writer, whose study is preserved in some rooms of the Leonardo Lagorio civic library overlooking the same square.
The library is the most important national center of De Amicis studies and preserves in its historical background a rich heritage of autograph manuscripts of the writer.
A few steps from the back of the library, crossing Largo Gonan and a short, narrow alley (u carrugiu du Mü) you can reach Piazza San Giovanni, dominated by the Baroque-style Basilica dedicated to the saint.
The undulating façade dates back to 1832, while the rest of the church, with three naves and a Latin cross plan, was built between 1739 and 1759 by the Oneglia architect Gaetano Amoretti.
The decoration is rich and you can admire various works of art from the 18th century; valuable is the eighteenth-century high altar in polychrome marble.
The center of the town of Oneglia is represented by Piazza Dante Alighieri, surrounded by arcades of clear Piedmontese style, with a circular fountain in the center.
Proceeding from this square along the road in the direction of Turin there are, at a roundabout, the indications to the Museo dell'Olivo, of the Fratelli Carli oil mill.
The museum presents, also with the aid of audiovisuals, the history of the tree that has so marked the history and economy of western Liguria and exhibits, alongside the reconstruction of traditional agricultural and milling activities, a rich collection of archaeological finds and antiques related to oil, which the Carli family has collected over time from the most diverse places.
Leaving the museum, continuing by car towards the mountain, you’ll cross the built-up area of Oneglia and after passing the large roundabout at the base of the motorway junction, take the second detour that branches off to the right and in less than a kilometer you’ll reach the churchyard of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Of medieval origin, the church was enlarged in the Baroque period by extending its facade and apse to become the side walls of the new building.
The façade is decorated with an overdoor with the stucco "expulsion from the Earthly Paradise" and the plaque embedded on the lower left that recalls how the bell tower of Santa Cristina was erected in 1281 by the Albenga bishop Lanfranco, the same who seventeen years later sold the entire fief of Oneglia to the Dorias of Genoa.
Behind the left edge of the facade there is, on the ground, a block of marble sculpted with the Doria coat of arms, now almost illegible.
Inside, the anonymous sixteenth-century "Annunciation" canvas is preserved above the main altar, a theme also depicted in the recently made sculptural unit on the right.
Behind the church stands the oratory with a carved tuff architrave of 1684.
Also worth a visit is the merchant port of Oneglia with its characteristic portico overlooking the quay where the fishing boats dock, protagonists of a colorful genuine folkloristic show every afternoon.
If you continue beyond the port, always walking next to the seashore, a kilometer after the small church of Borgo Peri you’ll find the "Galeazza", a rock in the sea that owes its name to the boat that vaguely resembles it, and a quiet free beach where to swim.
Returning back, take the State Road 28 and after about four kilometers, just past the supermarket, on the right side of the road you’ll encounter the ruins of the thirteenth-century Tower of Santa Lucia. The fortress, flanked by the sixteenth-century chapel of the same name with a small portico on black stone columns of 1698, is built in blocks of square stones on a quadrangular plan, and preserves a single-light window to the west and the lowered arched door to the south; it can be accessed on foot by climbing the mule track that branches off to the right of the State Road, three hundred meters ahead.
Returning to Piazza Dante and following the sign to Turin (State Road 28), after the roundabout, at the base of the motorway junction you can turn right towards Oliveto where the "Voci nell'Etere" Museum of Communication is located (at number 5 of Salita Giardini). Here you’ll find telegraphs, radios, transistors and valves, over 500 items that tell the epic of the radio.
Back to the car continue northwards, reaching the village of Pontedassio after a kilometer.