Page 162 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italian Riviera

160  THE IT ALIAN RIVIER A AREA B Y AREA

Imperia – Porto Maurizio In the third chapel on the left,
there is a fine wooden cross by
While Oneglia represents the more modern, commercial the school of Maragliano, while
side of Imperia, Porto Maurizio is its old heart, with its long the second chapel on the right
porticoes, 16th-century bastions and Baroque churches. contains a statue of the
The quarter of Parasio, the medieval part of the town with Madonna della Misericordia,
(1618), which also came from
narrow alleys in typically Ligurian style, is focused around the the demolished San Maurizio.
cathedral. The two most important museums in Imperia are
also found here. Porto Maurizio has two coastal districts, E Pinacoteca Civica
known as Borgo Foce and Borgo Marino. Piazza del Duomo. Tel 0183 60847.
Open 4–7pm Wed & Sat (also
9–11pm in Jul & Aug).
The second town Also on Piazza del Duomo is
forming the city of the entrance to the Pinacoteca
Imperia has a history Civica, the municipal art gallery.
that is very similar to, On display here are collections
and yet different from, derived from legacies and
that of Oneglia. Porto various donations, but exhibi-
Maurizio, on the west tions of local work are held
side of the mouth of here, too.
the River Impero, has Works by Barabino, Rayper,
retained more traces of Frascheri and Semino, among
its earlier history than others, form part of the Rebaudi
Oneglia, which collection, which includes
developed primarily 19th-century Ligurian and
in the 18th and 19th Genoese works.
centuries. Indeed, its
Centro Storico, largely E Museo Navale
a monument to the Internazionale del
Genoese golden age, Ponente Ligure
remains almost intact. Piazza del Duomo 11. Tel 0183 651
Porto Maurizio fell The interior of Porto Maurizio’s Duomo 541. Open summer: 9am–11pm Wed
into Genoese hands in & Sat; winter: 3:30–7:30pm Wed, 4:30–
1797, and in 1805 was annexed, should come as no surprise 7:30pm Sat.
along with Genoa, to France that this is the largest church Imperia’s naval museum is
during the Napoleonic era. in Liguria. It was built between one of the most interesting
Restored to the Ligurian 1781 and 1838 by Gaetano institutions in the city, not to be
Republic in 1814, it was united Cantoni in Neo-Classical style missed by anyone with an
for the first time with Oneglia to replace the old parish church interest in seafaring, though
as part of the Kingdom of of San Maurizio, which had the exhibition space is
Sardinia, and in 1860 was been demolished. somewhat cramped.
absorbed into the Kingdom The impressive façade The museum is subdivided
of Piemonte, under whose features eight Doric columns, into various sections and
rule it remained until union culminating in a drum flanked includes dioramas and models
with Oneglia in 1923. by two solid bell towers, which of ships. The majority of visitors
form a portico. A lantern most enjoy the section that
The Port crowns the great cupola. deals with life on board
Also known as the Porto di Beneath the portico are ship. There are also
Ponente (to distinguish it from statues that once displays of various
Oneglia’s Porto di Levante), belonged to the old documents and other
the port is protected by two parish church. mementoes relating
piers. With its floating landing The impressive interior, to the seafaring
stages, the harbour is reserved built on a Greek cross tradition along the
for holiday yachts, and contrasts plan, contains a rich array Riviera di Ponente.
sharply with Oneglia’s of 19th-century canvases
commercial port. and Neo-Classical-style P Parasio
frescoes, the work of The old palace of the
R Duomo painters mostly from Genoese governor was
Piazza del Duomo. Liguria and Piemonte. known in the local dialect
Tel 0183 61901. Open 7:35–11:45am, Highlights among these as “Paraxu” (the Ligurian
2:45–6:45pm daily. include a Predica di San for Palatium, as in
Looking at the majestic bulk of Francesco Saverio, Model of a diving Palatine Hill, in Rome).
the Duomo di San Maurizio, it attributed to De Ferrari. suit, Museo Navale Translated into Italian,
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp182–3 and pp194–7

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