Imperia, Liguria, Italy

The Province of Imperia (It. Provincia di Imperia) is a mountainous and hilly province, in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between the Maritime Alps to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Its capital is the city of Imperia.

To the east lies the Italian province of Savona while its western edge forms part of Italy's frontier with France (the 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 1600 m, with some peaks on the French border above 2000 m. 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. Each valley tends to have its own seasonal torrent and only one valley can lay claim to a year round river - the River Roia whose upper stretches are within France.

Prehistoric cave remains were found near the French border at Balzi Rossi, although there is far more evidence of Roman civilisation. The Coast road was the original Roman Via Aurelia and there are remains of a town including a Roman theatre near Ventimiglia. Most coastal towns and many hill-top villages date from mediaeval times although 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.

This stretch of coast shares much sentiment and history with the French coast, which as far as Nice was at one time part of Italy. The local dialect of Imperia province is a mix of French and Italian, the cuisine and architecture also show many similarities. Indeed Menton in France and Ventimiglia in Italy claims to be the first international joint-community.

With its close proximity to France, the province of Imperia is geographically a continuation of the French Riviera and this stretch of coast is often referred to as the Italian Riviera. Indeed 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 the French Riviera.

Nowadays the term 'Italian Riviera' is used for the whole Ligurian coast as far east as La Spezia, so it is more accurate to refer to the coast of the Imperia province as the Riviera dei Fiori (or Riviera of Flowers). It takes this name from the exotic flora and important flower-growing industry centred on the Sanremo and Ventimiglia flower markets.