The province of Imperia (; ; ; ) is a mountainous and hilly province in the region of Liguria in northern 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 Imperia, though the largest city is Sanremo. It has a population of 209,848 in an area of across its 66 municipalities.

Immigration

As of 2025, of the known countries of birth of 202,983 residents, the most numerous are: Italy (170,677 – 84.1%), Albania (4,876 – 2.4%), Morocco (3,388 – 1.7%), France (3,205 – 1.6%), Romania (3,100 – 1.5%), Peru (2,271 – 1.1%), Bangladesh (1,601 – 0.8%), Germany (1,221 – 0.6%), Moldova (1,166 – 0.6%).

Culture

As well as sharing a common history, the local Ligurian language dialect of Imperia province is a mix of French and Italian, the architecture and cuisine also show many Italianate similarities. Pasta, fish, seafood, game, vegetables, herbs, nuts and fruit are all mainstays of the diet. Menton in France and Ventimiglia in Italy claim to be the first international joint-community. This coast even has its own princely version of the French Riviera's Principality of Monaco: Seborga near Ospedaletti claims an unrecognised and much-humoured independence from Italy dating back to the early feudal era.

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.

Economy

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.

Transport

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.

References

  • Official website