Overview
It's not hard to get an overview of Oneglia from the sea. Simply take your camera or phone and walk along the Molo Lungo (Long Pier) – but do remember that there is another 'Molo Lungo' in the twin town of Porto Maurizio, the other half of Imperia. To reach the harbour, you have to pass one of the main landmarks of the town: the Calata Cuneo, or to give it the full title, Calata Giovanni Battista Cuneo, the harbourside area that is home to Oneglia's vibrant nightlife. The other landmark, just a few minutes' walk away, is Piazza Dante, where the town's main streets converge.
As is usual for a Ligurian city, Oneglia is squeezed between the sea and the mountains just behind it. Very close to the Calata Cuneo is the Collegiate Church of Oneglia, the Basilica of St John the Baptist, which is the most important historic building in the area. A few blocks further inland, a little less historical but just as important for tourists, is a pair of museums. One is dedicated to olive oil and the other, already at the foothills of the Apennines, to the 20th-century Swiss clown Charles Adrien Wettach, aka Grock. The idea of visiting a clown museum may seem like an joke, but it's not. Simply put, Wettach was one of the many European artists and intellectuals who fell in love with Liguria, decided to move there, bought some land and built a villa. Today, that villa is a fascinating house museum.
Oneglia, 18100 Imperia IM, Italia
