Koko Beach, Imperia: Eleven Villages Became One City, and the Man Who Lived Here Was the King of Clowns

Italy | Oneglia | Imperia, Liguria

Imperia only became a single city in 1923, when eleven previously distinct villages were merged by decree and named after the small Impero torrent running through them. Two of those villages — Oneglia at the river mouth, and Porto Maurizio on the Parasio headland — remain genuinely different in character today, close enough to walk between in forty minutes along the seafront but distinct enough that locals still identify more with one than the other a century after the merger. Borgo Peri belongs to the Oneglia side, a neighbourhood running east of the port, its esplanade lined with palm trees on one side and the sea on the other, pebble beaches giving way to the rocky formations around the Galeazza cape further along.

The most unusual story in the whole area belongs not to the seafront itself but to a villa a short distance away. Adrien Wettach, who performed under the name Grock and billed himself as the “King of Clowns,” visited Imperia in the early 1920s while his in-laws were on holiday, fell immediately in love with the place, and bought a villa he called Villa Bianca — later renamed Villa Grock in his honour. He lived there until his death in 1959, having transformed the house and grounds into something almost deliberately theatrical: fountains, terraced gardens, a private theatre, architectural details that reflected his career as much as his taste. The villa is now a public museum, one of the more genuinely singular things to visit on this stretch of coast, and I’d make specific time for it rather than treating it as a vague backup option if the beach doesn’t work out.

The Spianata Borgo Peri itself transforms through the day and evening in ways that make it useful for very different things depending on when I arrived. The waterfront promenade is genuinely pleasant for an early morning walk or a long lunch at one of the seafront restaurants, the beach organised with sunbeds and umbrellas through the day, and the whole stretch comes alive in the evenings — the Spianata has hosted summer festivals, open-air dance floors during the St John’s Eve celebrations in June, and a general movida that’s drawn both local and visiting crowds for decades.

Getting There: A Ten-Minute Walk From Calata Cuneo, or by Bike on the Riviera Path

I walked it from Calata Cuneo, Oneglia’s quayside with its pastel-coloured porticoed houses, heading east along the flat promenade for about ten minutes until Borgo Peri opened up ahead. Parking is available near the marina and along the seafront access roads, though it fills quickly in peak season and I’d arrive earlier than planned on a summer weekend.

The Riviera dei Fiori cycling path also connects through Imperia on its way between San Lorenzo al Mare and Ospedaletti — Bagni U Nustromu San Lorenzo al Mare Italy sits about 7 kilometres west along the same path, a straightforward bike ride through coastal towns rather than a separate trip by car.

The Beach: Pebble and Rock, Blue Flag, Storm-Tested Wood Structures

The beaches along this stretch are primarily pebble and rock rather than sand, the sea entry generally direct from the stone rather than wading through shallows — a character that suits serious swimmers and snorkellers better than families with very small children, though the wide Spianata itself, with its playground and open space, gives plenty of room for children who’ve come more for the promenade than the swim.

The beach holds Blue Flag certification for water quality and accessibility, and the evening character of the whole area is as much a reason to be here as the daytime swimming — sunset aperitifs along Calata Cuneo, the Molo Lungo walk out to the green lighthouse with Porto Maurizio’s silhouette across the water, and the lively summer atmosphere of the Spianata itself make this genuinely worth an evening as much as an afternoon.

Spianata Borgo Peri, in Oneglia, sits in a city that only became one in 1923, its eleven previously separate villages still showing through in the distinct characters of Oneglia and Porto Maurizio. Villa Grock, a short distance from the beach, belongs to the genuinely strange history of Adrien Wettach, the self-declared “King of Clowns,” who fell in love with Imperia in the 1920s and never quite left. The beach is pebble and rock, Blue Flag certified, with a palm-lined promenade and a lively summer and evening scene. The Riviera dei Fiori cycling path connects east toward Bagni U Nustromu San Lorenzo al Mare Italy and west toward Sanremo.

Walk east from Calata Cuneo or arrive by bike along the coastal path. Visit Villa Grock while you’re in the area — it’s genuinely unlike most things on this coast. Stay into the evening for the aperitif scene along the quay rather than heading back early.