The entire Province of Imperia is prosperous in valuable historical-artistic cultural evidence which include a very vast chronological range: from prehistoric times to the Roman period, Middle Ages, Baroque, Eclecticism and Liberty between the late 19th century and early 20th (Sanremo and Bordighera are the most striking examples with the Casino, elegant hotels and many villas).
There is really a lot of valuable historical-artistic evidence spread out in the area from the inlands to the coast: from Cervo to Imperia, from Taggia to Sanremo, from Bordighera to Ospedaletti to the Balzi Rossi grottos and the internal valleys with the important historical villages such as Perinaldo, Dolceacqua, Bussana, Apricale, Triora, Bajardo, without forgetting about the historic centers of Cervo, Taggia, Sanremo, Ventimiglia.
It is an extraordinary succession of oratories, churches, convents, castles, Saracen towers and historical residences, often with their luxuriant gardens, such as Villa Hanbury at Mortola near Ventimiglia, Villa Garnier in Bordighera, Villa Nobel and Villa Ormond in Sanremo or the eccentric Villa Grock in Imperia, the residence of the Swiss clown Adrien Wettach. Other noteworthy buildings are the Doria Castle in Dolceacqua, the Convent of Saint Dominic in Taggia, Villa Regina Margherita in Bordighera and the Russian Church in Sanremo.
You could say that the entire area of the Province is a widespread museum. And we’re not only talking about important art collections (such as the Rambaldi Art Gallery in Sanremo or the collection hosted at the Civic Museum of Palazzo Borea d’Olmo or the Civic Art Gallery of Imperia) but also of the hundreds of works of art (sculptures, altar pieces, series of frescos) kept in the various churches and Baroque and medieval convents, and the characteristic ethnographic museums dedicated to the history of the local rural civilization (Cervo, Mendatica, Triora), the Italian Resistance (Carpasio), the history of olive oil (Imperia and Airole) and marine history (Imperia), witchery (Triora) and song and sound reproduction (Vallecrosia).
Let’s also recall the Visionarium in Dolceacqua (a cinema for documentaries on nature in 3D and Omnimax-total image) and the Perinaldo Observatory, where there is also an interesting museum dedicated to the illustrious astronomer Gian Domenico Cassini, who was born here in 1625. There is also the Clarence Bicknell Museum-Library in Bordighera and the Balzi Rossi Prehistoric Museum in Ventimiglia and the G. Rossi Archeological Museum also in Ventimiglia besides the precious treasure chest of the 19th century, the Salvini Theater (the smallest theater in the world, where Gilberto Govi also performed) in Pieve di Teco, recently restored and resuscitated to a new life.