Porto Maurizio

The sights to see in Porto Maurizio – the town which for about a century has been joined with Oneglia under the name of Imperia – are the Loggiato di Santa Chiara (Clarisse loggia), an ex-convent with a stunning panoramic view of half the promontory of Parasio, and the Oratory of St Peter, which stands at the same height, with its small tripartite façade. A third landmark is the larger, more recent Basilica of St Maurice, the cathedral for the unified towns. Near the Basilica, the medieval town in the centre of the promontory is Borgo Parasio. 

The cathedral is the final resting place of Paolo Girolamo Casanova, a Franciscan monk born here in Porto Maurizio, in the 6th-7th centuries. Thanks to his tireless work, he was beatified as St Leonard in the mid-19th century and declared the patron saint of Catholic missionaries in the early 20th century. Tradition considers St Leonard an important advocate of the rite of the Via Crucis, while his native town remembers him at his birthplace in Parasio, which stands next to an oratory named after him, alongside the cathedral with a statue depicting him preaching.

To get to and from Parasio on the state road number 1 from Aurelia and Borgo Marina, there are three steep lifts, almost funicular railways, which make more than half a million trips a year. Of course, if it's summer and you decide to stay at sea level, you won't need the lifts, as the Golden Beach may well be enough.