What is Taggia known for?

Small black olive cultivar brought by Benedictines from Lérins in the eighth century, now the dominant olive of western Liguria. The Dominican convent holds the largest collection of Ludovico Brea panels in Liguria, the most important antique-painting collection in the district. 275-metre stone bridge across the Argentina, sixteen arches added between the 1200s and 1700s, the longest medieval bridge in Liguria.

Taggia is a comune in the province of Imperia, Liguria region of Italy, about 143 kilometers from Genova.

Liguria · Imperia

Taggia

The Argentina valley's medieval seat above the Riviera dei Fiori, the town that gave its name to the Taggiasca olive grown across western Liguria.

143 km / 89 mi

Nearest hub (Genova)

13,760

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Taggia sits where the Argentina valley narrows toward the Ligurian coast, fifteen kilometers west of Imperia. Iron Age tombs have been found in the territory; Romans called the small port at the mouth Costa Balenae. The Benedictine monks of Lérins came in the seventh and eighth centuries and, by tradition, brought the olive cultivar that took the town's name and now covers most of western Liguria's hillsides. The medieval centro storico runs along three parallel streets above the river. The Convento di San Domenico, founded in 1490, holds the largest collection of Ludovico Brea panels in Liguria, four centuries of west-Ligurian painting in one cloister. The Ponte Antico across the Argentina has fifteen arches, built up between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries to reach 275 meters. Sixteenth-century walls fortified the town against Ottoman raids that struck the coast in 1560 and 1564. Taggia carries the Borghi più belli badge and the Città dell'Olio designation as the source of the Taggiasca name.

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Gallery

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Known for

Convento di San Domenico
Dominican convent founded in 1490, holds the largest collection of panels by Ludovico Brea and the Nice school in Liguria.
Ponte Antico
Stone bridge over the Argentina with sixteen arches, built incrementally from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century, 275 meters long.
Centro storico di Taggia
Three parallel medieval streets above the river, sixteenth-century walls and gates intact from the era of Saracen and Ottoman raids.
Chiesa dei Santi Giacomo e Filippo
Sixteenth-century collegiate church at the centre of the borgo, Baroque retables, restored after damage in the 1887 Ligurian earthquake.
Castello di Taggia
Ruined fortress on the hill above the village, originally Clavesana, occupied in turn by Grimaldi, Doria and Savoia forces.

Signature product

Olio Riviera Ligure DOPDOP

Olive oil from the Taggiasca cultivar, the small black olive that defines Ligurian cuisine.

See every town in our catalogue producing Olio Riviera Ligure DOP.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September to October bring the best windows: olive groves still green or in harvest, the Argentina valley walkable, evenings on the centro storico stones below 25 degrees. Taggia's olive harvest, the Olioliva festival down the coast in Imperia, runs through November. July and August push 30 to 32 degrees and bring weekend traffic from Sanremo, ten kilometers west. The Festa della Maddalena in late July fills the borgo with costumed processions and fireworks. December through February is quiet but rarely cold: the coastal microclimate keeps the centro storico mild enough for outdoor lunches on sunny days. Mid-winter is when the new oil arrives in the frantoi.