Taggia is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

, located about southwest of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

and about west of

Imperia Imperia (; lij, Inpêia or ) is a coastal city and '' comune'' in the region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Mussolini created the ...

. It has around 13,000 inhabitants. Taggia borders the following municipalities: Badalucco, Castellaro, Ceriana, Dolcedo, Pietrabruna, Riva Ligure, and Sanremo.

Geography

The town is divided into three parts: Taggia proper, located in the Valle Argentina in the immediate outback, it can be considered the proper centre of the city; Arma, a sea resort; and Levà, including the industrial area, placed between the other centres. The town can be found at approximately from the city of

History

Tombs dating from the 10th-7th centuries BC have been found in the area of Taggia. During the Roman domination it was an important commercial port, known as ''Costa Balenae''. After the fall of the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...

, the old centre was damaged by the invasion of Rotharis's

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

and then by a landslide in 690. The inhabitants moved to a new walled settlement, called ''Tabia''. Despite its defences, in 889 it was sacked and razed to the ground by the Saracens. The rebuilt burgh became in 1153 a fief of the Clavesana family, but soon later it was acquired by the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...

. In 1273 it became an autonomous commune, later receiving a ''podestà'' named in Genoa, under which it remained until its disappearing in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

. Later it was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1815) and of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

(1861).

Main sights

*Basilica of ''San Giacomo and San Filippo'' (1675–1681), built on an 11th-century Romanesque church. *Church of ''Santa Maria del Canneto'' (10th or 14th century). *Church of ''San Martino di Tours'', housing 15th-century frescoes. *Convent of ''San Domenico'' (160–1490). It has some pictures painted by Ludovico Brea. *''Palazzo Asdente'' (1473). *''Palazzo Curlo'' (1448). *''Palazzo Vivaldi'' (1458).

Transport

Taggia is situated on the

Via Aurelia The ''Via Aurelia'' (Latin for "Aurelian Way") is a Roman road in Italy constructed in approximately 241 BC. The project was undertaken by Gaius Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor.Hornblower, Simon, & Antony Spawforth. ''The Oxford Cl ...

(now a provincial road). It has also a gate on the A10 Highway. Taggia has a railway station on the Genoa–Ventimiglia line.

References

External links

* Cities and towns in Liguria Hilltowns in Liguria {{Liguria-geo-stub