{"id":53708,"date":"2026-09-30T16:31:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/darkseagreen-rook-345411.hostingersite.com\/liguria\/diano-marina\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T06:12:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T06:12:03","slug":"diano-marina","status":"publish","type":"localita","link":"https:\/\/italian-riviera.com\/en\/riviera-di-ponente\/diano-marina\/","title":{"rendered":"Diano Marina"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diano Marina is a seaside town on the Riviera dei Fiori, in the province of Imperia, in the middle of the Golfo Dianese between Capo Berta and Capo Cervo. It is known for its long beach of fine sand with gently shelving water, its palm-lined seafront and a pedestrian centre full of shops, bars and restaurants. It is one of the most popular destinations for families on the whole of the western Ligurian Riviera.<\/p>\n

The town has Roman origins: this was the site of Lucus Bormani, a staging post on the Via Iulia Augusta, whose name recalls a wood sacred to the god Bormanus. According to tradition, the cult of Diana later replaced the older one, which is said to be where the name Diano comes from. For centuries Diano Marina was the main olive oil trading centre of the Riviera di Ponente, and olive groves still cover the hills behind it.<\/p>\n

On 23 February 1887 a violent earthquake, followed by a tsunami, destroyed much of the town. Diano Marina was rebuilt to a new town plan with straight, wide streets, which is why it looks so orderly today and has few old houses. Since 2026 the stretch of cycle and footpath towards Imperia has linked it to the continuous Riviera dei Fiori cycle route.<\/p>\n

What to see in Diano Marina<\/h2>\n

You can explore the centre on foot in a few hours: the seafront, the parish church, Palazzo del Parco with its museum and Villa Scarsella are all a few minutes from each other. Capo Berta and the hill villages take a little longer, on foot, by bike or by car.<\/p>\n

The seafront and the Molo delle Tartarughe<\/h3>\n
\"Fountain<\/figure>\n

The seafront promenade runs the whole length of the beach, lined with palms, gardens and beach clubs. It is the heart of summer life in Diano Marina: mornings are for the beach, and in the evening people stroll until late between ice-cream parlours and restaurants.<\/p>\n

The Molo delle Tartarughe is the meeting point on the seafront, with a small amphitheatre where shows are held in summer and during festivals.<\/p>\n

The Cannone di Diano<\/h3>\n

On the seafront, next to the Molo delle Tartarughe, stands the iron cannon that locals consider one of the town’s symbols. It was part of the defences built between the 16th and 19th centuries against the Barbary pirates, who had sacked the valley in 1508. Forgotten and used as a mooring bollard for ships on the Molo Cavour, it was recovered in 1969, restored and put back on the seafront in 2014.<\/p>\n

Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate and Oratorio della Santissima Annunziata<\/h3>\n
\"Bell<\/figure>\n

The parish church of Sant’Antonio Abate, on corso Garibaldi a stone’s throw from the sea, is the most important religious building in Diano Marina. It dates back to the 14th century, but its current appearance comes from the rebuilding of 1862\u20131865 designed by the architect Luigi Crescia: a large neoclassical interior with a nave and two aisles, divided by 20 columns with Corinthian capitals.<\/p>\n

The 1887 earthquake damaged the church, but it reopened as early as October of the same year. Inside you can see frescoes by Raffaele Resio in the nave and apse, and a marble pulpit with figures of Saint Clare, Saint Anthony the Abbot and Saint Erasmus. Next door is the Oratorio della Santissima Annunziata, of medieval origin, home of the confraternity of the same name.<\/p>\n

Palazzo del Parco and the Museo Civico MARM<\/h3>\n
\"Palazzo<\/figure>\n

Palazzo del Parco, at corso Garibaldi 60, is a three-storey villa built in the second half of the 19th century for a wealthy local family. Today it is the town’s cultural centre, housing the Angiolo Silvio Novaro public library, a room for exhibitions and talks, and the town museum. Around it is a small botanical park with flower beds, exotic plants and benches overlooking the promenade and the sea.<\/p>\n

The Museo Civico MARM occupies the second floor, with ten rooms arranged chronologically from the Bronze Age to late antiquity. The highlight is the Diano Marina wreck, a Roman ship that sank in the gulf around the middle of the 1st century AD with its cargo of amphorae. There is also a section on the Risorgimento and Andrea Rossi, one of Garibaldi’s Thousand, and a mineral collection. The museum is closed on Sundays and Mondays and has evening openings in summer. Check the current opening times on the town’s tourism website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Villa Scarsella<\/h3>\n
\"Villa<\/figure>\n

A few metres from piazza Martiri della Libert\u00e0, Villa Scarsella is one of the few buildings in Diano Marina that survived the 1887 earthquake. It began life in the 16th century as a Dominican convent, on the road that climbs to Diano Castello. After the religious orders were suppressed at the end of the 18th century it was sold; during the Fascist era it was a summer camp for children, and later the Roggeri family turned it into a stately villa.<\/p>\n

Since the 1970s it has been a primary school, so the interior cannot be visited. Its large garden, however, is one of the liveliest places in Diano Marina in summer, with concerts, shows and open-air events.<\/p>\n

Palazzo Maglione and the palazzi of the centre<\/h3>\n
\"Palazzo<\/figure>\n

Walking along corso Garibaldi, corso Roma and piazza Martiri della Libert\u00e0, you pass the historic buildings of the rebuilt town: the 19th-century Palazzo Maglione, the Palazzo Comunale (town hall), Palazzo Ardoino and the old Ardoino hospital. Villa Paradiso was built for the Durante family from Genoa, while Palazzo Muzio now hosts sports activities. Together they tell the story of the town reborn after 1887.<\/p>\n

Lucus Bormani and the church of Santi Nazario e Celso<\/h3>\n

In the Prato Fiorito area lies the archaeological site linked to ancient Lucus Bormani, the Roman staging post mentioned in ancient itineraries as fifteen miles from Albenga. Little remains of the Roman settlement, as the modern town has covered it, but here stands the deconsecrated single-nave church of Santi Nazario e Celso. Excavations that began in 2005 have uncovered around eighty burials.<\/p>\n

Forte Sant’Elmo and Capo Berta<\/h3>\n
\"Pines<\/figure>\n

To the west, high above the sea at Capo Berta, Forte Sant’Elmo grew out of a watchtower built between the late 16th and early 17th centuries, also known as the tower of Sant’Erasmo, patron saint of sailors. In 1836 King Carlo Alberto turned it into a fort with new artillery. It is surrounded by a large garden with maritime pines, palms, eucalyptus and agaves.<\/p>\n

The fort has been converted into a private residence, so ask at the tourist office whether and when it can be visited. Capo Berta is still one of the best viewpoints over the gulf, and cycling fans know it as one of the capes tackled by the Milano\u2013Sanremo.<\/p>\n

Torre dell’Alpicella<\/h3>\n
\"The<\/figure>\n

At the highest point of Capo Berta, at about 267 metres above sea level in the Diano Gorleri area, stands the Torre dell’Alpicella, a round watchtower dating from the 14th or 15th century. It has thick walls of local stone, a truncated-cone roof and an entrance raised above the ground. You reach it from via Diano Calderina by following the signposted turn-off, and from the top the view takes in the whole Golfo Dianese.<\/p>\n

Chiesa di Sant’Anna in Diano Serreta<\/h3>\n

In the hill village of Diano Serreta, along via Diano Calderina, is the small Baroque church of Sant’Anna, built in the 17th century by the Casalmiglia family as a private chapel. It has a central plan fronted by a small portico, a slate-covered dome and a marble altar from 1675.<\/p>\n

The cycle and footpath to Imperia<\/h3>\n
\"Seaside<\/figure>\n

On 20 June 2026 the 900-metre stretch between Imperia and Diano Marina, running above the rocks and left unfinished for a long time, was opened. With it, the Riviera dei Fiori cycle and footpath can be ridden without a break for almost 48 kilometres, from Ospedaletti to Andora. From Diano Marina you can now cycle on the flat towards Imperia, San Lorenzo al Mare<\/a> and Sanremo<\/a>, or east towards Andora.<\/p>\n

Beaches in Diano Marina<\/h2>\n
\"Diano<\/figure>\n

Diano Marina has about 3.5 kilometres of sandy coastline, running from the marina to the rocks of Capo Berta. The sand is fine and golden and the seabed slopes very gently, which makes it one of the most child-friendly beaches in Liguria. In 2026 the coastline was awarded the Blue Flag. The bathing season runs from 1 May to 30 September.<\/p>\n

The beaches in the centre<\/h3>\n
\"Beach<\/figure>\n

In front of the centre and the seafront, one beach club follows another, with umbrellas, sunloungers, bars and restaurants. This is the most convenient area if you are staying in the centre or have small children: everything is a few steps away and the water stays shallow for many metres. In August it is worth booking your umbrella and sunloungers in advance.<\/p>\n

Free beaches and equipped free beaches<\/h3>\n
\"Diano<\/figure>\n

Between the beach clubs there are stretches of free beach and “spiagge libere attrezzate”, where you can hire only what you need. The town publishes a map of the free beaches on its tourism website, updated every season.<\/p>\n

Dog beaches<\/h3>\n

Diano Marina has stretches of beach set aside for pets. They are marked on the same official map of free beaches: check it before you go, as the rules for dogs can change from year to year.<\/p>\n

Towards Capo Berta<\/h3>\n
\"Diano<\/figure>\n

To the west, as you approach Capo Berta, the coast becomes rockier and wilder. The sea here suits those who love swimming and snorkelling. The gulf is part of the Pelagos Sanctuary for the protection of marine mammals, and in summer boat trips set off to spot dolphins and whales.<\/p>\n

Diano Marina in a day: a suggested itinerary<\/h2>\n