Imperia Diano Marina – The road that does not exist

There are certain places that can enhance the taste of certain moments, just like some wines can bring out the flavour of a dish.
Between Diano Marina and Imperia there’s a road that locals call “unfinished”.
A strip of land, three kilometers long, between sea, sky and rocks of the hill it has been stolen from. It’s accessible only by foot or bike.

But this road actually doesn’t exist. It was built in the sixty’s, as an alternative to Via Aurelia, but the administrators of that time had not estimated the calcareous and unstable limestone of which the cape is made of.
As a consequence frequent landslides (of different levels of importance), on more occasions, the road has been, at least officially, closes. Unofficially everybody kept on crossing it. It takes more than a couple of gates to stop people from using one of the most beautiful promenades in the area.

And to the road that doesn’t exist we confide our deepest moods, safe in the knowledge that our secrets will not be revealed by it: our accomplice, for a time without time of the privacy of this scenery.


 I sometimes think that the beauty of the “unfinished” is the fact that it doesn’t exist.
And let’s just admit: perfection does not belong to us. What matters is that walking along this road, you just need to look around for a moment and you’ll forget all your worries…well, at least most of them.

Unfinished seafront
between Diano Marina and Imperia Oneglia (Liguria)

writing and photography by paola faravelli
translated and adapted by daniela menzano