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Villa Grock

The clown Grock's forty-seven-room villa above Imperia, now the eccentric Museo del Clown.

  • Imperia
  • Villa
Plan your visit
Where
Imperia
Best for
Grock's personal mansion
Allow
1 hour

Charles Adrien Wettach, the Swiss performer known to the world as Grock, was Europe's highest-paid entertainer of his day, and he poured that fortune into a forty-seven-room mansion above Imperia, begun in 1922 and enlarged into its present form by 1930.

The villa mixes Jugendstil and Art Deco with Persian, Baroque and Rococo flourishes, all chosen and directed by Grock himself, who first visited the Ligurian coast in 1920 and never stopped adding to the house afterward. It sat closed and largely forgotten after his death in 1959 until restoration returned it to the public on August 20, 2013, as the Museo del Clown, filled with interactive installations, games for children, and Grock's own costumes, instruments and personal effects from a career that took him across every major stage in Europe.

Five things worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

  1. The music roomGrock, who was also a musician

    Visitors can play reproductions of Grock’s instruments, fitting for a clown who was also a serious musician.Museum rooms inside the villa

  2. The room of wonders

    A room of distorting mirrors, playful and a hit with children.Museum rooms inside the villa

  3. The trunk room

    Grock’s costumes, props and travel trunks, a glimpse of the working life of Europe’s highest-paid entertainer.Museum rooms inside the villa

  4. The Jugendstil and Art Deco interiorsDesigned under Grock’s direction, 1922 to 1930

    Jugendstil and Art Deco mixed with Persian, Baroque and Rococo touches, all chosen by Grock himself.Throughout the forty-seven-room house

  5. The garden and panoramic terraceGrock, from the 1920s

    A park scattered with monuments he had built, including an orange-shaped fountain, an orangerie and a central lake with a small island.Grounds around the villa

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Booking
No booking needed
Time needed
1 hour
Best time
A weekday afternoon, when the interactive rooms are quieter for adult visitors
Getting there
In the Oneglia district of Imperia, a short drive or taxi ride from the town center and the A10 motorway exit.

Ask staff to point out Grock's own instruments among the displays: he built much of his act around music, not just clowning, a side of him easy to overlook.

Official website
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Good to know

How long should you spend at Villa Grock?

About an hour for the interactive museum rooms and a turn around the garden. Families with small children may want longer because the rooms are built to be touched and played with.

Is Villa Grock good for kids?

Yes, it is one of the most child-friendly museums on the Ligurian coast. The Museo del Clown has interactive installations, games and mirrors, and adults enjoy the quirky Art Deco villa. A weekday afternoon is calmer for adults.

Is Villa Grock worth visiting?

Yes, if you like offbeat places. It is the eccentric mansion of the clown Grock, once Europe’s highest-paid entertainer, and it is a hidden gem in Imperia. It sits in the Oneglia district, a short drive from the town center.

More to see nearby

Same city first, then the nearest across the region.

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