Villa Grock

The Villa Grock is a villa built by Adrian Wettach (1880-1959), a world-famous clown known as "Grock", originally known as "White Villa". It is located in Imperia in the hamlet of Oneglia, and was the residence of the Grock family in the first half of the 20th century. Grock, who thanks to his in-laws met Imperia, bought a plot of land in the hills, approximately triangular with a view of the sea, on which he built the current villa in 1927. The house and the gardens are characterized by the artist's personal taste, with a particular Art Deco accent, but also show oriental and historicist influences. Grock designed most of the estate himself, using the surveyor Armando Brignole. The artist died here in 1959. Today the house and garden are owned by the Province of Imperia. The garden has been open to the public since its renovation in 2006. The villa was purchased by the Province of Imperia in 2002 for 1.5 million euros and has since been renovated. In the presence of the Minister of Economic Development, Claudio Scajola, the "Villa Grock" was opened to the public in January 2010, as "Museo del Clown... Most of the original furniture is now owned by the circus entrepreneur Bernhard Paul and is not present in the rooms of the Villa.