At the south eastern-most tip of Liguria, past Cinque Terre and just before Tuscany, lies a long, narrow inlet called the Gulf of La Spezia. On each side of the Gulf, sitting almost directly opposite each other, are the two villages of Lerici and Portovenere. They have been popular vacation spots as far back as the days of Percy Shelley and his contemporaries who lived and traveled in the area so much that it became dubbed as the Gulf of Poets.

Lerici is on the eastern side of the bay, and on a clear summer day it’s swarming with people browsing the open markets along the waterfront and wandering the narrow streets in the old city center. The main square, Piazza Garibaldi, is a colorful, triangular space that opens to the harbor and is lined by pastel buildings and open air cafes. Overlooking the harbor sits the Castello, a defensive fortification dating back to the 13^th century. It rests atop a little point that forms a protected area full of sailboats and speedboats. Below the Castello a wide, rocky jetty stretches out into the bay where sunbathers take up residence on the flat rocks. The wind gusts and fills the air with the melodic sound of rigs and pulleys clinking against dozens of sailboat masts. A tall set of stairs leads from the waterfront up to the Castello where there are sweeping views across the Gulf to Portovenere.

A well-serviced bus system links all the big towns in this area of Liguria, so we took the bus from Lerici to Portovenere, pausing briefly at the midpoint of La Spezia for a bus transfer. There’s a running joke in Genova (the capital of Liguria), “which city is worse La Spezia or Savona?” The joke comes from the fact that both cities are smaller provincial capitals and are shipping ports, which therefore means not so pretty. We found nothing to complain about in La Spezia, much like our visit to Savona. With its wide, grid-like streets, including a few pedestrian only shopping areas, it was a breath of fresh air from the overcrowded quarters of the much more touristy Lerici and Portovenere.

Portovenere is out on the western-most tip of the Gulf of La Spezia and is accessible only by one road due to its isolated location on a rocky point. It’s a very popular spot with the tourists, and for good reason. A row of five and six story, pastel colored buildings line the tranquil bay. Behind that, a narrow street is filled with elaterids, bakeries and souvenir stores that are always fun to browse. At the very tip of the point on which Portovenere lies is the small, white and grey striped church of San Pietro. It blends into the surroundings so well that it looks like it grew out of the rocks themselves. From the church you can look to the left across the Gulf towards Lerici and to the right along the open sea and to the steep hills that hide Cinque Terre in their folds. Behind San Pietro, higher up on the hill is an old defensive castle where there are memorable views looking down towards San Pietro with the open sea as a backdrop. It’s a perfect spot for escaping the crowds and enjoying the spectacular scenery that is Liguria.

To see more of our pictures, click here.

Last Modified : September 16th, 2007
Filed under : Italy, Trips
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