“The Gulf of La Spezia” or “of the Poets” is the most beautiful port to land to, a warm embrace of the restless land to the sea, a nest protected by so dear peaks"

John Stuart Mill, one of the most important economists of the 1800s, arrived in La Spezia in 1855. He declared in a letter to his wife: “I think that this is the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life”. The Irish novelist Charles James Lever lived in La Spezia for 16 years and pronounced the same words about the beloved town. Besides Rebecka Mendelssohn, granddaughter of the famous German Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, visited the Gulf of Poets in 1843 and wrote to her sister the following words: “I cannot understand how you can talk about Italy when you have never seen Spezia.” Also Shelley was in love with the Gulf of La Spezia and visited it for the first time with his wife Mary Shelley towards the end of 1821. The Gulf of La Spezia is an harmonious amphitheatre: to the west the hamlet of Portovenere with its islands Plamaria, Tino and Tinetto and the territory of Tramonti leading to the “Cinque Terre”, while to the east Lerici with its Castle and, carrying on, the rocky promontory of Montemarcello with its wonderful small inlets.

La Spezia is a lovely seaside town that boasts, in addition to the Naval Military Arsenal, the University Campus G. Marconi, an important point of reference for whoever wants to specialize in boating, and the PortoLAB project, by Contship Italia Group, that every year hosts school classes scheduled to visit its maritime Terminals. La Spezia is also home to four among the first five most important nautical companies, three of which are internationally renowned. This gorgeous town is worth a visit on foot: from the famous height named “Il Poggio” you’ll easily reach the popular “Prione Street” on foot, a picturesque “Carugio” with its colored little houses. Walking along this street till its end, first you’ll meet “Piazza Garibaldi” with its sculpture “Le Vele”, then “Piazza Saint Bon”: “Le Camere di Teo”, Teo’s Rooms, is just 50 mt. away. The MUST SEE list also includes: “Sant’Agostino Square” with the “Bust of the Castiglione Countess”, Virginia Oldoini, and the Wagner Statue by the Russian sculptor Aidyn Zeilanov, the Church of St. John with the painting “Madonna with Infant” in “Via Salita al Castello”, the Transport Museum, the Futurist Mosaics of the Post Office, the Public Gardens with its Liberty jewel “Il Palco della Musica”, the “Morin Promenade” with its mythical lighthouse and the statue of the “Mermaid in the Gulf” and finally the “Cristo Re Cathedral” in the “Europa Square”.

“Lerici is hot and azure. It gives the touch of perfection to the Gulf, the calm sea and the green sailing ships and the islands and the red and yellow night lights that sparkle and fade away” - Virginia Woolf

Lerici, a gorgeous fishing village located in one of the most beautiful bays of the Ligurian Riviera of Levante, boasts a perfect symbiosis between past and present: rich in historical and artistic testimonies and in religious traditions too, this small fishing hamlet holds onto its reputation of an equipped and modern seaside resort. Lerici is enclosed in the marvelous Gulf of the Poets and has a unique coast, embellished by villages set in lush olive groves, including Fiascherino, Tellaro and Montemarcello.

It stands out for its temperate weather, beaches and paths, rich architecture and excellent cuisine. Besides the famous bay between San Terenzo Castle and Lerici village with its “Venere Azzurra” beach, the territory of Lerici also includes secluded bays that emerge between steep cliffs such as the renowned “Caletta” of Lerici. The latter, located between the Maramozza and Marlunga promontories, hosts the remains of a Roman shipwreck and its lost load.
The MUST SEE list includes: the Nativity of Mary Parish, the “Church of San Francesco” with the two paintings by Fiasella, the Oratory of S. Rocco with the painting by Giovanni Battista Casoni, the imposing Castle of Lerici with its chapel dedicated to Sant’Anastasia, the hexagonal tower and the Geopaleontological Museum, the Doria Palace with its museum, Villa Padula and Villa Marigola. The most popular beaches are: the “Marinella of San Terenzo”, the “Lido of Lerici”, the “Venere Azzurra”, the “Colombo”, the “Baia Blu”, the “Eco del Mare” and the Fiascherino beaches.

“ There – comes Triton from the waves that lap the threshold of a Christian temple, and every near hour is ancient. Every doubt takes you by hand as if by a young girl friend.” - Eugenio Montale

Portovenere is a beautiful hamlet in the Eastern Ligurian Riviera, a promontory that interfaces the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto. Before arriving to this hamlet via the Napoleonic Route, you will meet the seaside villages of Marola, Cadimare, Fezzano and Le Grazie. You will access the ancient hamlet through the monumental door connected, on its right hand side, to a fortified wall descending from the Castle and, on its left hand side, to the Capitular Tower (1160). Alongside the “carugio” in Capellini Street you can admire the old tower-houses and eventually reach St. Peter’s Square over which the famous St. Peter’s Church rises. The latter, built in gothic style over the rocky spur at the end of the village, with white and grey stripes, was erected over the ancient remains of the pagan temple dedicated to the goddess Venus Ericina.

From the Square, before going up towards the little church there is, to the right, the entrance to the renowned “Arpaia Cave” or “Byron Cave”. Right here, from the arched windows dug into the rock, you will enjoy a lovely panorama on the jagged coast overlooking the sea.
Going further up you will reach St. Lawrence Church, consecrated in 1130: even higher there is the Doria Castle with the Captain House, built by the Genoese for military purposes. From the panoramic square to the foot of the Castle you will admire all the Gulf. From here and on the left hand side, first a path that crosses cultivated gardens opens up then a steep staircase that leads directly to the main entrance door of the village.
So forth, among stairways and “Capitoli”, you finally will land in Bastreri Square and continue towards the sea promenade, the Doria Drop, overlooking the colored tower-houses of medieval origin. Behind the Palmaria island there are the Blue Cave, studied by the biologist “Lazzaro Spallanzani”, the Vulcanic Cave, the Vergin’s Cave and the pigeons one. Portovenere, destination for artists and poets, from Petrarca to Montale, from George Sand to G. Marconi who carried out his fampus experiments on this very stretch of sea.

Beyond the Portovenere promontory, almost to the extreme east of the Riviera, the Cinque Terre stand out, 5 magnificent villages hidden in small coves or clinging to the rocks overlooking the sea, in a landscape unique in the world.

The first village of the 5 Terre, coming from the central railway station FS of La Spezia, is the picturesque Riomaggiore. Located between two steep terraced hills that descend towards the sea in steep cliffs, this ancient hamlet strikes the visitor with its vertically built and gorgeously painted houses. Manarola, the second village coming from La Spezia, is like a fresco with sunny colors: a paradise of vines and olive trees. It’s a lovely hamlet with saline colours and houses that seem to be born from the cliff of the long and narrow marina. Corniglia, the third amazing village, perched on a hundred meters high cliff, is the only hamlet with a sweet country flavour, located further away from the sea. A daily shuttle service connects this village to its railway station down below. .

Vernazza, the third hamlet, is a wonderful village perched on a majestic and fascinating cliff. Once reached the little harbour, enclosed between the houses with their soft pastel colors, the church of Saint Margherita of Antiochia shines. Monterosso is the last beautiful hamlet of the 5 Terre. In order to be protected from violent Saracen raids it developed an impressive defensive system. It has been much loved by Eugenio Montale, Nobel Prize for Literature in 1975, who spent his summers in this “rocky and austere village, an asylum of fishermen and peasants”.
It’s just great to reach the 5 Terre by boat, thanks to the ferries leaving daily from the piers of La Spezia, Lerici and Portovenere or by the regional train “5 Terre Express” that travels only when the weather is fine, i.e. from March until the beginning of November, for info visit: https://bit.ly/2YjlYRQ
When you hold the “Cinque Terre Railway MS Card”, all the paths of the project “5 Terre Walking Park” are included, for info visit: visiteguidate@ati5terre.it Before venturing into the paths, it’s advisable to ask the 5 Terre railway station staff or request from dedicated offices of the Park Authority, available in all the villages, some information regarding the practicability of the paths themselves: the 5 Terre are a fragile territory, mould by men through hard work, a territory that deserves to be “treated with care” in order to preserve it to the fullest for future generations to enjoy too.