A many-colored coastline, charming and unique. Small “borghi” hanging sheer above a crystal sea, green hills, both steep and sweet, and promontories with beaches. The Gulf of La Spezia can be explored slowly and leisurely to discover its hidden beauties, and it comes as no surprise that this land was so loved by many poets and writers: Petrarca, Shelley, Byron, Eugenio Montale, to name a few. The Golfo dei Poeti was so named after their love and frequent visits: it reaches between two large, wild promontories from Lerici to Portovenere, and it embraces rocky beaches, sandy stretches, small bays with deep blue waters, and wild, uncontaminated nature.
Lerici is a real jewel, set in one of the most beautiful coves in the Ligurian riviera, but its great charm also comes from the many monuments and art testimonies. It attracts tourists also because its medieval structure is intact, with the small, colourful houses all lined up on the sides of the narrow alleys (the carruggi in Liguria). Within the “borgo” one notices above all the old Castle, the Jewish district of the Ghetto, the renowned geological-paleontological museum, and the squares of the Poggio and of San Giorgio. At the foot of the Castle begins the relaxing promenade along Lungomare Vassallo, taking the visitor to the other Castle, the one of San Terenzo, where one can enjoy the wonderful sight of the Blue Venus Beach.
Tellaro – defined as “one of the hundred most beautiful borghi in Italy” – is on the southeast corner of Liguria, very near Tuscany, and is perched on rock spur descending to the seaside. It has a very mild climate and must be savoured in every time of the year, for its look varies and changes, as do its sea and the splendid panoramas in the background. There are many choices for those who look for holidays or excursions on the seaside here: from fine-grained sand beaches, so loved by children, through pebbles shores, to a rocky, rugged shoreline in other areas – and a wonderful promenade along all the coastline. And if you want to enjoy a splendid view of the whole Golfo, you can go up the hills to Montemarcello, a village near the “borgo” of Ameglia: an enchanting place with its very narrow alleys and archs and flights of steps in stone, where round a corner the sight dramatically opens up, and lets you see the whole Luni plain up to the white Alpi Apuane on one side, the sea with its magnificent twilights on the other side
Portovenere, the port of Venus, is perhaps the most charming of all the little towns of the Golfo di La Spezia, because its beauty has some unique characters and personality that make it different from the many seaside resorts around, and in all the riviera. The best way of approaching this unusual beauty is by sea, arriving to the shoreline after rounding the short peninsula where the romantic Church of San Pietro rises. There is also a small archipelago with three tiny, beautiful islands in these waters: Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto, the heart of a Regional Natural Park founded in 2001. Places that deserve being explored and savoured during excursions on bike or on foot.