SURROUNDINGS

Lerici: Pearl of the Gulf of Poets

Located in one of the most beautiful inlets of the “Ligurian Riviera of Levante”, Lerici offers a perfect combination of past and present: rich in historical and artistic testimonies and religious traditions, this village does not betray its consolidated reputation as a well-equipped and modern seaside resort. This sensational territory, a destination for poets and artists of great fame at all times, has been named "The Gulf of Poets", and by this name Lerici is known all over the world.

The Cinque Terre: Unesco Heritage Site

The 5 Terre landscape is characterized by its amazing dry-stone walls, terraced vineyards giving birth to wines as unique as the place they’re coming from. The Cinque Terre are included in the Unesco World Heritage list and are a National Park and a Marine Protected Area too. Starting from La Spezia, here are the 5 Terre villages to visit in such order: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso with their characteristic houses, the coasts overlooking the sea, the historical centres of these villages as well as their sanctuaries, the panoramic paths that connect the villages themselves and the inner ones too.

Portovenere: A little Wonder

Portovenere offers a unique landscape with its high jagged coasts overlooking the sea, the caves and inlets that surround it, the vegetation that changes by the season bringing multiple shades and atmospheres to this amazing environment. The crystalline sea is the perfect setting for the small and characteristic village of Portovenere: sometimes it’s calm and clear enough to reflect the sun's rays that are brushing it alongside the multicolored rocks overlooking the sea of the Gulf of Poets, sometimes it’s just so angry, its waves breaking against the rock below the Church of San Pietro.

La Spezia: Sea Town

This town lies on a narrow strip of land between the sea and the mountains. Precisely, the particular conformation of the Gulf, well sheltered from the fury of storm surges and possible enemy attacks, has allowed the creation of one of the biggest naval arsenals and, over the years, the implementation of one of the largest merchant ports of the Mediterranean Sea.

Portofino: Sea Village

"... And here, all of a sudden, the discovery of a hidden cove, made up of olive and chestnut trees. A small village, Portofino, spreading out like an arc of the moon around its calm bay. We slowly walk along the narrow passage that joins this magnificent natural harbor to the sea and enter the houses’ amphitheater surrounded by a forest of a mighty and fresh green, and everything is reflected in the mirror of the still waters where some fishing boats seem to sleep".

Versilia: Upper Tuscany

A renowned bathing resort, its most important and populated center is Viareggio; extending along the coast and at the foot of the Apuan Alps, crossed from south to north, it spreads from the village of Stazzema to Marina di Massa (that is excluded). The low and sandy coast is bathed by the Ligurian Sea, the latter stretching from the coast of Liguria to the promontory of Piombino, and not by the Tyrrhenian Sea as erroneously believed, whose name has replaced the historical one of “Tuscan Sea” in the common language.