Portovenere

Portovenere is on the Ligurian coast, between La Spezia and Riomaggiore, the southern most of the Cinque Terre.  It sits at the base of the steep slopes of Muzzerone, a rocky mountain covered with olive and pine trees.  The town is watched over by the tower of the old citadel.  I could go on, but mostly Portovenere is just plain beautiful.

The town is about 2 hours drive from Bagni di Lucca.  It is autostrada most of the way, but the last bit takes you on the longest 11 kilometre drive you will ever do.  The road is narrow and winds its way along the coast through a couple of small towns.  Cars are parked in the most inconvenient places and there is way too much traffic for these little roads.  It must be hell in summer.

Once you arrive and park the car all will be forgiven when you feast your eyes on this gorgeous little place.

There is a little shopping street which winds its way through the village behind the waterfront restaurants and shops.  There are the usual souvenir shops and cute little restaurants, if you can drag yourself away from the seaside ones.  The area is known for its pesto, and there are places where you can buy this delicious topping for pasta ( and other things).  I recommend taking some home to try.  If you love basil, you will love this.

 

At the end of the street you come out to another spectacular view – St Peter’s church from 1256.

 

This is where Byron dived into the sea and swam to Lerici, a fair distance across the Bay of La Spezia, no doubt showing off to someone.

 

In summer boats will take you along the coast from Portovenere to Cinque Terre and Portofino.  All of these places are wonderful and the best way to see them is from the water.  On a good day it would be hard to beat this part of Italy.