Theme Week Italian Riviera

9 May 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Vernazza © Charles van Dijk/cc-by-3.0

Vernazza © Charles van Dijk/cc-by-3.0

The Italian Riviera, or Ligurian Riviera, is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinally it extends from the border with France and the French Riviera (or Côte d’Azur) near Ventimiglia (a former customs post) eastwards to Capo Corvo (also known as Punta Bianca) which marks the eastern end of the Gulf of La Spezia and is close to the regional border between Liguria and Tuscany. The Italian Riviera thus includes nearly all of the coastline of Liguria. Historically the “Riviera” extended further to the west, through what is now French territory as far as Marseille.   read more…

Theme Week Italian Riviera – Porto Venere

5 September 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Porto Venere from Lerici © Aconcagua/cc-by-sa-3.0

Porto Venere from Lerici © Aconcagua/cc-by-sa-3.0

Porto Venere is a town and comune (municipality) located on the Ligurian coast of Italy in the province of La Spezia. It comprises the three villages of Fezzano, Le Grazie and Porto Venere, and the three islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto. In 1997 Porto Venere and the villages of Cinque Terre were designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.   read more…

The fashionable seaside resort of Forte dei Marmi

14 October 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Forte dei Marmi © flickr.com - Thomas Hawk/cc-by-sa-2.0

Forte dei Marmi © flickr.com – Thomas Hawk/cc-by-sa-2.0

Forte dei Marmi is a sea town and comune in the province of Lucca, in northern Tuscany. The population of the town, amounting to some 7,700, nearly triples during the summer, because of the hundreds of tourist. It is the birthplace of Paola Ruffo di Calabria, Queen of the Belgians from 1993 to 2013.   read more…

Imperia on the Riviera di Ponente

14 November 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Porto Maurizio © flickr.com - Jukka1/cc-by-2.0

Porto Maurizio © flickr.com – Jukka1/cc-by-2.0

Imperia is a coastal city and comune in the region of Liguria. It is the capital of the province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the Intemelia district of Liguria. Mussolini created the city of Imperia on 21 October 1923 by combining Porto Maurizio and Oneglia and the surrounding village communes of Piani, Caramagna Ligure, Castelvecchio di Santa Maria Maggiore, Borgo Sant’Agata, Costa d’Oneglia, Poggi, Torrazza, Moltedo and Montegrazie.   read more…

La Spezia in Liguria

4 May 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

L'arsenale © William Domenichini/cc-by-sa-3.0

L’arsenale © William Domenichini/cc-by-sa-3.0

La Spezia at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia (Golfo dei Poeti – Gulf of the Poets) in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts the arsenal of the Italian Navy. It is important for its museums, for the Palio del Golfo, and for the railway and boat links with Cinque Terre. Going up from the sea it is possible to see partly hidden, but evident traces of history: engraved stones, capitals, and portals in fourteenth century sandstone, double lancet windows vaguely reminiscent of the future renaissance style, mannerism and baroque pediments, and decorations similar to those adorning the portals of the palaces once belonging to the Doria family and the Princes of Massa.   read more…

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