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…

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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