Genoa, Italy (dpa) – Sky-blue wooden boats bobbing up and down in the bay, fishermen’s houses with terracotta red and ochre yellow facades reflecting on the water, washing hung out to dry over narrow lanes, and the scent of pasta and basil sauce.
These are some of the sights and smells of the Riviera di Levante on the northwest coast of Italy.
There are around 20 villages on this 100-kilometre, narrow coastal strip between Genoa and La Spezia, wedged between the sea and the Apennine ridges. Thanks to this geography the region enjoys a mild climate and a long tourist season.
On the way to Liguria you pass through Genoa, the region’s capital, which as been named “the proud city” because of its magnificent buildings and splendid churches.
The finest evidence of this are the Renaissance palaces on the Via Garibaldi. These palaces resplendent in marble and frescoes also house world-famous paintings by 16th century Venetian painter Titian and the German painter Duerer.
The city is still embarrassed that it once denied credit to one of its prominent citizens. The disappointed Christopher Columbus turned to the King of Spain, for whom he discovered America in 1492.
By way of compensation, Genoa has named an old house on the Piazza Dante after its lost son, but it is highly doubtful whether Columbus really spent his childhood there.
The port quarter of the city, with its maze of narrow lanes, is wonderful for strolling around and finding somewhere to eat.
Genoa’s cuisine is simple but excellent. Based on traditional farmers’ and fishermen’s dishes, its main ingredients are basil, olive oil, fish and chick peas.
But the Genoan coast has more to offer than gastronomy. It is also a diving centre with around 45 diving clubs between Genoa and La Spezia.
One of the most popular sights is the underwater Jesus statue, which lies 17 metres below the sea at the entrance to a secluded bay, near the Benedictine abbey San Truttuoso di Capodimonte.
If the sea is calm, it can even be seen from aboard one of the ships, which travel between Camogli and the abbey and other destinations during the summer season. The only other way to reach San Fruttuoso is by a three-hour hike.
A footpath from the abbey leads to Portofino, a picturesque and elegant port.
If you do not want to arrive with hiking boots and backpack, you must take the coastal road by bus or car, but it is always congested in the summer. Yet even the vast influx of visitors cannot spoil the charm of this former fishing village.
Next to Portofino, and on the wide bay Golfo de Tigullio, lie the chic holiday resorts Rapallo and Santa Magherita. Both are big enough to support a large infrastructure. They have small beaches with wooden changing cubicles and broad beach promenades.
Southwards along the coast are several small sea resorts. They are now tourist resorts, but most of them have maintained their original local industries. In Lorsica and Zoagli, weavers make silky velvet, while slate is mined in Lavagna.
Last in the group of seaside resorts is Sestri Levante. After that, the coast becomes steeper. The region has five world famous tiny villages, called Cinque Terre, which appear to be glued to the rocks between sloping vineyards.
They are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza with its picturesque port, Corniglia on a rock above the sea, Manarola which has a church on a kind of viewing platform, and Riomaggiore with its many boutiques.
The villages’ colourful houses are connected by innumerable steps and, with just a few exceptions, are only accessible by foot.
The best way to explore the Cinque Terre, is to walk along the former vintners’ paths. The 12-kilometre trail takes at least six hours to complete, depending on fitness and the day’s temperature. If the route becomes too strenuous, you can take the local train which stops in each of the village. It runs every 20 minutes.
La Spezia is the last point on the Levante coastal route. It is situated on the port basin of the Golfo dei Poeti.. One of the poets after which this gulf was named, even has a grotto dedicated to him in nearby Portovenere.
Tourists can now take boat trips to this picture-book village, on the shores of which the English poet Lord Byron used to swim. He is said to have told the sea his poems on the beauty of the Ligurian coast. Visitors probably still do this today if only to themselves.
