Porto Venere, Italy - one of my all-time favorite towns
Often called the sixth village of the Cinque Terre, Porto Venere is part of the Cinque Terre UNESCO World Heritage Site; it has some nice beaches a short ferry ride away on Terrizzo Island with great views of Porto Venere
I was in Porto Venere the first Sunday in August which is their biggest day of the year when each of the towns around La Spezia compete in a rowing competition; the pre-event festivities were as if they'd won the World Cup
My 12 mile hike from Riomaggiore had a steep climb at the beginning followed by a forested walk along the ridge and then a steep descent into Porto Venere; not the greatest hike but ending in Porto Venere was a great payoff
The Romanesque Church of St. Lawrence (also called the Sanctuary of the White Virgin) was erected in 1098 by the Genoese; it probably occupies the ancient site of a former temple to Jupiter
Castello Doria dates from the 12th century with the upper section added in the 1450s; this formidable example of Genoese military architecture was an important outpost in the maritime feud between Genoa and Pisa
The main gate to the town which developed inside the former walls of the castle complex; the town is usually packed with tourists but because of the Palio festivities locals (and former locals who return home for the big event) far outnumbered the tourists
The Chiesa di San Pietro, built in 1198 in Gothic style, lies at the end of a rugged promentory; originally the building was a Roman temple dedicated to Venus, from whom Porto Venere takes its name
A partial view of La Spezia from the hike; that city is the largest in the area but has primarily an industrial and military economy thanks to its excellent natural harbor and has little of interest for tourists
It's tough not to love Porto Venere with its pastel colored houses, scenic location and nice beaches; the only downside in my visit was the travel time since it's almost 2 hours by bus and train from Genoa
Beneath the caslte is Grotto Arpaia where Lord Byron used to come meditate (this is called Byron's Grotto now); Byron even swam 7 kms across the gulf to visit Percy Shelley
I loved this town of 3800 when I visited years ago and it's still an all-time favorite; it's not reachable by train but requires a 40 minute bus ride from the train station in La Spezia
Terrizzo Island; the water was much more turquoise than my photo depicts; Porto Venere is another town with no sewage system with the town's discharge 200 meters out at sea with the currents taking it away from land
This featured blog entry was written by VagabondCowboy from the blog The frugal travels of a vagabond.
Read comments or Subscribe
