Porto Venere
At the end of the quay, a Cinque Terre panorama unfolds from the rocky terraces of a cave formerly known as Grotta Arpaia. Lord Byron once swam across the…
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Golfo dei Poeti
Back when Cinque Terre was but a collection of remote hardscrabble fishing villages, the Golfo dei Poeti (Gulf of Poets) was already drawing an it-crowd. Renamed for the English poets Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, who escaped here in the 1820s, its natural beauty had inspired writers and artists as far back as Petrarch and Dante.
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Must-see attractions
Porto Venere
This stunning wind- and wave-lashed church, built in 1198 in Gothic style, stands on the ruins of a 5th-century palaeo-Christian church, with its extant…
Porto Venere
The largest island of the Italian Riviera is largely undeveloped (it's home to around 50 residents) and lies just a short ferry ride from Porto Venere…
La Spezia
An assortment of local archaeological artefacts from prehistoric to medieval times are displayed at the city's hilltop fortifications. You'll see finely…
Museo Tecnico Navale della Spezia
La Spezia
Maritime lovers shouldn't miss the world's oldest naval museum, which is reached via a narrow bridge a few blocks southwest of Parco Salvador Allende. The…
Tellaro
On a walking track just above Tellaro stands the ruins of Portesone, a former rural village that was abandoned in the 1600s (allegedly owing to a plague…
Golfo dei Poeti
On a promontory high above the shoreline, Lerici's castle has played a pivotal role protecting the city since the Middle Ages. Rebuilt various times over…
Golfo dei Poeti
Hidden behind the Castello di Lerici are a series of wild cliff-backed beaches extending along the southern shoreline. Reach the first by heading through…
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Beaches
Alternative Cinque Terre: five beautiful and unspoiled Italian Riviera villagesAug 16, 2019 • 6 min read
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