Portovenere At the extreme west side of the Gulf rise the historical stronghold of Portovenere, conquered by the Genoese Republic in the twelfth century, who built the bastion and planned the stronghold grounds. The buildings are constructed as house-towers, tall and narrow, like small fortresses painted with yellow, pink and grey colours, aligned along the walls eastwards the village, connecting the Castle, towering structure made of scarp walls. The Castle well represents a real model of Genoese military architecture. Together with the village, they built the official church, the Collegiata San Lorenzo realized by the Antelami Masters, stone-masters coming from Maggiore’s lake. At the edge of the cape of Portovenere S. Peter’s Church is protruding towards the open sea, a genoese-gothic style built by the Genoeses above the remains of a paleochristian church, where still remains the ruins of the monastery guarding the relics. To the same times are ascribed also t h e more ancient structures of hermitage style found on Tinetto’s island. The group of Tino and Tinetto islands, together with the larger one of Palmaria located in front of Portovenere, are a wonderful natural park, whales sanctuary, marine reserve and unusual site for vacations thanks to the beauty of their beaches and coves. Just a short distance along the road to La Spezia you’ll encounter a small fisherman village, Le Grazie, surrounded by a fashinating natural cove. An attractive visit is the well preserved archeological site of the “Varignano Roman Villa” and the late-gothic Sanctuary of S. Mary Le Grazie, with the annexed benedectine monastery, now private homes, in which refectory were discovered a fourteenth century’s fresco by Nicolò Corso.
Gallery