Portovenere

Portovenere stands at the entrance to the Gulf of Poets — named for the constellation of literary greats who loved this coast: Dante, Petrarch, Byron, Shelley, Lawrence. The village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (together with the Cinque Terre) and one of the most dramatically beautiful places on the Italian Riviera. The multi-coloured houses stack vertically from the medieval harbour up to the 12th-century Castle Doria, which crowns the promontory with views extending to the Cinque Terre on one side and the Palmaria island on the other. Byron's Grotto, where the poet reportedly swam, cuts into the cliff below the Church of San Pietro — an extraordinary 12th-century Romanesque chapel perched on the very tip of the headland above crashing waves. The village's caruggi (narrow medieval lanes) are lined with excellent seafood restaurants. The mussels (cozze) from the Gulf of La Spezia are celebrated throughout Italy — cultivated in the sheltered waters and dramatically superior to those from elsewhere. Order them in every possible preparation. The Palmaria island, visible from the village, is reached by a 10-minute ferry and offers excellent swimming coves accessible only by water.