porto venere
 
The ancient, narrow-laned village of PORTOVÉNERE sits astride a spit of land on the very tip of the southwestern arm of the bay, blessed with breathtaking views, a memorably tranquil atmosphere and a string of three islets just offshore, each smaller and rockier than the last. The bus ride from La Spezia is a frenetic affair, with some hair-raising bends, but it gives fine views of the bay and the islands; however, the views are just as good from the boats which depart as regularly as buses - and the chances of holding onto your breakfast are much higher.

You enter through a twelfth-century towered gate built by the Genoese, who fortified this spot in opposition to Pisan forces that had taken Lérici across the bay. In the upper part of the village is the twelfth-century church of San Lorenzo , renowned for the remarkable treasures in its vestry, including four ivory caskets (three Syrian and one Byzantine) from about the year 1000. Higher up still is the sixteenth-century fortified castello , with panoramic views out over this most beautiful spot from its terraced gardens. Portovénere's characteristic rose- and yellow-painted tower-houses were aligned to form a defensive wall, now transformed into a trendy waterside strip known as the Palazzata, which spreads out at the end of the promontory to the church of San Pietro on the very tip of dry land, built with a banded facade and an elegant campanile in the thirteenth century over the ruins of a Roman temple to Venus ; the village got its name from the Latin Portus Veneris , or Port of Venus. The views from the terrace in front of the church out to the three islands and across to the Cinque Terre coast are magnificent. One of the rocky coves around the base of the church is the Grotto Arpaia , a favoured spot of Lord Byron's where he came to seek inspiration and from where he swam across the bay to visit Shelley at San Terenzo . To this day, the gulf has the nickname of the "Baia di Byron", but swimming is discouraged in favour of the boats which shuttle regularly to and from Lérici.

Boats from Portovénere also tour the three islands that lie south of the peninsula, all but the nearest of which lie in a military zone and so can only be viewed from the water.(Note, though, that island excursions paid for in Portovénere cost quite a bit more than the same things booked and begun in La Spezia .) Isola Palmária is the largest, 500m south of Portovénere, with the Grotta Azzurra cave as its star attraction. Next is the Isola del Tino , a rocky islet marked with a lighthouse and the remains of a Romanesque abbey. Finally comes the yet tinier Isola del Tinetto , also home to a monastic community in centuries gone by.