La Spezia
La Spezia was the final base of our tour of the Liguria region in Italy. It is in a fantastic position to visit the Cinque Terre, the celebrated collection of five seaside villages that can only be reached by train or boat. I'll cover the Cinque Terre in the next blog as there was lots to see and do in La Spezia and great places to visit that aren't the famous five.
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| The view of La Spezia from Castello San Giorgio, Liguria, Italy |
La Spezia is a working city port, second in size to Genoa in Liguria. The Centre Storico is great for bars and restaurants and heading to the waterfront you'll discover the Giardini Pubblici, a tree-lined green space that extends along most of the sea front. The waterfront is expansive, with a huge Italian naval base dominating the west of the city. The pretty marina is reached by crossing the brilliant white Ponte Thaon di Revel. Walk towards the cruise ship harbour and you can get up close to the small lighthouse Molo Italia Il Faro that marks the entrance to the inner harbour. For a great perspective the Castello San Giorgio sits high above the city and can be reached by two lifts and has a fabulous terrace with views of the city and the port.
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| Molo Italia Il Faro. La Spezia |
We did discover some unique eateries in our time in La Spezia. You'll get excellent service from the highly rated Spezialità Focacceria Bistrò where a one-man whirlwind delivers spectacular focaccia sandwiches whilst giving a constant running commentary. At Dai Pescatori on the harbour front there is always a steady queue of people waiting for fried fish in a proper fast-food style. Superb.
The warm and cosy Trattoria Pizzeria Bella Napoli has a great version of a pizza called Pinsa. A Roman Pinsa is oval and the dough made from soy, rice and wheat flour, so it's a healthy alternative to a pizza and tastes fantastic.
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La Spezia, Liguria, Italy
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It wasn't all eating and drinking! The nearby town of Porto Venere isn't one of the Cinque Terre but is a popular stopping point on any tour of the five villages. We enjoyed the busy ferry trip to Porto Venere, passing the Punta Santa Maria green lighthouse on route and the village looks stunning as you approach from the sea. We had planned to get another boat from Porto Venere to explore the nearby three islands including the lighthouse Faro di San Venerio on the Isola del Tino, but that was curtailed by poor sea conditions around the islands.
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| Porto Venere, Liguria, Italy |
But we did manage to see the beautiful church Chiesa di San Pietro which sits on a headland adjacent to the impressive Grotta di Lord Byron where the famous poet would garner inspiration from the swirling seas crashing against the rocks. Above sits the Castello Doria and from there you can enjoy stunning panoramas of the church and the headland.
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Chiesa di San Pietro, Porto Venere, Liguria, Italy
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Another day and another train. Viareggio is a proper old school seaside town in Tuscany. It is famous for its carnival, which even has its own dedicated museum (but doesn't open until late afternoon). It has a great traditional promenade with art deco shops and restaurants and the beach just beyond is crammed full of lidos.
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| The Faro di Viareggio, Italy |
The Faro di Viareggio lighthouse overlooks the very nice marina, set around the Lungo Canal which was lined with small street food outlets selling fried fish.
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The Faro di Viareggio, Italy
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In search of another lighthouse, we headed through the high-end yachting boat yards to find Spiaggia della Lecciona, which is a long and narrow, tranquil beach. The lighthouse Faro Del Muraglione is perched at the end of the beach overlooking the Ligurian Sea.
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| Faro Del Muraglione, Viareggio |
Our time in Italy was drawing to a close and we were to return home via the airport at Pisa, just a short train ride from La Spezia. We've flown out of Pisa a few times but never visited the famous tower. So, with a couple of hours to spare before our flight home we thought we'd checkout lots of people pulling some very unusual shapes in front of a beautiful old building.
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| Arno River, Pisa |
I'd heard some less than complimentary reports about the city of Pisa, but I was immediately struck by its beauty, especially exploring the Lungarnos, which are the streets of the city that line the river Arno. They had an impact on the famous poet Byron who's description of the Arno adorns a riverside plaque. "Cast your eye, if you are not dazzled, on its river glowing as with fire, then follow the graceful curve of the palaces on the lung'Arn and tell me if any thing can surpass a sunset in Pisa."
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| The Leaning Tower of Pisa and Battistero di San Giovanni, Pisa, Italy |
We crossed the dramatic Arno River on route to the Piazza del Duomo, home to the three big hitters, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Cattedrale di Pisa and Battistero di San Giovanni. It is a beautiful space with the lush green lawns and exquisite white marble contrasting to great effect. It's also comical to see the whole of humankind posing in front of the leaning tower. It makes you smile.
On our return to the station to reclaim our luggage we had a wonderful sandwich at I Porci Comodi in the University District. Then it was time to jump on the excellent automated Pisamover train to the airport. Next time out I'll wrap up our tour of Liguria with a short recap and photos of the famous villages that make up the Cinque Terre.
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| Grotta di Lord Byron, Porto Venere |
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