The Gulf of La Spezia is known around the world also as the Gulf of Poets. This name was given to the gulf in 1910 by the playwright Sem Benelli, that in a beautiful villa overlooking the sea in San Terenzo worked on his masterpiece “The Jester’s Supper“.

This nickname comes mainly from the fact that over the centuries many poets, writers and artists have spent periods in the villages of the Gulf, struck by the beauty of this “water amphitheater”.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, his wife Mary Shelley, author of the Gothic novel “Frankenstein”, the American writer Henry James, Lord George Byron, Charles Dickens, George Sand, Virginia Wolf, Percy Lublock, the painter Arnold Böcklin. The writer and poet D.H. Lawrence which in 1913 with his partner Freida von Richthofen spent nine months in Fiascherino, giving the name to one of its bays. These places were for years one of the favorite destinations for a circle of English, German, Russian artists and writers. Wilfrid Gibson, Robert Trevelyan, Lascelles Abercrombie, Charles Tomlinson, Percy Lubbock, Emma d’Orczy, Edward Forster, the publisher Edward Marsh, Aleksander Amfiteatrov, the painters Aubrey Waterfield, Käthe Kollwitz, Hermann Gattiker, F.Herzog, Helene Stromeyer, the architect Martin Elsaesser.

But also many Italian artists have passed through the Gulf of Poets. The poets Francesco Petrarca, Gabriele D’Annunzio, Eugenio Montale, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the writer and film director Mario Soldati, who lived in a house on Trigliano tip, the cliff that borders the beach of the Whale” of Fiascherino and the cliffs of Tellaro, the journalist Indro Montanelli who used to stay in Monte Marcello, the poet and journalist Giovanni Giudici born in Le Grazie (Porto Venere). The writer and scientist Paolo Mantegazza, the painter Oreste Carpi, the poets Attilio Betrolucci and Paolo Bertolani, the advertiser-poet Luigi Menozzi, the writer Marco Buticchi and the publisher Mario Spagnol, native of Lerici. The Big Three exponents of Italian literature of the fourteenth century, Dante, Petrarca and Boccaccio, mention Lerici in their works. Sandro Botticelli in Fezzano met Simonetta Vespucci, the muse for his work “The Birth of Venus”.

Known popularizer of the images of the Gulf is J.M. William Turner (1775-1851), English landscape painter that uses engravings inspired to La Spezia to illustrate the “Pictoresque Tour of Italy” of James Hakewill.

< back

Tellaro, with its tower-houses and the steep narrow streets leading down to the sea is the last village you meet on the east of the La Spezia Gulf. It’s a magic place to visit especially,  if you have the opportunity, at sunset.

Lerici, nestled between green mountains, is a beautiful seaside village, the walk up to San Terenzo, another little gem, offers one of the most beautiful landscapes in Italy.

From here you can admire the untouched nature of Palmaria Island, and you cannot certainly miss a boat trip to the famous “Grotta Azzurra”. In front of the island there is Porto Venere, the charming village with the Church of the thirteenth century of St. Peter, the square overlooking the sea with the typical facade in black and white bands. From there you can enjoy a wonderful view towards Lerici, the Apuan Alps and the coast of 5 Terre.

From the west side of the Gulf, there is “Le Grazie”, a beautiful cove near Portovenere with the ruins of a Roman villa of the first century BC. The village has a long tradition in the field of shipbuilding and each year hosts the event “Valdettaro Classic Boats” meeting of historical boats.

The Cinque Terre, famous throughout the world for their unique beauty, are a must. Riomaggiore and the “Via dell’Amore” that leads to Manarola with its colorful houses overlooking the sea. The famous sweet wine “Sciacchetrà” that you can taste in a wine bar in Corniglia, the steps and alleyways of Vernazza up to Monterosso, where you will find sandy beaches and taste the famous anchovies accompanied by a glass of wine.

< back

Inland there are many villages and castles to discover, in every corner of the valley. The marble quarries in Carrara have to be visited, on the way it’s worth to make a stop in Colonnata, an ancient village of quarry workers dug into the rock, today slow-food’s presidium of lard.

Discover the villages and castles of Lunigiana, enjoy the typical products (testaroli, oil, Candia wine). Visit Sarzana and discover the many artisan and art shops in the streets of the historic center; in the historic center, the Citadel, an ancient fortress, that once was a jail, now houses exhibitions and events and open to the public. The Sarzanello fortress dominates the town, you can enjoy a wonderful view over  Magra valley.

The medieval villages of Ortonovo, Castelnuovo Magra and Nicola are known for the production of D.O.C local wines

It’s also worth to visit Luni, one of the most beautiful archaeological sites in northern Italy, with the ruins of the amphitheater dating back to the first century D.C.

Near Luni, Ameglia and Bocca di Magra have centuries of history: Ameglia, with the ruins of a Roman villa and a pre-Roman necropolis, Bocca di Magra, located just on the mouth of the river Magra, that also had a Roman villa with a SPA. Ameglia and Bocca di Magra arise on Montemarcello Magra Natural Park, where the sea gives way to areas rich in biodiversity and to the green hills of “Val di Vara”, ideal for naturalistic excursions.

< back

The events and places to visit are endless in Locanda’s sorroundings…a few chilometres away you can live many experiences, intense or amusing. Castle tours , Museums and Galleries, the “Festival della Mente”, appointments with acoustic guitar or jazz, food festivals, typical markets, shopping in the outlets or shopping centres. A territory to discover in summer and winter.

Not to be missed appointments

ART & CULTURE
La Spezia: Lia Museum, Naval Museum, Sigillo Museum, San Giorgio Castle
Carrara: Michelangelo Quarry, Fantiscritti Quarry Museum, Marble Civic Museum
Fosdinovo: Malaspina Castle
Lerici: Lerici Castle
Massa: Malaspina Castle
Pontremoli: “Stele della Lunigiana” Museum

EVENTS
March: San Giuseppe Fair – June: Liguria da bere – July: Festa della Marineria – August: Palio del Golfo
Sarzana – August: La Soffitta in strada – September: Festival della Mente
Lerici – July: Sant’Erasmo Festival – September: Mytiliade
Porto Venere – August: Madonna Bianca Festival
Tellaro – July: Borgo Fatato Festival, that takes place in the ancient village, in narrow streets and small squares, up to the sea
Viareggio – July/August: Versiliana Festival
Pontremoli – July: Bancarella Prize

FOOD FESTIVALS
Tellaro: first weekend  octopus festival (village symbol)
Serra: snail festival, with traditional dishes from the Ligurian cuisine, dances and parties in all the village.
Baccano di Arcola:  in the park of the villa Picedi Benettini, polenta festival at the end of August.
A Pitelli: “Pitei ‘n cantina”, wineries and taverns open, music and exhibitions for two days usually at the end of August
Pignone: “Festa degli Orti” at the end of August in Pignone village, with traditional dishes, wine tasting and music
Cadimare: muscle festival every weekend in July
Marola: raviolo festival and muscle festival in July and August

SHOPPING
Many occasions for your shopping:
Saturday morning Lerici market
Thursday Sarzana market
Friday La Spezia market
Mercoledì (domenica anche durante la stagione estiva) mercato di Wednesday (Sunday also during the summer) Forte dei marmi market
Evening opening of the shops every Friday in July – La Spezia

Shopping centres:
Le Terrazze La Spezia – Centro Luna Ipercoop Sarzana – Outlet Shoppin Brugnato

< back

Diving

For lovers of diving the coast of Fiascherino and its surroundings offers fantastic seabeds, caves, sea life, fish, octopus and shellfish. A world to explore, live, photograph. Deep Blue by Dolphing  diving centre offers to beginners and experts the opportunity to make dive tours around the bay. You can request information and contactd to the Reception.

Canoeing

The canoe is the ideal way to discover the wonderful secrets of the coast, to move from one beach to another with speed and fun. Canoes can be rented in the nearby beaches

Surf

The beach of “Venere Azzurra”, on days with rough sea, is the meeting point for all surfers. Obviously, in the high summer season, with many people on the beach and in the shore, surfing is practiced only in the evening, while out of season every opportunity is good for surfers to face waves and wind at all hours.

Sailing

Sailing is a popular sport in La Spezia Gulf. In Lerici the Sailing Club Erix, at the furthest and panoramic point of the “Calata”, exists since 1953! With sailing courses for children, amateurs and professionals. A benchmark for regattas and events related to sailing.

Another charming and very professional structure is the Sailing School of Santa Teresa, already famous for having hosted for years the Sailing Center of Caprera with a base connected to the Maddalena Archipelago.

Circolo Erix – Calata Mazzini, 27  19032 Lerici – T. + 39 0187 966770 e.mail segreteria@cdverix.it  Boatswain Mr. Riccardo +39 327 3704050

Santa Teresa Sailing School – Via Santa Teresa – Pozzuolo – 19032 La Spezia

Tennis

It is very simple to play tennis in Fiascherino and surroundings, there are many courts, the nearest  just a few steps from the Locanda and you can book from the Reception. In addition to the tennis court in the park of Fiascherino, there are other courts in Lerici, Ressora of Arcola, Ameglia, Sarzana, etc.

Golf

The Golf Club Villa Marigola of Lerici is dedicated to golf lovers, 5 km from the Locanda Il Senatore. A small, lovely green a few meters away from the sea, protected by ancient olive trees and fragrant Mediterranean vegetation. The course has an undulating landscape of nine holes, characterized by typical Ligurian terraces, overlooking the Gulf of Poets, with panoramic views, in particular from the hole n.3 from which you can admire the gulf dominated by the castle of Lerici . The holes, immersed into the green, are often in narrow corridors requiring to the golfer extreme precision.

Golf Club Villa Marigola Via S. Biaggini, 5, 19032 Lerici SP

T. + 39 0187 970193

Trekking

Locanda il Senatore is the ideal starting point for trekking in all the surrounding areas and is near to the parks of Montemarcello Magra, Porto Venere and Cinque Terre. An immersion in nature, ancient evidences and new scents. The nearest paths, starting from the Locanda, spread towards the Serra village, Barbazzano ruins, Pugliola, Solaro, the Caletta ( with the underwater Roman ruins), arriving up to Lerici.
From the near Tellaro village a path climbs up to Zanego, continuing you can reach the botanical garden of the Park on Monte Murlo and the ancient village of Montemarcello;
walking down the long and fascinating staircase from Montemarcello you can reach the black beaches of Punta Corvo, on the other side instead it’s possible to arrive in Bocca di Magra.
In Portovenere Park, you should not miss the Muzzerone experience, the route of Palmaria Island or the path that connects Porto Venere to Campiglia, with all the paths to reach Tramonti, Schiara ecc.
A loto of tracks pass through Cinque Terre territory, inland and along the coast.
The coast track touches the five villages with a 5 hours walk, the Santuari path instead, on the crest, is more difficult but very fascinating, for its landscape, flora and fauna.
All the tracks are of average difficulty, well indicated and well accessibile, you can enjoy trekking on all the territory in every season.

Itineraries from Fiascherino:

Lerici/Fiascherino – Barbazzano – Tellaro
Fiascherino – La Serra – Bellavista – Pugliola – Solaro – San Terenzo – Lerici
Tellaro/Fiascherino – La Serra – Lerici
Fiascherino – Tellaro – Zanego – Montemarcello – Bocca di Magra
Fiascherino – La Serra – Montemarcello

www.parcomagra.it
www.parconaturaleportovenere.it
www.parconazionale5terre.it
www.caisarzana.com
www.cailaspezia.it
www.scuoladiarrampicatamuzzerone.it

< back