Portovenere

This is the image everyone knows: a church on the rocky spur at the tip of the headland, where tradition places a temple to Venus. The oldest part is a small early Christian church, consecrated in 1198; the Gothic section with black and white stripes was built by the Genoese between 1256 and 1277. Inside it is bare. The reason to come is outside: from the loggia and terrace you look straight down to the open sea, along the coast towards the Cinque Terre and across to Palmaria.

The terrace fills up at sunset. For photos without crowds, come early in the morning.

Below the walls, next to San Pietro, steps lead down to the rock terraces of the Grotta Arpaia, known as Byron’s Grotto. The cave itself has collapsed. What remains are sea-carved rocks, a plaque to the poet and one of the best places to swim off the rocks when the sea is calm.

Legend has it that in 1822 Lord Byron swam from here across the bay to visit Shelley at San Terenzo. There is no evidence he actually did, but the story gave its name to the Coppa Byron, a swimming race between Portovenere and Lerici. On the same rocks stands the bronze statue Mater Naturae by the sculptor Raffaele Scorzelli.

The Genoese fortress towers over the village. It was built in 1161 and enlarged between the 15th and 17th centuries, with terraced bastions facing the sea. There is little to see inside, but from the walls the view takes in the village, San Pietro, the islands and the whole gulf. It opens daily in season and usually only at weekends in winter; hours and ticket prices change, so check at the entrance or at the tourist office.

Halfway up to the castle, San Lorenzo is the main parish church: Romanesque, built by the Genoese in the early 12th century and consecrated in 1130 by Pope Innocent II. The façade was rebuilt after a fire in 1340 and the church restored after the Aragonese attack of 1494.

It keeps the Madonna Bianca, the White Madonna, an image on parchment venerated as the village’s patron. According to tradition it changed colour in front of the faithful during a plague in 1399. On the evening of 17 August a procession winds through the village lit by torches.

The entrance to the old town is in Piazza Bastreri, beneath the Torre Capitolare of 1161. Above the gate, the inscription “Colonia Januensis 1113” marks the arrival of the Genoese. This is also where the bus from La Spezia stops and where the limited traffic zone begins.

Through the gate runs Via Capellini, the main carruggio: a narrow paved lane parallel to the sea, squeezed between the tower houses. It is lined with small shops, focaccia bakeries and delis, and on the left arched passages and stairways drop down to the harbour. Follow it to the end to reach San Pietro.

The Calata Doria is the waterfront, with fishing boats and the “palazzata”: narrow, colourful houses packed together so tightly that from the sea they look like a single wall. They also served as a defence, a solid front to the sea with passages through to the lanes behind. The classic photo is taken from the breakwater towards sunset, when the façades catch the light.

Palmaria is the largest island in Liguria and only a few minutes by boat from the Portovenere quay. It has pebble beaches, a loop of trails past 19th-century forts and old black marble quarries, and a view of the village you will never get from land. Boats, landing points, beaches and trails are covered in our guide to Palmaria Island: how to get there, beaches and the walk around the island.

Further south lie Tino, with its navy lighthouse, and the rock of Tinetto, with remains of early medieval monastic settlements. Tino is a military zone and can only be visited around 13 September, the feast of San Venerio, the gulf’s patron saint who lived there as a hermit. Boats must be booked and places are limited. The rest of the year you see both islands from the water on a boat tour.

Just before Portovenere on the SP 530, Le Grazie is a quiet village around a sheltered harbour, with the sanctuary of Nostra Signora delle Grazie. Nearby is the Roman villa of Varignano, from the 1st century BC, with a museum that reopened in 2025. It is closed on Mondays and open only in the morning on Sundays; check hours and tickets on the villa’s official website.