Lerici

Lerici is one of the most loved and most famous tourist resorts of the entire Riviera di Levante, famous for its beaches and its wonderful views.

If you are looking for a destination to enjoy a vacation on the Riviera di Levante in the name of the sea and tanning Lerici is the perfect destination for you: every day you can go to the discovery of a beach that is always new and always different with in common, of course, a crystalline and transparent water typical of sea of Liguria .

Here you will also find yourself in a strategic position to explore other wonders of the surroundings. Boat trips to Portovenere and the Cinque Terre or a ride to the worldly places of Tuscany.

Lerici is nestled in the Gulf of Poets. It is no coincidence that famous poets and writers of past ages passed through here and were inspired by the beauty of this place.

The absolute protagonists of English romanticism such as Lord Byron, Percy and Mary Shelley were enchanted by the wonderful views that Lerici has always offered.
There is ample evidence that many centuries before great local writers such as Dante, Petrarca and Boccaccio were guests of this village and after them, in more recent times, also Giosuè Carducci and Gabriele D’Annunzio.

During your holidays, between a swim in the sea and a romantic dinner in a restaurant in the ancient village, let yourself be carried away by the charm of this town and go in search of the most romantic corners of this corner of Eastern Liguria.

On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum pain eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

The castle that dominates the town of Lerici from the top of a rocky promontory was built by the Pisans around the mid-200s at the time of the maritime republics and the war with Genoa.

In 1256 Genoa conquered the village and strengthened the castle, raising the mighty pentagonal tower.

The castle has spanned the centuries and today preserves the external walls almost intact thanks to recent restorations. The small Gothic chapel dedicated to Santa Anastasia is also in good condition.

The geopaleontological museum of the castle of Lerici, inaugurated in 1998, collects a vast collection of fossil finds coming mainly from the Spezzino and Lunigiana, as well as a collection of minerals.

If by chance you don’t have a passion for geopaleontology, don’t worry: from the castle you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the Gulf of Poets!

To reach the castle you can choose a staircase of 168 steps after having walked the alleys of the historic center or the practical lift.

The nerve center of Lerici is Piazza Garibaldi, the central square open to the sea and closed by beautiful pastel-colored houses, which during the summer is crowded with tables and tourists.

Here you will find the oratory of San Rocco, dating back to the 13th century, which was built on an ancient hospitale for pilgrims in transit and dedicated to the patron saint of plague victims during the plague of 1523.

Very interesting is the bell tower, which was built by re-adapting and transforming the previous Roman tower. Inside the tower there is still the Genoese coat of arms.

Lerici is also known and appreciated for the eighteenth-century residences that the richest families built on the gulf.

The most beautiful of all is probably Villa Marigola, located on the promontory that divides the inlets of Lerici and San Terenzo.

It was built by the Marquis Ollandini as a holiday resort in the second half of the eighteenth century. In the large surrounding land there was a garden of citrus, olive groves and vineyards; only in the nineteenth century will the real park be created, with an English garden and panoramic points.

At the end of the century the villa passed to the English banker Reginald Jenkin Pearse, who hosts protagonists of the cultural and artistic life of all Europe.

Since 1979 the villa has been the seat of cultural and congress events.

If you want to discover all the best of this splendid area you should also go to the discovery of the small hamlets of Lerici: San Terenzo, to the west and Fiascherino and Tellaro to the east.

These three villages are very reminiscent of the villages of Five lands : typical seaside villages with traditional, perched and colorful tower-houses close to the sea.

San Terenzo is the most important and closest hamlet. It is only 2 km from the center of Lerici.

If you follow our advice, to go and visit San Terenzo we recommend a nice walk along the seafront, perhaps during a late afternoon, at sunset. A wonderful atmosphere awaits you and a view of several beaches that alternate along the way.

The road is easy to find. At the beginning and the end of the itinerary two imposing castles dominate. That of Lerici on one side and the Castle of San Terenzo on the other.

Fiascherino and Tellaro are smaller and quieter and they too deserve a visit, camera in hand!

A curious phenomenon that you can admire in the mountains of San Lorenzo, behind Lerici, is the Golden Butterfly.

This strange phenomenon can be observed on the day of the summer solstice and in those immediately preceding and following: the rays of the sun, at sunset, pass through a crack created by a megalithic formation called quadrilithon, and project a beam on one of the menhirs of light in the shape of a butterfly. spirits of men, once dead, would return

Wide beaches and tiny bays, equipped or free beaches: from San Terenzo to Tellaro there is no shortage of choice for lovers of sunbathing and swimming.

The first one you meet, coming from La Spezia, is the famous beach of Blue Bay , enclosed between Punta Santa Teresa and Punta Galera and once called Cala Chiappara.

San Terenzo it has a comfortable and sandy beach, located right in front of the town.

Going towards Lerici, here it is Venus Azure , perhaps the best known beach in the area: it is located halfway between Lerici and San Terenzo and is surrounded by green hills; right in front, the islands of Tino and Palmaria stand out.

A place much loved by tourists and La Spezia vacationers (also because the beach is free, but well equipped), the Venere Azzurra has been awarded the Blue Flag every year since 2000.

Proceeding towards the town, those who do not like the rocks (in summer taken by storm) find a couple of beaches before the imposing bulk of the castle. Behind, the small beach of San Giorgio repays the effort by offering a truly remarkable natural environment and landscape context.

At the southern end of the Gulf of Lerici, in Fiascherino, after a long climb, you arrive at a small bay with a narrow beach, where it is possible to rent deckchairs and umbrellas.

A little further on, in Treggiano, another stairway and another small beach, overlooking the village of Tellaro. From the village you can also take a path for the so-called “beaches” of Tellaro : the path is treacherous and you have to be a little trained to face it, but the scenario that opens at the end deserves a bit of trekking.

In Lerici there is certainly no shortage of accommodation to stay overnight. Moving a little in advance, you can easily find solutions for all needs and budgets.

Most of the accommodations, whether hotels, B & Bs or apartments, are located near the beach, in the historic center or just a few minutes away.

Reaching Lerici by car is really very simple: take the Sarzana exit on the A12 Genova-Livorno motorway and follow the signs for Lerici.

Parking for free is not that simple. You will probably have to look for one of the paid parking lots available in town.

If you want to travel by train and reach Lerici you will have to get off at Sarzana station or La Spezia station. In both cases you can then use the buses that connect both stations to the city center.

As with many other towns in the Levante Ligure, Lerici can be reached by boat. A perfect choice to admire the beauty of the Ligurian coast from the sea, even if perhaps the slowest and most expensive. To reach Lerici you can embark in La Spezia, Portovenere, Levanto, Tellaro and from the villages of the Cinque Terre.