{"id":61015,"date":"2026-10-10T21:32:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T21:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/italian-riviera.com\/liguria\/zoagli\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T21:33:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T21:33:50","slug":"zoagli","status":"publish","type":"localita","link":"https:\/\/italian-riviera.com\/en\/riviera-di-levante\/zoagli\/","title":{"rendered":"Zoagli"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zoagli is a village of about 2,300 people on the Gulf of Tigullio, in the province of Genoa, squeezed between Rapallo<\/a> and Chiavari<\/a>. The centre sits in a small bay, right under the tall arches of the railway viaduct; behind it, steep hills of olive groves climb to three hamlets and a handful of old churches. Rapallo and Chiavari are one train stop away.<\/p>\n

People come to Zoagli for two things. The first is the seafront promenades: two footpaths built into the cliffs from the 1930s onwards, a few metres above the waves, running east and west from the main square. The second is silk velvet: for centuries Zoagli wove for the courts and palaces of Europe, and two workshops still work on historic looms.<\/p>\n

There are no queue-worthy monuments here and no big beaches. Zoagli is a small, quiet village: good for half a day from Rapallo, or as a calm base on the Riviera di Levante, with Santa Margherita Ligure<\/a>, Portofino<\/a> and Sestri Levante<\/a> easy to reach by train or bus, and the Cinque Terre about an hour down the line.<\/p>\n

What to see in Zoagli<\/h2>\n
\"Zoagli<\/figure>\n

You can see the whole village on foot in a couple of hours, promenades included. The sights are close together: the square under the bridge, the church of San Martino, the two towers on the sea and the castles you admire from outside. With an extra half day, head up into the hills to the hamlets.<\/p>\n

The railway bridge and Piazza XXVII Dicembre<\/h3>\n
\"Il<\/figure>\n

The railway reached Zoagli in 1868 and crossed the bay on a high bridge above the square and the houses. It has been the village’s landmark ever since, and it was also the target of Allied bombing. On 27 December 1943 aircraft hit the line and destroyed most of the centre, killing 45 civilians; more raids followed in May and June 1944.<\/p>\n

The main square is named after the date of the first raid. It was created by covering the mouth of the Semorile stream with the rubble of the destroyed houses, and today there is a car park underneath. That is why most of central Zoagli was rebuilt after the war: a few houses of the old village survive on the western side, while the eastern side is almost entirely new. Look at the arches from the beach and you understand the village’s story better than from any plaque.<\/p>\n

Church of San Martino<\/h3>\n

The parish church, dedicated to the patron saint, was built in the early 18th century to a design by Antonio Maria Ricca. Badly damaged in 1943, it was rebuilt. Inside are a panel by Teramo Piaggio, a 16th-century painter born in Zoagli, and two wooden sculpture groups attributed to the school of Maragliano. Tradition says it keeps part of the ashes of St John the Baptist, brought to Genoa from the First Crusade. Outside, look at the churchyard paved in risseu, the black-and-white pebble mosaic typical of Liguria.<\/p>\n

The seafront promenades<\/h3>\n
\"La<\/figure>\n

These are what Zoagli is known for. Two paths built into the cliffs start from the square: the eastern one, Lungomare Canevaro, runs past the Rotonda Grande lookout all the way to the railway station; the western one follows the rocks on the other side of the beach. The first sections were built in 1939 with money from local families, and the route was completed in 2003. In the evening they are lit from below and become the after-dinner stroll.<\/p>\n

In rough seas the waves break over the paths: in October 2018 a storm brought down a long stretch, which only fully reopened in 2022. On stormy days, respect the closures. Route, history and tips are in our guide to the Zoagli seafront promenade<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Torre di Levante and Castello Canevaro<\/h3>\n

The main beach is framed by two 16th-century towers, built by the Republic of Genoa against pirates. The Torre di Levante, known as the Saracen Tower, stands on a rocky spur above the sea: it belongs to the town, was restored in 2001 and hosts exhibitions, talks and civil weddings. The Torre di Ponente, from 1547, was absorbed into Castello Canevaro, a residence begun in the early 1500s, remodelled in 1899 and partly destroyed in the war. The castle is private: you see it from the beach and the promenade.<\/p>\n

Sem Benelli’s castle<\/h3>\n

Along the Via Aurelia towards Chiavari, a castle-like building of stone and brick stands on a spur above the sea. The playwright Sem Benelli had it built in 1914, to a design by the stage designer Gian Giuseppe Mancini, and it looks like a set from one of his plays. Benelli sold it in 1943 and lived in the gardener’s house until his death in 1949. It is private and cannot be visited, but you get a good view from the road and from the sea.<\/p>\n

Villa Vicini<\/h3>\n

In the centre, Villa Vicini is an Art Nouveau villa from 1910 with a garden of risseu paths, a rose garden and a wisteria pergola. Its last owner left it to the town, which uses it for events, talks and weddings. Nearby, Palazzo Vicini has a fresco of St George on its fa\u00e7ade.<\/p>\n

Sant’Ambrogio<\/h3>\n
\"Zoagli<\/figure>\n

This is the hamlet above the village, towards Rapallo. The church has medieval origins, an altar from 1707 and a statue by Maragliano; the risseu churchyard was designed in 1983 by the landscape architect Pietro Porcinai. From the square you see the whole Gulf of Tigullio as far as the Portofino headland. The poet Ezra Pound lived here for many years and walked these paths with other foreign writers.<\/p>\n

San Pantaleo and the Castellaro<\/h3>\n

The little Romanesque church of San Pantaleo, from the 12th century, is the oldest in the area. Next to it is the Castellaro, where remains of an Iron Age settlement were found, and a stretch of the old Roman road leads down towards the village. Kandinsky painted this very spot. You reach it on foot along the cr\u00eauze, the stone mule tracks, or on the Five Bell Towers loop.<\/p>\n

San Pietro di Rovereto and Semorile<\/h3>\n

San Pietro di Rovereto, towards Chiavari, sits on a ridge that drops straight to the sea, along the old Roman route. Its parish church, rebuilt in the 15th century, uses a Roman cinerary urn from the 1st\u20132nd century as a holy water font, and its risseu churchyard is multicoloured. Semorile, in the middle of the valley behind the village, is a rural hamlet with the church of San Giovanni Battista, a parish since 1619, and the start of the path to Montallegro.<\/p>\n

Beaches in Zoagli<\/h2>\n
\"Barche<\/figure>\n

Zoagli has only a few beaches, all small and pebbly, separated by stretches of rock. In 2026 it does not have a Blue Flag. In return the water is clear and the rocky coast is good for snorkelling.<\/p>\n