ITALY

Portofino, Splendido gulf &  golf

What to see

Staying at the Hotel Splendido, one can spend hours long in a rocking chair simply watching the view: the bay, the sea, fisher or sailing boats, seagulls, the old castle, the gardens, the flowers, the birds... the nature in its splendour, a living painting...

Then, the first place to visit is the old fisher village of Portofino which has been fortunately protected from the atrocities and voracities of the modern developers. Go and walk shopping through the old streets to the Piazzetta, have a look at the church dedicated to dead seamen and stroll along the waterfront. But the best place is the "Chuflay" right on the Piazzetta, where to take a drink stretching the day, observing the strolling crowds and spotting, may be, a famous face.

The adventurous can spend part of the day climbing the "Monte" to reach San Fruttuoso. The creek is wedged into mount Portofino, that encircles the abbey complex of San Fruttuoso, defended by the Doria tower against pirate raids. The Benedictine monks, who lived here in 1200, in its period of maximum splendour, had power and privileges. The Benedictine nucleus was founded in 984 on the ruins of a pre-exisiting convent. Today, the abbey, cloister and church (reachable only by sea or on foot) form a monumental complex of exceptional value, restored and protected by Findo per l'Ambiente Italiano.

The road from Portofino to Rapallo is tortuous but picturesque going alongside the bay and its numerous yachts anchored or sailing through. In the city of Rapallo, start the visit on the promenade, where, walking among palm and olive-trees, one can enjoy a wonderful view of the whole bay. Coloured buildings housing caffes, hotels and restaurants face the sea, the Castle and the port. The busy tourist port is at the west end of the promenade and the ancient Castle is at the other end. A few metres from the shore, surrounded by water, the Castle has been built in 1551, designed by Mastro Antonio Carabo to protect the town from the raids of fierce pirates, who ransacked Rapallo in 1549.

At 25 kms north, Genova, provincial capital of the Liguria region, is the main Italian commercial port, with genteel seaside resort, fine 16th century palaces in a town proud of its history and legend which was the native place of Christopher Columbus. On seeing Genoa, Montesquieu, Dumas and Flaubert all described it as a "city of marble" : black and white the town houses of the aristocracy and merchants, coloured and veined the various monuments. It can still be seen today in the historical centre. Among the houses and churches, it is not difficult to pick out the donations made by "pirate-navigators" and merchants. On nearly every street corner you can see slate, the warm yet resistant black stone of "home". Over portals slate and marble tell the tale of family "triumphs". Three outstanding examples: piazza Pinelli, piazza della Lepre and vico dei Garibaldi

Ancient map
of Liguria

Genova, the great Italian harbour

Wreck of  Colombus' family house

The promenade of Rapallo


beautiful view from Monte de Portofino

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