Lerici: Porto Venere - La Spezia
Tucked along the Gulf of La Spezia, Lerici is a place whose character is shaped by the sheltered Ligurian coastline. The town stands on the Gulf of Poets, the broad inlet between Porto Venere and the headland of Lerici, a name associated with writers including Percy Bysshe Shelley. Across the water, La Spezia is Liguria’s principal naval city and home to the Italian Navy’s major arsenal. Porto Venere occupies a narrow peninsula at the gulf’s western edge; its medieval waterfront, the Church of San Pietro and the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto form part of the UNESCO World Heritage site shared with Cinque Terre. In Lerici itself, the seafront is overlooked by a medieval castle.
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Lerici has served as a small port on Liguria’s eastern coast since the Middle Ages. The town curves around a sheltered inlet on the Gulf of Poets, part of the Ligurian Sea beside the Bay of La Spezia, with wooded slopes rising behind its waterfront. Lerici Castle commands the harbour, recalling the strategic importance of this contested coast in the medieval rivalry between Genoa and Pisa. The English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley spent his final months at Villa Magni in nearby San Terenzo before his death at sea in 1822. Trace Lerici’s setting along the Gulf of Poets by browsing webcams from the surrounding Ligurian coast.
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Liguria is best known within Italy for the Cinque Terre, five historic coastal villages set above the Ligurian Sea. This narrow north-western region runs between the sea and the Ligurian Alps and Apennines, giving it a densely settled coastline, steep terraces and compact inland valleys. Genoa, its capital, developed as one of the Mediterranean’s great maritime powers; its old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The region is also closely associated with pesto alla Genovese, traditionally made with basil, pine nuts, garlic, cheese and olive oil. Continue through nearby webcams to explore different parts of Liguria.
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Among the countries of southern Europe, Italy stands out for its Mediterranean coastline and cities marked by the legacy of ancient Rome. The Alps form its northern frontier, while the Apennines run down the peninsula and the Po crosses the broad plain of the north. Rome’s Colosseum and Roman Forum recall the ancient empire; Florence is closely associated with the Renaissance, and Venice is built across a lagoon on the Adriatic. Food changes markedly between regions, from olive-oil cooking in the south to rice dishes in the Po Valley. Sicily and Sardinia add distinct island identities to a country whose regions retain strong local character. Explore nearby webcam locations that provide complementary perspectives on Italy’s coasts, cities and mountains.
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