La Spezia, Italy. Tuscany by the Sea
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| WJ3 (second from the left) at anchor, Le Grazie |
No wonder
everyone loves Tuscany, it’s just so different to other places fringing the
Mediterranean Sea we’ve visited. The
hills are green, farms luxuriant and villages colourful. Cypress pines dot the landscape and
everywhere people are in boats of all shapes and sizes enjoying the last of
their summer holidays. The days are
delightfully temperate and the nights cool.
We arrived late after another long day to settle into a peaceful
anchorage off the small village of Le Grazie.
Technically, we are on the edge of Liguria here but who’s telling? There is a large local marina nearby and
beyond that a fish farm. We tuck
ourselves in near the church and wait for its early morning musical chimes to
ring out over surrounding hills.
From La
Spezia, a short bus ride away, we can catch a train to the Renaissance
heartland - Pisa, Siena and Florence.
Nearby is the famous Cinque Terre.
So, if it all pans out AND the anchor holds, we’ll do a little exploring
before heading off to Corsica, our only taste of France this year.
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| View over Porto Venere back toward the Gulf of La Spezia |
Just as a
warm up expedition, we took the local bus to Porto Venere. It was Thursday, but judging by the crowds,
you could quite believe it was Sunday. Still,
we walked the quaint old town set into the side of a steep coastline and
admired the views out over Palmaria Island to a very busy anchorage and the
cliff-lined coast north along the Cinque Terre.
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Views north along the Cinque Terre coast from Grotta di Lord Byron.
Little wonder he found these views inspiring! |
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| San Pietro perched on the cliff's edge at Porto Venere |
Porto Venere is considered, unofficially, the 6th village of
this area and it is possible to walk (yes, hike) along the verges to village #5. We chose instead to explore San Pietro, a
very pretty 13th c black & white marble church perched on the
seaward slope of the village. Some parts
of this church date back to the 6th c. At its foot, a door leads to a grotto where
Byron is said to have enjoyed swimming.
He swam (apparently quite often) to Lerici across the Gulf of La Spezia
to an apartment he rented there, and furnished with 2 mistresses. After all, it was the time of the great Romantics
and Porto Venere is named in honour of the goddess of love, Venus!
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| Climbing through the village |
Climbing a
maze of rickety stairs (that could well have been ladders!) through the
village, we encountered the second church of the village, the 12th c
San Lorenzo. Significantly larger and
rather more severe, it’s named in honour of a saint who was martyred over a
grill (alive!!) Those medieval types
certainly had an interesting punishment list.
Just in case you weren’t entirely clear how he met his maker, a
sculpture over the doorway depicts this fate graphically.
Of course,
we had a further climb to a small citadel, Castello Doria (12th c)
that crests the rise above the town. The
village was fortified by the Genoese, a powerhouse state at the time. The castle was defended by a garrison of
archers, musketeers and sometime later, cannon.
During Napoleon’s time, the citadel was used to hold political
prisoners.
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When you think you've got it tough today,
spare a thought for poor Saint Lorenzo! |
Back down steep
stairways that wound through pastel coloured and very tidy villas (I want
one!!), we decided on a late lunch at one of the many tiny restaurants lining
the main pedestrian street. At 3pm,
there was no service until at least 7pm!
Needless to say, we are still adjusting to Italy’s meal times. So, a
quick nibble on pesto (a free sample made from locally grown basil) then on down
to the corniche for at least a beer and a little bikini watching (that should
read, watching incredibly little bikinis!), before heading back to Le Grazie.  |
| Finally, a chance for a little girl talk! |
(Photos later when we have better Internet connection, grrr!)
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