Lerici is a cutest place and finally there were no foreign tourists there. I don’t quite understand why so many crowd up in the places north of La Spezia, which are indisputably pretty, but Lerici is also beautiful and it practically has the same elements as Cinque Terre and Portovenere – picturesque narrow and tall houses painted in earth colours and with green jalousies, narrow streets, steeps to climb, a fortification on a hilltop and all of this on the sea coast. I guess this is all more a question of current advertising and marketing of the entire area around Cinque Terre, including Portovenere.
On the other hand, Lerici is also not a stranger to potential advertising and tourist development based on its famous temporary residents from the beginning of the 19th century. Namely, the famous English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley rented a villa in the part of Lerici called San Terenzo in 1822 and there he was visited by the also famous English poet George Gordon Byron (that’s the one who swam across the Gulf of La Spezia in order to get to his friend, which I mentioned in the previous text about this trip to Italy). Moreover, it was precisely on his way back to Lerici, when he sailed from Leghorn on 8 July 1822, that Shelley was caught by a sudden storm in the Gulf of La Spezia and he drowned there. He was not even 30. By the way, there is another interesting fact linked to Shelley. He was married to Mary Shelley who was also a writer and who is probably most famous for creating the famous Frankenstein. A visit to this town was for me in a way a homage to my studying of English literature (I particularly had “troubles” precisely with the part that included the Romantic poets).
Lerici
Having arrived in Lerici, I walked a little along the sea and then I sat at a café in order to enjoy the beautiful view, perfect weather, peace and general harmony, for there was no need for me to be in any sort of hurry. After a fine break, I went on walking in order to take advantage of a few more hours of daylight.
Lerici
I went to the end of the pedestrian section, under the fortress itself, and then I returned to the spacious square in the centre. From there I entered the central streets that were again incredibly narrow, but also very picturesque. The difference in comparison to the ones I had seen the previous days was that there was almost nobody else in these streets this time around. What I want to say is that there were not many tourists and therefore there were not many shops or local vendors.
Lerici
Lerici
Since I saw on the map that there was a part of Lerici “behind” the promontory on top of which there is the fortress, I asked a couple of ladies I came across how to get “to the other side.” One of them looked at me a little confused, but then she remembered and said I should go back to a tunnel, but if I wanted to go up to the fortress I could start climbing even from there. Of course, she did not actually say climbing, but I was no longer in a mood to face even a single step without a dire need. So I headed in the direction they showed me in order to find the tunnel and I barely managed, although it is not small. In fact, the tunnel is entered right from the walking area by the sea, between the last couple of restaurants that are situated right under the fortress. So, I went to the other side of the hillock, but there was actually nothing interesting to see there. A little beach section on one side and a couple of restaurants on the other. I guess this is all full during the full summer season.
Lerici, the tunnel through the hillock topped by the fortress
I also returned through the tunnel, but I did not leave it, for at its very beginning there is an elevator that goes up to the fortress. I was delighted. Finally I didn’t have to climb up in order to see something. Admittedly, the fortress was closed, but there was still a beautiful view from the plateau in front of the entrance into the fortress.
View at Lerici, all the way to the left is San Terenzo
Of course, it is not possible to avoid the steps and going up and down completely, so if you want to catch a few more glimpses at the town’s beach or in the direction of Portovenere along with the islands, you have to go up and down again in order to reach some terraces from which there are truly beautiful views.
View across the Gulf of La Spezia: Palmaria island to the left and Portovenere to the right
After this brief visit of the top of the hillock, I went down to the sea level and slowly headed in the direction of San Terenzo, thinking I would catch a bus to La Spezia somewhere half way. However, as the weather was perfect, I was not tired, plus I enjoyed the scenery around me, I covered leisurely the distance slightly less than 3 km walking along the sea coast and I even decided to sit in a café rather than rush back to La Spezia.
Beach and the hold part of Lerici
Lerici
I preferred to sit here and look directly at the sea in one of the bars I passed by anyway than to search for some place nice in La Spezia. And so I did it and it was a great decision.
Aperol Spritz
Following this relaxing break, I took a suburban bus and soon I was back in La Spezia where I headed straight back to the flat. However, on the way I passed by an ice-cream parlour and saw a guy coming out with blue ice-cream. I had to try it. I asked the vendor what it was and they said “puffo.” Since I didn’t understand that I asked for additional explanations and they said – a combination of mint and chocolate. I took two scoops, just to be sure about the taste and it was excellent. Afterwards I checked the meaning of puffo. I had a laugh there – of course I didn’t understand it, it was the Italian term for smurfs and the ice-cream was exactly of the proper colour. Have a look...
The smurf ice-cream
The following day I left La Spezia and transferred to Genoa.
Genoa is the biggest Italian port and a large city on the coast of Ligurian Sea. I have to admit that I have never been particularly interested in visiting Genoa, but when I was planning this trip, I realized it was actually a very good thing to position myself right there. In addition, in the meantime, through my work, I have become aware of some details related to the Cathedral of Saint Lawrence, so I wanted to see them for myself. Also, I have always imagined it as a large, noisy and even not too attractive city, which has been corroborated in the comments of many Italians I have met. It turned out that we had all been wrong. Genoa is big and noisy, but it has some absolutely wonderful parts and by this I mostly mean the more or less narrow, winding streets in the historic centre of the city with fantastically beautiful palaces. As for the rest, I didn’t have the time to visit it all.
As for the accommodation in Genoa, I decided to take a room within a private flat. Right away the hostess drew my attention to the fact that the flat was on the 6th floor with no elevator, but when I was looking for the accommodation it seemed to me that everything that was offered was on the 5th or 6th floor. So I decided to accept it. On the other hand, the flat and my room were right in the historic centre of the city, not too far from the railway station where I arrived, so to start with I had a nice walk.
My bag was not too heavy, but I did have to carry it up 118 unusually high steps. Still, Francesca, my hostess, met me half way and more than kindly helped me with it. I guess the regular inhabitants are more used to it than us, passing visitors. She told me that sometimes she has to go up and down eight times a day. When I think a little bit, this climbing up was the general feature in all the places I was in during this visit to Italy. As if I had gone to the Dolomites.
A room with a view in Genoa
Be as it may, Francesca first offered me some coffee and cakes, and after a while I went out for a walk. Before going out, I asked Francesca to recommend some place where I can have lunch and she showed me on the map where I can eat freshly made pasta. Ideal for lunch! So, I first went there (Pastificio Artigianale di Canneto, Via di Canneto Il Curto, 49) and ordered pasta with traditional Genovese sauce (pesto alla genovese). That fantastic green sauce made of basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic and cheese originates precisely in this city. But, since I was hungry I also took another dish with octopus. Still, I exhibited incredible moderation by ordering both dishes in small portions (there is a medium, as well as a large size of the portion). The restaurant itself is practically a perfect version of “fast food” – the food is received really fast and it is served in plastic dishes, but it is possible to order freshly made pasta (as well as dried pasta), so the food does not lose on its quality. I really enjoyed it!
Trofie pasta with pesto genovese
Octopus salad
After the lovely meal, I went to the nearby Cathedral of St. Lawrence (San Lorenzo). This is a church founded in the 7th century, with additions done in the period from the 12th to the 14th century, but I was particularly interested in seeing a fresco on the counter façade – the interior side of the front facade. This concerns the theme of the Last Judgement. Several months before my visit to Genoa I had an opportunity not only to read, but also to translate a paper on the topic of this fresco. The fresco is interesting since it has been attributed to a Byzantine master of the early 14th century with both the east and the west traditions intertwining through different elements. I love it when I read a concrete text on some part or a detail, not necessarily in a guide book, since then I pay much more attention to different elements and thus enjoy more in what I’m looking at. This was the case on this occasion, as well.
Cathedral of St. Lawrence
Cathedral of St. Lawrence
Cathedral of St. Lawrence, the Last Judgement composition
Then I went to the church of San Donato and it is completely fantastic how a number of the churches in the old centre of Genoa seem squeezed between the high buildings that surround them and significantly overtop them.
Church of St. Donatus
Very close to this church, going up along a lane (is there any other way?), I came across the Genoa’s Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale) where I saw that there was an exhibition of Picasso’s masterpieces from his museum in Paris.
Doge's Palace in Genoa
I decided on the spot to go and see the exhibit. Well, it was ok. Picasso is Picasso. But, no matter how much I exposed myself to that type of art, I still find it strange. I read the brief synopses beside the pieces, but this did not help at all. I relaxed, allowed myself to be immersed ... – nothing! Then I started to imagine if I would like to have something like that hanging on a wall in my flat where I would look at it every day and here I finally started to see the difference. There were paintings I would throw out of my space right away, but there were also some that would be quite fine for me, without any need to know whether there was a woman reading or it actually showed the artist with his model, while you can’t discern either the artist or the palette or the model. I could live with them as an attractive distribution of straight and curvy lines and surfaces of different colours. On the other hand, there is nothing to worry about. No Picasso will ever end up on a wall in my flat. Problem solved.
After the visit to the exhibition, going through one of the side passages leading from the Doge’s Palace I got out to the impressive square Piazza De Ferrari, thus named after Marquis De Ferrari, not after the car brand. There are numerous buildings around the square with the seats of banks, insurance companies, etc., and this actually constitutes the financial and business centre of Genoa.
Fountain and the New Stock Exchange at the Piazza De Ferrari
I walked for a little while around this neighbourhood passing under multi-coloured umbrellas that often adorn cities nowadays and then I returned to the old part of the city, experimenting and going left and right along small streets in order to pass through as many as possible.
Centre of Genoa
A narrow street in the centre of Genoa
And then I finally reached Garibaldi street. My main impression was that this was a very narrow street for such an important urban space.