Since Jim and I are
senza macchina (without car), we are trying to do local excursions on public transportation. So last weekend, we took a 20-minute ferry ride from Lerici across the Golfo dei Poeti to Portovenere. This was our second trip to Portovenere, named in honor of Venus, and I'm ready to go again.
Portovenere epitomizes the Ligurian seaside village with its pastel buildings narrowly stacked and pressed against the rocky hillside. It also epitomizes much of Europe with its layers of archaeology. The crowning feature of the village is the church of San Pietro, which was built in 1277 on top of Paleo-Christian and pagan ruins. It's not hard to imagine that over the centuries people would want to have some monument on this rocky outcrop that strategically overlooks the Mediterranean and marks the entrance into Portovenere's safe cove. As religious beliefs changed and battles were waged, temples were destroyed or dismantled and new ones were built in their place.
Since the dogs were with us, we decided to take a smaller ferry boat to Isola di Palmaria, so that we could walk them off leash on this less populated island. Unfortunately, nesting sea birds and terrain that was marked by shrub-obscured cliffs kept the dogs on the leash much of the time, but we were able to let them off-leash for a bit...a rarity these days. The walk around the island took 3 hours, including lots of stops to check out WWII gun bunkers, paleolithic cave dwellings, and stunning views of the sea.
Back in Portovenere the village was packed with tourists off of two cruise ships. We walked a little ways out of town and found a quite bar where we had sandwiches and beer. We spent the rest of our time watching people and practicing
il dolce far niente...the sweetness of doing nothing.
Since Jim and I are senza macchina (without car), we are trying to do local excursions on public transportation. So last weekend, we took a 20-minute ferry ride from Lerici across the Golfo dei Poeti to Portovenere. This was our second trip to Portovenere, named in honor of Venus, and I'm ready to go again. 
Portovenere epitomizes the Ligurian seaside village with its pastel buildings narrowly stacked and pressed against the rocky hillside. It also epitomizes much of Europe with its layers of archaeology. The crowning feature of the village is the church of San Pietro, which was built in 1277 on top of Paleo-Christian and pagan ruins. It's not hard to imagine that over the centuries people would want to have some monument on this rocky outcrop that strategically overlooks the Mediterranean and marks the entrance into Portovenere's safe cove. As religious beliefs changed and battles were waged, temples were destroyed or dismantled and new ones were built in their place.
Since the dogs were with us, we decided to take a smaller ferry boat to Isola di Palmaria, so that we could walk them off leash on this less populated island. Unfortunately, nesting sea birds and terrain that was marked by shrub-obscured cliffs kept the dogs on the leash much of the time, but we were able to let them off-leash for a bit...a rarity these days. The walk around the island took 3 hours, including lots of stops to check out WWII gun bunkers, paleolithic cave dwellings, and stunning views of the sea. 
Back in Portovenere the village was packed with tourists off of two cruise ships. We walked a little ways out of town and found a quite bar where we had sandwiches and beer. We spent the rest of our time watching people and practicing il dolce far niente...the sweetness of doing nothing.
wow, thats awesome, the coast, the wonderful walking environment, the scenes. I noticed the sail boat near the castle brought back memories of our Greece sail. The town with the pastel buildings on one side of the street and moorings on the other is typical I suspect and very pretty.
ReplyDeleteI love these postings and the pictures are wonderful. Can't wait to visit.