By the extreme land of the eastern Liguria, where the city of La Spezia arises, between the blue of the sea and the green bush of the coast, the Gulf of Poets shows its small villages full of grace, like Portovenere, Le Grazie, Lerici, Tellaro, Fiascherino, and the fashinating islands of Palmaria and Tino.

LERICI
At the east side of the Gulf there is Lerici, located by the seaside and hills at the back, a labyrinth of narrow alleys and tiny squares, where the sea offers possibilities for water sports and holidays.
Along the road coming from La Spezia you'll encounter San Terenzo, well known to those fond of poetry with Magni House, that gave hospitality to Mary and Percy Shelley, nowadays a museum to remind the Ligurian presence of this English poet from nineteenth century.
From the green cape between San Terenzo and Lerici is overlooking Marigola House, ex Pearce House, where many important persons had hospitality.
Today the House is owning by a bank, Cassa di Risparmio of La Spezia, home for meetings and cultural activities of high level, still giving the fashion of people that have been there.
Unique in this area its "Italian Style" garden with plants of quality and variety.

PORTOVENERE
At the extreme west side of the Gulf rise the historical stronghold of Portovenere, conquered by the Genoese Republic in the twelfth century, who built the bastion and planned the stronghold grounds.
The buildings are constructed as house-towers, tall and narrow, like small fortresses painted with yellow, pink and grey colours, aligned along the walls eastwards the village, connecting the Castle, towering structure made of scarp walls.
The Castle well represents a real model of Genoese military architecture.
Together with the village, they built the official church, the Collegiata San Lorenzo realized by the Antelami Masters, stone-masters coming from Maggiore's lake.
At the edge of the cape of Portovenere S. Peter's Church is protruding towards the open sea, a genoese-gothic style built by the Genoeses above the remains of a paleochristian church, where still remains the ruins of the monastery guarding the relics.

To the same times are ascribed also t h e more ancient structures of hermitage style found on Tinetto's island.
The group of Tino and Tinetto islands, together with the larger one of Palmaria located in front of Portovenere, are a wonderful natural park, whales sanctuary, marine reserve and unusual site for vacations thanks to the beauty of their beaches and coves.

Just a short distance along the road to La Spezia you'll encounter a small fisherman village, Le Grazie, surrounded by a fashinating natural cove.
An attractive visit is the well preserved archeological site of the "Varignano Roman Villa" and the late-gothic Sanctuary of S. Mary Le Grazie, with the annexed benedectine monastery, now private homes, in which refectory were discovered a fourteenth century's fresco by Nicolò Corso.

LA SPEZIA
The city of La Spezia is located on the border of Liguria and Toscana, modern town that knew the largest development in the nineteenth century when the Military Shipyard was built by the General Domenico Chiodo.
A monument that today represents historic tals of the city is the S. Giorgio Castle, built around the fourteenth century.

In the last years the local Administration invested a lot in museums.
In fact, thanks to generous endowments of people fond with arts, three excellent museums opened the doors, located inside ancient palaces renewed on purpose.
The Lia Museum, in a sixteenth century convent seat, with a collection of Middleage and Modern art of high value; the Contemporary and Modern Art Museum, which collect around 900 paintings, testimonial of expressionism and historic vanguard till the new trend ; the very particular and fashinating Museum of Seals, in The Belle Arti Palace, with a rera collection of seals of all ages and locations.

Last but not least a note on the Naval Museum with its centenary history collecting the most important testimonials of Navy seafaring; and the Diocesan Museum with its collection of holy handcrafts, to give a complete paint on the religious territory.

VARA VALLEY
As the largest valley in Liguria, numbers of historical villages situated on mountains tops are dominating the Vara river and its branches, keeping firm the fashion of the local culture and mountain's life.
In fact, inhabited villages of the valley still show the rural houses, mills churches, votive chapels evidences of a patrimony to be visited by those tourists that have care to the culture and tradition.
This environment rich of history, traditions and greens oasis allows to taste simple and genuine food, by using ingredients of organic production or local mushrooms (yellow boletus) expecially known for their heavy fragrancy.

MAGRA VALLEY
Val di Magra Middleage Castles, small villages situated on mountains tops still deep in the past, sanctuaries, woods, lakes, vineyards and olive plants.
This is the Valley of Magra, land confining Liguria and Toscana, stretching from High Lunigiana mountains to the beaches of Bocca d i Magra.
Most important historical testimonial of this area are in Luni, largest archaelogical centre in Liguria, where were discovered the "Stele-Statue", artistic-historical shows of paleoligurian folk that time ago lived in this area, and the Cathedral of Sarzana, together testimonial of Roman, Gothic and Baroc style.

THE CINQUE TERRE
A corner of Liguria, between La Spezia and Levanto, where generations worked to create a unique scenery in the world, with its terraces dipping above the sea sustained by thousands miles of " dry-walls".
From here the Cinque Ter re (The Five Lands) takes its name, for the five more typical and famous coastal villages: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, all of them belonging to the district of La Spezia.
Although these five villages are linked by a scenic coastal road and by a very easy railway, the best way to discover them is by hiking.
By covering centennial tracks you'll have enchanting views of this landscape, from terraces of olive plants and vineyard, and where man don't work anymore, the Mediterranean bush shows its jewels with blossoming of roses among wild agaves, white and pink bush. As watching into a mirror, also the coast reflects this wildness, and like small pearls, tiny stoney-beaches rise from bluffs and rocks dipping above the sea.