Almost no one remembers what this bay is officially called. But many people are well aware of its “folk-tourist” name – the Bay of Poets. It is located in northern Italy in the Ligurian Sea. And it got its name in honor of two great English romantic poets: Byron and Shelley, who loved to spend time in these places at the beginning of the 19th century.
Any local will tell you the story of how Byron swam across this bay ten times a day. Roundtrip. But his friend and drinking companion, the poet Shelley, who did not know how to swim, drowned in the same bay while riding a yacht in a storm. However, not only local residents know about this, but also any representative of the tourism industry. Well, only the lazy didn’t write about it in the guidebooks.
Now here every year, in August, like the “Pushkin readings”, “Byron swims” are held, the participants of which swim along Lord Byron’s route from Lerici to Portovenere, and some back. And this is ten kilometers in one direction!
Despite the picturesque and romantic surroundings, there are few foreign tourists here. Italians themselves predominate among vacationers. Foreign guests usually flash by at the speed of a boat rushing to the nearby towns of the famous Cinque Terre. But in vain.
We invite you to take a ride along the shore of the Bay of Poets and visit several interesting places.
Tellaro
The southernmost settlement of the bay is very similar to one of the towns of Cinque Terre. And those who have already visited Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza, Corniglia and Monterosso unanimously say that it is more beautiful and comfortable than any of them. There, too, the central streets run into the sea, but for people to lie and sunbathe right on these streets, this is only possible in Tellaro.
The hero of the main urban legend is a giant octopus. In ancient times, when pirates approached Tellaro in the middle of the night, this octopus crawled onto land, reached with its tentacle to the bell tower, which still stands in the same place as before – on the very shore – and rang the bell. Residents woke up and quickly organized a repulse to the enemies. Images of the mythical savior of the city are found everywhere in Tellaro – on the doors of houses, on plaques with street names, on shop signs – but this does not stop local restaurateurs from preparing delicious dishes from his brothers.
Swimming in the city itself is not very convenient; it is surrounded by rocky breakwaters, but there are several public beaches in its vicinity. We especially recommend two beaches in the neighboring town of Fiascherino: the emerald sea surrounded by picturesque rocks and coarse sand mixed with pebbles. The beaches are free, but for two sunbeds and an umbrella you need to pay 20 euros. However, you can simply sit on the rocks or on the sand.
Lerici
Lerici is perhaps the most bourgeois of all the towns in the Gulf of Poets. In the good sense of the word (if there is one, of course). It was here that Shelley lived with his wife Mary (by the way, the author of the famous novel “Frankenstein”) and Byron with his friend and secretary Claire Clairmont (Mary’s half-sister). In the town of San Terenzo, neighboring Lerici, the villa that Shelley rented has been preserved.
Lerici has many sandy beaches and a well-established infrastructure, so it is mainly visited by wealthy families from Milan, Florence, Pisa and Bologna. Above the resort rises the medieval castle of Lerici, built in the 13th century by the Pisans and later expanded by the Genoese. There is a paleontological museum in it, and a tunnel under the fortress leads to a romantic restaurant with a terrace above the sea.
La Spezia
Disputes about the correct name of the city—with or without the prefix “La”—have been going on for centuries. As a result, La Spezia is officially written, but in everyday language the prefix is omitted. Approximately the same as in the case of St. Petersburg. The etymology of the name is also lost in the mists of time, but it is known for certain that it has nothing to do with spices.
Shelley called La Spezia “The Blue City of Dreams and Love.” Today, alas, she is not as romantic as she was two hundred years ago. After all, La Spezia is the administrative center of the province, and also a large commercial port and naval base with many sensitive industrial enterprises and with all the ensuing consequences.
Despite this, there is a lot to see in the city: a cozy promenade lined with palm trees along the sea, several interesting museums. For example, the Naval Museum, which is considered one of the best in the world, or the Amedeo Lia Museum in a former Franciscan monastery with collections of medieval and Renaissance art. But “the best” and “must see” is, of course, the medieval castle of St. George, which offers the best views of the bay. The castle also houses a rather interesting archaeological museum.
Portovenere
This sweet little town consists of just one street. It runs parallel to the embankment, bordered by colorful houses. In Portovenere you immediately fall in love. It’s one of those classic seaside towns where you subconsciously want to spend your old age. It is very cozy here to sit in restaurants by the sea, meeting and watching tourist ferries. True, it’s probably even more comfortable to sit not in a restaurant, but on your personal balcony or in a room behind slightly open shutters, which is what some people do.
Portovenere, as mentioned above, was the end point of Byron’s “swimming” route, so there are many “Byronian” places here. First of all, this is Byron’s grotto, in which, according to legend, the poet loved to read his poems out loud, shouting above the roar of the storm. And also St. Peter’s Church, which Byron considered the most romantic building in the world. And the lord understood in what, in what, and in romance. The church with a pointed turret, making it look like a knight’s castle, stands on a long cape, on the shore of a narrow strait between Portovenere and the neighboring island of Palmaria, where from time to time small boats take lovers of secluded relaxation.
However, Portovenere is created not only for dolce farniente – sweet idleness. Its surroundings are an ideal place for hiking, surrounded by wild rocks and steep cliffs. From Portovenere you can climb to the castle of the Doria family and from there overlook the Gulf of Poets lying far below. Or go on foot towards the Cinque Terre to look at the “Pentapolis” from an unusual angle.
How to get to and navigate the Gulf of Poets
The nearest airports are in Pisa and Genoa. From both cities to La Spezia there are about a hundred kilometers, which are best traveled by train. From La Spezia to Portovenere, San Terenzo, Lerici and Tellaro there are local buses (2.5 euros each).
Ferry from Lerici to Portovenere – 8 euros one way, 13 euros round trip. The ferry from La Spezia to Portovenere costs 6 and 10 euros, respectively. Ferries cross the Bay of Poets in about forty minutes. The last ferries to Portovenere from La Spezia and Lerice leave at three o’clock in the afternoon. Returns – around six in the evening.
These same ferries from Portovenere continue their journey along the Cinque Terre, calling at all five towns. A ticket for the whole day, with the opportunity to go ashore anywhere, and then continue your route from Lerici costs 35 euros, from La Spezia – 30.
Convenient online hotel booking – using OneTwoTrip.
Text and photo: Dmitry Rzhannikov
