HISTORY OF PORTOVENERE:
Although the origins of Portovenere are traced back to the 6th century BC, when the Ligurians inhabited the area, the first documented information about a settlement dates back to the year 161 AD, when the village is mentioned in a maritime itinerary of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius. Read More [...]
The name of the village, Portus Veneris, derived from a temple dedicated to the goddess Venus (Venere), located on the site where the current Church of San Pietro stands.
From a fishing village, Portovenere became the naval base of the Byzantine fleet in the 6th century, but was attacked and destroyed by the Lombard king Rothari in 643 AD. Between the 8th and the 11th century, the village was invaded numerous times by the Normans and plundered by the Saracen pirates.
In the early 12th century, Portovenere passed under the Genoese domination. The castle and the city walls were built around that time.
A few years after the fall of the Republic of Genoa, in 1805, the village, along with the entire region, was annexed to the French Empire. In 1815, Portovenere was included into the Kingdom of Sardinia, according to the decisions of the Congress of Vienna of 1814, and subsequently into the Kingdom of Italy, in 1861.
GEOGRAPHY OF PORTOVENERE:
Today, Portovenere is a town of about 3,500 inhabitants in the province of La Spezia, part of the Italian region of Liguria. The town stands at the southern end of a peninsula which forms the western shore of the Gulf of La Spezia, also known as the Gulf of Poets (Golfo dei Poeti). Read More [...]
Portovenere is located 15 kilometers south of La Spezia, 23 kilometers southeast of Riomaggiore (the southernmost village of the Cinque Terre), 87 kilometers southeast of Rapallo, 91 kilometers northwest of Pisa, 106 kilometers southeast of Camogli, 110 kilometers southeast of Portofino, and about 120 kilometers southeast of Genoa.
TRANSPORT TO PORTOVENERE:
The closest airport is the Pisa Galileo Galilei Airport, the main airport of Tuscany, located about 97 kilometers away, in Pisa. The village can also be reached from the Cristoforo Colombo Airport, in Genoa, located about 128 kilometers to the north. Read More [...]
From La Spezia, the cheapest way to get to Portovenere is by bus. The bus 11/P takes you to Portovenere in about 30 minutes. A one-way ticket costs 3€ and a round trip is 5€.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN PORTOVENERE:
The main tourist attractions in Portovenere are the primitive Gothic Church of San Pietro, the Doria Castle, along with the walls surrounding the historical center of the city, the Romanesque Church of San Lorenzo and the Byron's Grotto, where the poet Lord Byron used to meditate. Read More [...]
Near the end of the peninsula on which Portovenere is located, there are three small islands - Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto. The beaches on the northwestern side of the Palmaria Island are beautiful and worth visiting.
EVENTS IN PORTOVENERE:
The most important event in Portovenere is the Feast of the White Madonna (Festa della Madonna Bianca), a religious feast which takes place every year on August 17, in honor of the White Madonna, the patron saint of the town.
