It might be obvious, but the first thing to strike me about Portovenere in Liguria, Italy, was the waterfront. The local bus from La Spezia deposited us right beside the ocean, where I could indulge in my favourite past-time of boat watching. This area is known as the Bay of Poets, due to it’s popularity with English Poets Byron, Shelley and D.H. Lawrence, the original English tourists.
We boarded our bus in a one-way street in La Spezia and grabbed a seat, but after clearing the city limits we started seeing signs to Pisa and realized we were going in the wrong direction. What to do? We decided to go with the flow – maybe we were destined to go to Pisa today, not Portovenere. Alas, not long after, our bus turned left and headed for the hills and away from both Pisa and Portovenere.
Our hopes of staying on the bus when it came to a stop at the small village of Casano (not the more well known Cassano) were dashed when the driver kicked us off the bus. There didn’t appear to be much to see and we needed to stay near the bus, so we gravitated to the bar across the street. Practicing our fledgling Italian we ended up with a cheese and salami sandwich and a Coke Light and retired to the shade of a nearby tree to keep an eye on the bus – it was not leaving without us. After his break the driver was forgiving of our sins and allowed us to ride back to La Spezia, and on to Portovenere – all for our original ticket price. A google search today reveals Casano’s claim to fame as “the place from where a German battery fired on Carrara, in World War II.”
We may have arrived at our planned destination hours late, but it was with a story to tell.
It felt surreal walking past the colourful houses that lined the waterfront, as if we were in a living, moving, postcard.
At the end of the promontory was the Church of San Pietro. This was the first time I had seen a church with black slate and white marble stripes, and I liked it. The Genoese built the church in the style known as gothic-genoese in 1256 – a gift for the people – after they took the nearby castle.
Back in the first century BC, there had been a pagan temple to Venus on this same spot – hence the name Porto Venere. We have seen this same theme played out before, where churches, mosques or temples are built on the foundations of those from previous centuries.
The views from the old arched loggia beside the church stretched out toward the Cinque Terre (translates to five lands/towns). The five romantic villages perched on cliffs and shores to the north-west, together with Portovenere, were declared Unesco sites in 1997. They can be visited by boat from both La Spezia and Portovenere. The boat stops at La Spezia, Portovenere, and then each of the Cinque Terra towns except Corniglia which has no boat access. They are also accessible by regional train from La Spezia or Levanto. Each of the five towns have their own train station and visitors’ cars are not allowed access.
The photo below is taken from the Church of San Pietro. The landmass on the right is Palmaria, the largest of three nearby islands. Boat trips around the three islands leave from Portovenere.
The gates to the medieval town can be seen in the middle of the photo below. No cars are allowed within.
I would have liked to have been in one of the windows looking down, but had to be content with the view from the square below where I devoured my icecream.
Portovenere, was a beautiful mix of boats and water, lanes and houses, and in April, was not very busy at all. Away from the waterfront it was fun pottering in the medieval lanes that led up toward the Andria Doria Castle, which is open to the public in summer and houses art exhibits.
The boat from La Spezia to Portovenere and Cinque Terre is discontinued until Sunday 24th March 2013.
The bus trip (2 Euro) from La Spezia to Portovenere only takes half an hour. Check with the driver to make sure you are headed to Portovenere and not Casano, I have heard of others catching the wrong bus as well.
This post forms part of Budget Travelers Sandbox Travel Photo Thursday. Click on the link for a mix of photographic posts from around the world.
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What wonderful photos from this trip. I’ve been in a similar situation on a bus – in Africa not knowing if we were going in the right direction because we weren’t at first but it all worked out. Rather an unsettling feeling when you can’t speak the language though. And it is in the middle of bloody nowhere.
Yes Leigh, Italy was not as scary as Africa would have been. I like the unexpected sometimes. Jan
What lovely pictures of a really lovely town! I knew I should have stayed longer in Italy. There are so many small town s like this that I would be happy to stay in for weeks. (And good thing the bus driver was kind enough. I read of some reports of being charged twice because they made mistakes like yours!)
I agree Aleah – we were not there long enough either. Researching this post I found that Lerici, just across the bay from Portovenere is a great place to visit as well! He was a nice bus driver. Jan
A gorgeous trip back to Portovenere thanks Jan. The Cinque Terre is such a beautiful part of Italy
It was lovely revisiting in my mind. Enjoy Jordan.
Beautiful photos! Loved the tale of the bus as well.
Glad you enjoyed it Jackie. Jan.
I love stumbling upon places unexpectedly like that. Also love the colourful stone houses we find in the Mediterranean countries. Not been in Portovenere (or Cinque Terre) yet, but they’re both (or all) high on my list.
Hi Sophie, We did the walking track through all five towns in 2010, but unfortunately there has been much damage to the track and that is not longer possible on the coastal track. I believe there are more strenuous (higher) trails available.
Very beautiful city 🙂
What beautiful shots, Jan. I’d love to live in one of those houses, and get to look out onto the harbor every day; maybe even while I’m eating ice cream. I’ve gotten on a wrong bus once or twice, Thankfully, they have always returned to the original destination with me on it 🙂
Hi Nancie, I too would love to live in one of these apartments. What a gorgeous view there would be. Jan
Such a beautiful old city. Great photos of the colorful buildings, boats and flowers. I’d love to watch the boats on the “Bay of Poets” (didn’t know about that).
Hi Cathy, We have two motor boats (one small and one even smaller) lol. But I love the romance of sail. I do love walking through a marina – it always leads me to thinking about foreign ports. Jan
You say these look like being in a postcard–I’d say like a painting. It is such a gorgeous and colorful world, hard to believe it is real. Congratulations on capturing it so well.
Hi Vera, It was easy to capture – the weather was great and it was such a beautiful place. Jan
I like the black and white striped church, too. This is such a lovely scenic town. Were you inspired to write poetry, too?
Hi Michele, Ha Ha can’t say my poetry improved after our visit. I do not write proper poetry, but I do love making things rhyme. I always read rhyming stories to our children as well (not Dr. Suess though). Our kids are grown up now but I still have their and my favourite (rhyming) book – Jillian Jiggs. Cheers. Jan
These are absolutely gorgeous pictures of such a charming and lovely town. I haven’t heard of Portovenere before but I would love to visit now. I really need to explore that part of Italy. I love how unique that church looks!
Thanks Mary, I think Lerici just across the bay is supposed to be nice as well. Jan
This looks like such a beautiful place to visit! I love how history get layered on top of other history in these places…new churches and towns built on top of old pagan temples.
Hi Shanna, Just read your “About” Lucky you working in the Airline Industry – does that mean you get discount on flights (if so jealous!). The amount of history in Europe is mind boggling isn’t it? Portovenere was a beautiful town. Jan
Hi there, Thanks for your comments. Going with the flow is so much easier than doing anything to change the situation – I also like the suspense of where we were going to end up. Jan