Lerici, Coastal town in La Spezia Province, Italy
Description
Lerici is a commune on the eastern coast of the Gulf of La Spezia in Liguria, with a harbor and bathing beaches below a clifftop fortress. The seafront promenade runs past colored houses, and narrow lanes climb toward the higher castle that watches over the water.
History
The town changed hands several times between Genoa and Pisa during the Middle Ages until it became permanently Genoese in 1479. The fortress of San Giorgio dates from 1152 and secured the harbor for centuries against pirates and invaders.
Culture
The name Gulf of Poets refers to the nineteenth-century writers who stayed along these shores and wrote about the landscape. Today, visitors walk the same waterfront and see the same views that once inspired verse.
Practical
Ferry connections from the harbor allow day trips to the Cinque Terre villages and Porto Venere, so you can explore the coast from the water. The old town sits on a slope, so bring comfortable shoes for steep stairs and cobblestones.
Did you know?
The castle houses a paleontology museum displaying fossils of dinosaurs and prehistoric sea creatures found in the surrounding area. The collection shows that this coast was once home to reptiles and shallow warm seas.
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Castello di San Giorgio
485 m
Villa Rezzola
1.1 km
Villa Magni
1.2 km
Parco naturale regionale di Montemarcello - Magra
3.1 km
Fiascherino
1.7 km
Spiaggia di San Terenzo
1.3 km
Villa Marigola
943 m
Castle of San Terenzo
1.4 km
Venere Azzurra
904 m
Necropolis of Cafaggio
3.9 km
San Francesco
260 m
Castle of Ameglia
3.9 kmForte di Canarbino
2.2 km
Museo Geopaleontologico
483 m
San Giorgio
2.5 km
San Rocco
254 m
Spiaggia Eco Del Mare
1.2 km
San Vincenzo
3.9 km
Santa Maria Assunta
1.3 kmOrto Botanico di Montemarcello
3.3 km
Punta Santa Teresa Lighthouse
2.5 km
Spiaggia della Marinella di San Terenzo
1.5 km
Caletta
695 m
Beach Baia Blu
2.2 km
Il Nido
1.9 kmSaint Lucia Church
1 km
Bunker
1.7 km
San Giovanni Decollato
1.1 kmDiscover hidden gems everywhere you go!
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