La Spezia, the Gulf of Poets and the Montemarcello Park

The Gulf of La Spezia (also known as the Gulf of Poets) is a large and deep inlet on the coast of the Ligurian Sea, which takes its name from the city of La Spezia, located in a central position at the bottom of the gulf itself, where there is an important merchant port. . At the two ends of the gulf (west and east, respectively) are the villages of Porto Venere and Lerici, both places of great tourist interest. The name “gulf of poets” derives above all from the fact that over the centuries many poets, writers and artists in general have spent periods of residence in the villages of the gulf, struck by the beauty of this “water amphitheater”. Among the many artists who loved this place, we remember the writer David Herbert Lawrence, the writer and painter George Sand, the poet Lord Byron and the writer Percy Bysshe Shelley. The latter has his last residence in the village of San Terenzo, a seaside village in the municipality of Lerici.
The name of the village Porto Venere (Portus Veneris) derived from a temple dedicated to the goddess Venus, located exactly in the place where the Church of San Pietro now stands. The name was probably linked to the fact that, according to tradition, the goddess was born from the foam of the sea, abundant, right under that stack. Or, we like to believe it, because Porto Venere was a beautiful and romantic place even then. On the opposite end of the Gulf of Poets from Portovenere, stands the town of Lerici.
Lerici stands in the center of a small natural inlet, dominated by a promontory on which stands the imposing castle, now a museum. Almost in front of the main town, beyond the Venere Azzurra hamlet, is the town of San Terenzo. The town is part of the Montemarcello – Magra Regional Natural Park. Tellaro is the easternmost fraction of the municipality of Lerici, in the province of La Spezia. It has been reviewed, together with Fiascherino, as one of the most beautiful Ligurian villages in Italy. The town is a small fishing village, perched on a cliff overlooking the Gulf of La Spezia. Taking the panoramic road, which winds through the olive groves of the Montemarcello Magra Natural Park and the breathtaking views of the Gulf of Poets, we reach Montemarcello: an intact medieval village of rare elegance, with a spectacular view, especially at sunset, over the Gulf of Poets and seat of the botanical garden, flagship of the Montemarcello Magra Natural Park.
There you can breathe an atmosphere of peace and harmony. For those who love walking, we suggest the path that goes down from Montemarcello to Punta Corvo. Wonderful are the coves, reachable on foot or by boat, where you can relax with a splendid view of the Ligurian Sea.