The Grand Hotel Portovenere stands majestically looking out over the Gulf of Poets, a famous bay in Liguria, Italy. It is ideally located for visitors to explore the Cinque Terre and sample the produce that grows on the remarkable terraces that climb from the sea to the top of the steep hills. The hotel and town allow you to experience Ligurian hospitality at its finest.
The azure sea laps on the black rocks of the Ligurian cliffs, and the salt spray dusts the vine trees on the ancient terraces. A gentleman enters the water from some flat rocks in a small cove below St Peter’s church and starts his swim to a house in Lerici, six miles away.
The swim would create a legend, and the man being one Lord Byron, the famous poet, would be immortalised for many of his actions. You can tread and swim in the same place, experiencing the region’s natural beauty that captivated Lord Byron and Percy Shelley.
The rocks from which Byron swam are outside the walls of the sea entrance to Porto Venere in a small rocky cove, and you can walk to them from a gate in the fortress wall near the entrance to the church. Before Lord Byron and Percy Shelley stayed in the area, it was named the Gulf of La Spezia, the principal city of the bay, which is steeped in Naval history.
The Italian Navy still uses La Spezia as its primary base in the country, and you can see many warships in the harbour any day. The locals are now proud to call the bay the Gulf of Poets.
Location
Liguria is embraced in northwest Italy by the mountains and the sea, with its coastline mirroring the French Riveria and bordering Monaco at its furthest point west. It offers all the beauty and weather of the Cote d’Azur without the crowds or expense. The Ligurian coast, commencing at Porto Venere and covering Cinque Terre, is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so it is a protected region that can not be developed or changed significantly.
The five lands that make up the Cinque Terre consist of beautiful villages that are tightly packed, with tall houses painted in bright colours rising from the sea to the hills high above. Thousands walk all five via the hiking trails connecting Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.
Porto Venere is steeped in history and was a fortress that protected the primary Italian Naval base’s entrance to the Gulf of La Spezia. Doria Castle, built around 1160, overlooks the town high on the hill and protects the Gulf from pirates while also being where taxes from merchants were taken. It can be reached by steep ascents from the main town, and a museum now resides there.
When you wander around the town, you absorb the Ligurian culture and history and smell the wild garlic gathered from the fertile countryside surrounding the tight-packed, beautifully painted houses which form part of the town’s defences. It is known as the sixth Terre because it resembles the five Cinq Terre towns.
Stunning during the day, it envelopes you at night when the lights on the buildings and the castle above produce a mesmerising atmosphere. The restaurants come alive, creating dishes from local, seasonal ingredients that smell amazing, and the buzz of the small cafes with people taking aperitifs.
Porto Venere is said to have gotten its name from the Goddess Venus because of the site where the church of St Peter stands on a previous pagan religious site devoted to Venus.
The church is still used for mass and offers incredible views out to sea and back towards the town. You can walk down to Lord Byron’s Grotto, taking its name from the poet who often meditated, wrote and swam from there.
The Grand Hotel Portovenere
In a prime position, The Grand Hotel Portovenere (right) overlooks the Gulf of Poets and the town’s small harbour. It is a short walk from the hotel to anywhere in the town, ideal for strolls at any time.
The hotel is a short car journey from La Spezia station on the mainline from Genoa and Pisa, which have airports. A car journey from Pisa or Genoa takes around 90 minutes; the hotel can arrange this for you.
Accommodation
The Grand Hotel Portovenere has several types of rooms, with most offering great views of the Gulf of Poets. Every room provides guests with modern requirements; if you need something, the staff will do their best to provide it. The main thing is that all rooms are a sanctuary of peace where you can relax and sleep well.
Guests choosing a Double Classic room get a view overlooking the hotel’s internal courtyard, which is tranquil and beautiful. The interior is welcoming, simplistic, and functional, perfect for the primary use of a sleeping room. In Porto Venere, you won’t spend much time in your room as there is so much to do and see.
Deluxe rooms are located in various positions within the hotel, providing a light and airy room with space to spread out. Overlooking the island of Palmaria, the town’s castle, you will love watching the world go by from the balcony or terrace that most Deluxe rooms have.
If you require space, opt for the Scriptorium Studio, which comprises two separate areas: a living room and a bedroom.
Guests get a sofa bed and a writing desk reminiscent of the historic convent’s Scriptorium, a place for monastic scribes to write manuscripts. If you select a corner room, your vista is out to the Gulf of Poets with Lerici, Tellaro and the Apuan Alps in the background.
Studio Botanicus was refurbished in 2023, and this spacious room provides two areas to unwind. The bedroom has an en-suite, and you get a separate sitting area. Enjoy time on the balcony overlooking the delights of the internal courtyard, adorned with pepper trees, tangerine and lemon trees.
The Studio Botanicus has an interior paying tribute to the building’s history as a convent to St Francis in the 1600s. Throughout the room, you will discover details of the Monks, with the wallpaper embellished with motifs and the style of the custom-made furniture.
The Suite Dei Poeti (above) overlooks the Gulf, which has inspired poets and painters worldwide throughout history. It has a beautiful, continuous horizontal window framing the stunning Palmaria Island, Lerici, where Percy Shelley lived, Tellaro and the mountains of the Apuan Alps.
The two bathrooms have a great view similar to the bedroom and separate living room. In the bedroom, you get a luxurious, free-standing sculpted bath, while in the living area, there is a modern glass-walled shower with Chromotherapy.
Craftsmanship is everywhere, including local artisan-made glass walls, brushed oak flooring, and furniture made from Italian walnut.
The Suite Del Castello (above) is a luxury suite that takes its name from the Doria castle and stands high over the town. It also has two bathrooms, one bedroom, a living area and a magical terrace where you can indulge in sunbathing, relaxing and possibly, like Byron, some Poetry writing and meditation. The warm colours of the suite take hues from Porto Venere, and the wooden floors of the terrace mirror the town’s boardwalks.
Dining
Dine with panoramic views of the harbour, bustling with boats, tourists and locals, in the fabulous Palmaria restaurant.
It is located on a spectacular veranda overlooking Porto Venere and is designed as if you are on a sailing ship heading towards the horizon. The flooring also has a nautical theme and is made from rubberised teak wood, symbolising the ancient caulking technique of waterproofing boat hulls.
The Gulf of La Spezia has many master caulkers and a lovely connection to the area. A local upholsterer has made the cushions using colours resembling the house of Porto Venere.
The service is as classy as the setting, with the staff providing the highest standards of service and the chefs creating gastronomic delights based on local dishes using local ingredients.
Inspired by the Grand Tour taken by the likes of Shelley, Byron and other poets of the period, the menu caters for all tastes. Seafood is popular with guests, and the dishes are kept simple and seasonal. There are always dishes of the day, and traditionally, you have an antipasto, starter, main and then dessert, which gives you a pleasant dilemma as to what to choose.
The Venus Bar is on the same level as the Palmeria and lies under the high-vaulted brick ceilings of the historic building. It is the perfect location to get a pre-dinner drink, sit on the terrace and take in the spirit of Porto Venere. The bar staff can create any cocktail, and a few are unique to Venus.
Things to do
The staff at the Grand Hotel Portovenere can arrange many activities for you during your stay. They have connections with producers and providers of all types of services.
Oyster farm
A must-do experience is the boat trip to the oyster farm, which lies in the pure waters of the Gulf of Poets. You are collected from the jetty, a stone’s throw from the Grand Hotel, and sail to the oyster farm, learning about the bay, the region, and oyster production. Fishermen then show you the production process and opening of the shellfish.
On your trip back towards Porto Venere, the crew prepares oysters for you to sample, followed by linguine with mussels and then more pasta with local pesto. You also enjoy local white wine Sciacchetrà, grown on the terraces above the Gulf, while eating your delicious meal.
Wine tasting
Regarding wine and Sciacchetrà, Heydi Bonanini (below) is a unique character who owns several vineyards around the area, producing the tipple mentioned above. He is a proud local man who took over some vineyards to maintain the history and culture of the region, and he is passionate about viticulture and the harmony between wildlife and grape growing.
The daily hard work he and a few workers put into growing vines on the precarious terraces that rise from the sea on near sheer slopes is a credit, and the awards he wins for his wins mean more to him than the income he makes.
Heydi believes in keeping traditions going, so he works with local schools, providing the children with an area of vineyard to cultivate and care for. He keeps bees to eat insects detrimental to the vines and grows plants to sustain the bees.
Once you have seen how and where the grapes are grown, guests visit Heydi’s wine production facility hidden underground in the nearby town. Various breads and nibbles are served as Heydi talks about the wines you start to sample. It is a fantastic experience for all who participate.
Guided walks
The Cinque Terre and Ligurian coast is a Hiker’s heaven with any number of paths connecting the villages, all with awe-inspiring views. The routes are so popular that they are controlled, and some require a ticket, but the money goes towards maintenance and signage.
The walks are graded according to their difficulty and how long they should take. They can be done independently, although a guide is a good idea as it tells you about the region’s history. If you take on more than one route, invest in the Cinque Terre pass and get it stamped at the little huts along the way to prove you have completed sections.
These walks are one of the main reasons tourists flock to Liguria, but it is challenging to obtain accommodation in any of the five villages, so the Grand Hotel Portovenere is the perfect base. Venture out from here, hike, and return to the stress-free haven it is.
From Porto Venere, take a boat to the villages, where you can buy a pass that allows you to hop on and off at any of the five villages; it is hassle-free. If there is bad weather and the boats can’t leave the harbour, the alternative is to get a car or bus to La Spezia and get the train which links the villages.
Another walking area that is a breeze to get to is Palmeria Island, opposite the Grand Hotel, which is reached by a water taxi that leaves from a jetty beneath the hotel. You can spend all day following the signed paths that cover the island that, throughout history, has been the site of fortification protecting the Gulf. Trees and vegetation have taken over the land, but you can still see military buildings from many periods.
Of course, the perfect activity to participate in while staying at The Grand Hotel Portvenere is relaxing on the rocks as the water splashes you, enticing you for a swim.
You could apply these words from Byron to Porto Venere as the town inspires romance and takes your heart. It is a must-visit location.
“She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.”
Contact The Grand Hotel PortoVenere directly to arrange your stay and get the best offers.
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