PORTOFINO - ONE OF THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Portofino is a small Italian city located in the province of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The city crowded round its small harbor is considered to be among the most beautiful Mediterranean ports, and is a popular tourist destination. In the early 20th century, first British, then German tourist began to visit Portofino, which they reached by horse and cart from Santa Margherita Ligure. Aubrey Herbert (1880–1923) was one of the more famous Englishmen to maintain a villa at Portofino. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor honeymooned at the Hotel Splendido, and years later Richard Burton proposed to Elizabeth Taylor. Rex Harrison had a villa high on the terraced slopes. Eventually more expatriates built expensive vacation houses, and by 1950 tourism had supplanted fishing as the city's chief industry, and the waterfront was a continuous ring of waterside restaurants and cafés.

FIVE LANDS - CINQUE TERRE IN LIGURIA

The charm of the hill overhanging the sea, a wonderful choreography that seems to have been designed by a romantic painter who traced an extremely intense painting, a treasure, vaunt of the Province of La Spezia, destination for tourists from all over the world. Houses and paths suspended between the earth and the sky, make it a natural beauty unique also because kept intact and faithful to the nautical tradition. Our journey in the beautiful places characterizing The five lands, starts from Brugnato motorway's exit. Then , trespassing Borgetto Vara, Pignone, we'll reach Monterosso, the first of the five little villages. The arrival is made much more suggestive by the peculiar nature of this place, got out of the rocks. The tourist is welcomed by the Statue of the Giant (a Neptune rested to the cliff to guard the sea). Then Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. These places are jointed by the so called "The Lovers' road": this is the most romantic and suggestive image of an extremely fascinating natural fresco. To those who love good wine is dedicated a peculiar speciality: the sciacchetrà. This is a white wine got out of the vine yards characterizing these zones. This wine is produced in limited amount and worthy of real connoisseurs.