La Spezia Attractions

Via Chiodo leads northeast to the Piazza G. Verdi, with modern office blocks, and beyond this the Piazza Italia, in which stands the new Town Hall. On a terrace above the square rises the new cathedral (1976). Northwest of Piazza Verdi, running along the hillside, is Via XXVII Marzo, with the 14th century Castello San Giorgio.

Southwest of La Spezia lies the little port of Leàrici (10m/33ft; pop. 14,000), which in the Middle Ages, together with Portoveànere, was the principal port on the Gulf of Spezia. Beside the church of San Rocco is an unusual Romanesque campanile. On a projecting tongue of land stands a well-preserved 13th century castle, now a museum. From Leàrici there is a pleasant drive, passing a number of pretty coves and the fishing village of Fiascherino, to the picturesquely situated village of Tellaro (4km/2.5mi southeast).

Palio of the Gulf is held on the second Sunday of August. The distance of this rowing contest is 2,000 m.

There is a very attractive drive around the north side of La Spezia on the Giro della Foce, which follows the slopes of Monte Castellazzo (285m/941ft) to the Passo della Foce (241m/795ft), with views of the Gulf of Spezia and the Apuan Alps.

Portoveànere (10m/33ft; pop. 5,000) is an old-world little port picturesquely situated on the Bocchette, the narrow strait, only 150m/165yd wide, between the Costa dell'Olivo promontory and the island of Palmaria. From the little church of San Pietro (1277) at the southern tip of the promontory there are charming views of the precipitous cliffs of the Cinqueterre to the northwest and the bay of Lerici to the east. Above the church are a Genoese castle and the parish church of San Lorenzo.

East of La Spezia is Sarzana (21m/69ft; pop. 20,000), founded in 1202 as the successor to the ancient Etruscan city of Luni (of which sparse remains can be seen 7km/4.5mi southeast). The town has remains of its 15th century walls, the Cittadella, and a white marble cathedral in Italian Gothic style (13th century; completed in 1474), containing a painted crucifix from Luni (by Guillelmus, 1138), the earliest dated panel painting in Italy. To the north of the town stands the picturesque castle of Sarzanello (121m/399ft; view).

At the southwest end of Via Chiodo is the Piazza Chiodo and farther on, beyond a canal, the main entrance to the Naval Arsenal, the basic features of which were outlined by Napoleon. The interesting Shipping Museum at the entrance contains models illustrating the history of seafaring from the origins to the present day and also charts and navigation apparatus.