Bed and Breakfast Chamomile and Coffee in Sarzana
Located in the western part of La Spezia Gulf, Portovenere owes its name to the temple devoted to Venere Ericina , built during the Roman times on the promontory which encloses the village and overlooks the open blue sea. According to the tradition, the goddess was born from the sea foam, particularly abundant under that cliff. Nowadays on the same site stands the beautiful gothic Saint Peter's Church (Chiesa di San Pietro) of the XIIIth century. In 2006 the Blue Flag Beach was granted to Portovenere for the high quality of its port facilities (Marina di Porto Venere).
Laid on this promontory jagged by high cliffs, the village is faced by three small islands: Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto . Only the first one is partly inhabited and easily reachable during summer thanks to pay ferry boat and sea taxi services. Tino is a military area and can be visited only on the Saint Venerio's Day, on 13 th September. On this occasion the island is open for the church service celebration and to visit the hermitage, which was founded by Saint Venerio during the VIIth century. The monastery was rebuilt in the XIth century, but nowadays only its ruins can be admired.
Two are the events not to be missed: White Madonna's Day and the Aria Festival on the island of Palmaria.
Since 1399 the miracle of the White Madonna has been recurring drawing thousands of people: the celebrations start on 17 th August at dawn with the traditional procession to the close hill called “Cavo”, where the faithful meet the pilgrims coming from the hamlet of Le Grazie. After the Madonna's blessing, the procession continues to Saint Lorenz' Church, where the first Mass is celebrated. The high point of the celebrations is the procession taking place at night along Portovenere's lanes while the boats moored in the port sound the hooter to hail the Virgin. On the background the rocky promontory and Saint Peter's Church are enlightened by almost 2000 torches.
The Aria Festival is a wonderful touring exhibition of artists who invade the island transforming it into a theatre where the audience is actively involved in the shows, concerts, circus performances and film reviews taking place uninterruptedly.
Laid on this promontory jagged by high cliffs, the village is faced by three small islands: Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto . Only the first one is partly inhabited and easily reachable during summer thanks to pay ferry boat and sea taxi services. Tino is a military area and can be visited only on the Saint Venerio's Day, on 13 th September. On this occasion the island is open for the church service celebration and to visit the hermitage, which was founded by Saint Venerio during the VIIth century. The monastery was rebuilt in the XIth century, but nowadays only its ruins can be admired.
Two are the events not to be missed: White Madonna's Day and the Aria Festival on the island of Palmaria.
Since 1399 the miracle of the White Madonna has been recurring drawing thousands of people: the celebrations start on 17 th August at dawn with the traditional procession to the close hill called “Cavo”, where the faithful meet the pilgrims coming from the hamlet of Le Grazie. After the Madonna's blessing, the procession continues to Saint Lorenz' Church, where the first Mass is celebrated. The high point of the celebrations is the procession taking place at night along Portovenere's lanes while the boats moored in the port sound the hooter to hail the Virgin. On the background the rocky promontory and Saint Peter's Church are enlightened by almost 2000 torches.
The Aria Festival is a wonderful touring exhibition of artists who invade the island transforming it into a theatre where the audience is actively involved in the shows, concerts, circus performances and film reviews taking place uninterruptedly.