Porto Venere
To the very West of the Gulf of Spezia lies the territory of the Comune di Portovenere that consists of three villages, Fezzano, Le Grazie and Portovenere and an archipelago (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto).
The headland became “Genoa’s bulwark in the Tyrrhenian” from the year 1113 when it was ceded to the Republic of Genoa by the ruling Vezzano family.
It was in fact the Genoese that built the fortified town we see today and who erected the city walls and castle. The imposing remains of the castle that was remodelled in the 16th century still tower over the town.
The “castrum novum” was built by the Antelami master builders according to very precise architectural standards and included: the fortress houses on the sea front, the Church of San Lorenzo (1130), the public way along the beach to the castrum vetus and the town walls (1160). From Mediaeval times, Portovenere had very close ties with the Marine Republic of Genoa, especially during the long war between Genoa and Pisa (1119 – 1290), then during the time of French occupation in 1396 and the attacks by the Alfonso of Aragon’s fleet that left the churches of San Lorenzo and San Pietro heavily damaged.
Improvements in long range weaponry brought about a gradual decline in the town’s strategic role. It began to lose the invulnerability it had previously enjoyed thanks to its defensive position high on the rocks. When attacks started coming from the high seas, things changed. Despite this, Portovenere continued to play an important role as a shipping port. In the years that followed, the Genoese built more modern fortresses in the Gulf that included the Fort of San Francesco and the small fort of Sant’ Ambrogio above the Cala dell’Arpaia (Byron’s grotto). In 1606 they built the fortress of Torre Scola just off the island of Palmaria. With the arrival of Napoleon in the Gulf and the proclamation of the New Ligurian Republic; the 1st of August 1791 saw the beginning of more bad times for Portovenere. The village was occupied by Austrian/Russian and French militia who defaced and sacked the two churches.
At the end of the 19th century, emergency restoration works began on Portovenere. These continuous works led to the conservation of an area where the natural environment and the work of man blend so well together that it was inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List in 1997.
The place that most people probably associate with Portovenere is that of the Chiesina di San Pietro. This little church sits on the rocky promontory and emanates a sense of serenity that it is hard to imagine anywhere else in the world. The church was built by the Genoese between 1256 and 1277 on the ruins of a Paleochristian church that had been built over a pagan temple dedicated to the goddess Venere Ericina (Venus Erycina). She was closely associated with the history of Portovenere. Cannon fire from the Aragon fleet in 1494, the occupation by Austrian /Russian militia and the disastrous Napoleonic period turned the church into a defensive outpost for the Gulf. The church was restored between 1929 and 1934.
The Chiesa di San Lorenzo stands tall above the town and was built by the Genoese as the official colonial cathedral. The building was created by the noted Antelami master builders and features a Romanesque façade. Over the years however, it was subjected to many changes due to the turbulent history of the town. The interior houses many works of art including: a triptych from the 1400’s, the wonderful parchment of the Madonna Bianca (the White Virgin), the polytych of San Martino, a Lebanese cedar tree trunk that was found in Portovenere waters. This trunk had relics and four historiated caskets hidden inside it that were decorated with Arabian/Persian art from the 11th century.
The Castello Doria overlooks the town of Portovenere. Its mighty walls symbols of a powerful model of Genoese military architecture.
The islands Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto
Arcipelago di Porto Venere
The archipelago of the Gulf of Poets
The archipelago in the Portovenere waters is made up of three islands, Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto. These islands are without any doubt the very soul of the “Parco Naturale Regionale di Porto Venere” founded on 20 September 2001.
Tino houses many relics dating back to the 11th century and a church dedicated to San Venerio. It is also a military zone and access is only granted during the celebrations in honour of the saint. The remains of an 11th century abbey dedicated to San Valerio are to be found here. The building was erected on the ruins of a 7th century chapel where the saint’s body was discovered. Tinetto is more an islet than island. Little more than a rock jutting out of the sea. There is no vegetation to speak of but there are the remains of two distinct signs of the presence of a religious community from earlier times. On the Western side of the isle, there was a small 6th century oratory with an apse located at the Eastern end where a more substantial building stood. This was in fact an abbey with a church featuring two naves and cells for the monks. There are clear signs indicating that construction was carried out in differing stages up until the 11th century when the abbey was destroyed by Saracens.
Palmaria is the best-known and most visited of the group. It is very popular with the locals and is a wonderful bathing spot. The island offers some superb panoramic paths over the hills amid the pungent scent of sunburnt Mediterranean shrubs and bushes, towering white cliffs that drop down to the blue Mediterranean Sea, and impressive quarries of black and gold marble.
UNESCO INSCRIPTION
Chiesa di S. Pietro e le case Torri
Porto Venere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto)
Inscription N° 826 1997 C (ii) (iv) (v)
The Committee decided to inscribe this site on the basis of criteria (ii), (iv) and (v), considering that the eastern Ligurian Riviera between Cinque Terre and Portovenere is a cultural site of outstanding value, representing the harmonious interaction between people and nature to produce a landscape of exceptional scenic quality that illustrates a traditional way of life that has existed for a thousand years and continues to play an important socio-economic role in the life of the community.
Portovenere and its archipelago were inscribed on the Unesco “World Heritage List” in 1997. In September 2001, the region was given further recognition: The Region of Liguria founded the Parco Naturale Regionale di Portovenere that encompasses Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto.
