Old Town Portovenere and HarborWe were a bit apprehensive about choosing Portovenere as our base to hike the Cinque Terre but after spending the day exploring the village and going on a wonderful hike, we feel this was definitely the right decision. There is excellent access by boat to all of the 5 villages from here and we will start exploring them tomorrow. Portovenere’s old village is situated between rocky cliffs and the Med with a narrow channel creating a safe harbor. It is definitely the most picturesque village we have visited to date.
The town has been around since Roman times (161AD). However the fort and village had its start in 1113 when it became part of the Genoese state. The main buildings along the harbor were made intentionally tall as they were originally used as part of the defensive wall in medieval times. At the end of town on a rocky peninsula there is a very simple but beautiful church called St. Peters which was built in a Gothic style using black and white marble in 1131. The interior of the church is very stark and your eye immediately goes to the statue of Jesus on the Cross. I felt this was definitely a place to worship God and not the wonders of Man.
After checking out the village, Rita and I went on a warm up 2 hour hike up to an abandoned fort behind the village at the top of the cliffs. It was like the Grouse Grind except there was no beer when we got to the top and no Gondola to take us back down. But the scenery was spectacular. The hike made us very hungry and we had a wonderful dinner of local specialties (Octopus salad, bean soup and spaghetti with pesto) at a small family run restaurant in the Village. Tomorrow it’s hiking the Cinque Terre.
Rita overlooking the Bay of Poets from the Castle
13th Century St. Peter's Church and Medieval Walls
St. Peters Spartan Interior
Rita about 15 minutes into hike overlooking the Castle and St. Peter's Church
Geoff and Rita about half way to the top
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