GENOA CITY SIGHTS
While the stylish Porto Antico draws many visitors, the city itself
has plenty of attractions, especially in its medieval quarter around
Via Cairoli and Via Garibaldi. From the marina, you can cut inland
under the main road and meander east to Via Cairoli, a long
cobbled pedestrian street that runs into Via Garibaldi. The looming
houses give summer shade and washing hangs high up between
apartments where locals peer down from balcony windows.
Genoa’s most famous buildings are its opulent marble palaces
created from the vast wealth that fl owed into the city during the
16 th and 17th centuries. There are over a dozen on Via Garibaldi
and one of the most intriguing is Palazzo Lomellino, built in 1563
by a merchant who made a fortune from fi sh and coral in North
Africa. Here you can visit an amazing rooftop garden adorned
by a white minaret. This elevated retreat is fi lled with orange
trees and you can follow a pergola path heady with wisteria.
Don’t miss climbing to Spianata di Castelletto, a restful hillside
park on the site of a demolished fortress, with a stunning prospect
of the city. Early evening is a good time to relax here, watching
the sun go down and the lights coming on around the harbour.
CRUISING EAST FROM GENOA
THE PORTOFINO PENINSULA
From Genoa, the Riviera di Levante curves east and south towards
a rugged peninsula lush with pines, olive groves and fragrant
maquis. This is Portofi no National Park, idyllic for hikers and
a mouth-watering backdrop for the deep blue sea. There are
several villages around this spur and the fi rst is Camogli, tucked
into the north-west corner. The harbour is small but worth a visit
just to see its cheerful mosaic of Italian ochres, umbers and siennas.
The more famous Portofi no is on the opposite side of the
peninsula, a picture-book Italianate village built around a cleft
in the limestone. Portofi no has become almost too popular
for its own good and in peak season, it’s virtually impossible
to squeeze in, but if you come here early, perhaps late May, you
can enjoy this lovely wooded ria without the squash. Morning
light shows Portofi no in sensuous warmth, its simple ‘fi shermen’s
houses’ set off by lavish superyachts.
The east side of the peninsula has two more harbours a couple
of miles apart − Santa Margherita Ligure and Rapallo. Facing
north-east, Santa Margherita is home to superyachts at the
outer breakwater, fi shing boats jostling in the middle and normal
yachts and motor boats around the head of the harbour. On the
wooded slopes above the bay are the prosperous villas for which
this corner of the Riviera is noted.
The enchanting resort of Rapallo graces the north-east corner
of the peninsula, where villas in spacious grounds look down
from slopes of scented pines and poplar trees. Palms fringe
the beach and a tiny castle overlooks the sea. The harbour has a
friendly yacht club and the prestigious Carlo Riva Marina runs like
clockwork. Carlo Riva died last year at the age of 95. His beautiful
motor boats are legendary and he started Rapallo Marina in 1975.LA CINQUE TERRE
From Rapallo the Riviera trends south-east past Chiavari and
Lavagna, two fairly ordinary yacht harbours within a mile of each
other, and then the coast becomes steeper and more mountainousTRAVELChic Portofi no is pretty
as a picture – but best
avoided in peak season