The Gulf of Poets
It is the stretch of sea, already in Liguria,
that ends the natural stretch of the coast. Here, the coastal landscape
changes, no longer do we see the
endless
beaches of
Versilia, but sheer
cliffs that drop straight into sea, as in the nearby
Cinque
Terre, and the horizon clotted with small islands.

The destination of English poets, this corner of the sea
owes its name to its most regular visitors: Byron and Shelley, the latter
having been shipwrecked off
Lerici.
Portovenere, easily reached by boat from
Lerici, is a tiny port standing in a natural cove.
Opposite, Palmaria island, a place that attracts tourist
and the curious, renowned for the ruined ancient fortifications of the
Malaspina family and for its unusual natural landscape: it is wooded all
the way to the summit and surrounded by numerous caves.