The “Most Beautiful Towns in Italy” association has put together a list of the best mediaeval town centres to visit in Italy. There are a few obvious choices but also a few surprises among the towns. The list is as follows:

1. Valeggio sul Mincio town centre in the province of Verona. A must-see is the Visconteo bridge with its fortified dam from the 14th century.

2. Cefalu, on Palermo’s coast in Sicily offers not only historical interest but also beautiful Mediterranean views.

3. In Lazio, the town of Civita di Bagnoregio is worth a visit, and can be reached by a bridge as it sits high on a hill. It is characterised by its red stone.

Continue reading: Italy's most beautiful towns

“Liguria da bere” or “Drinking Liguria” is an fair of traditional products and wine from Liguria that will take place in La Spezia, south of the Cinque Terre, this weekend.

Liguria is one of the more undervalued regions in Italy, though it offers a rich history in wine and food. The area dedicated to grape vines in this region is 2,400 hectares, with 774 DOC Italian wines (33 percent of the total). More than 71,000 hectolitres are produced each year.

The Ligurian wine on show is: Cinque Terre, Vermentino and red and white from the Colli du Luni and Colline di Levanto, Pigato, Rossese and Vermentino from Riviera di Ponente. Other traditional Italian wines from this area are: Bianchetta, Rossese di Dolceacqua or Ormeasco di Pornassio (I know, the name), and the wines from Val Polcevera. If you’re in town, try some vermentino or the sweet wine from the Cinque Terre if it can be found.

Continue reading: Italian wines from Liguria on show in La Spezia

If you want to spend a few days in Liguria, the Antico Casale of Sarzana could be the perfect choice. Strategically located on the border with Tuscany, the place is not far from such beautiful sea-side resorts as Lerici, Montemarcello, The Cinque Terre, Bocca di Magra and Portovenere. But if you a lazy bone and just want to relax, Marinella beaches are just around the corner. The hotel is comprised of eight cottages; each of which can accommodate up to six person. The Casale offers a series of interesting outdoor activities; from trekking in the Apuane Alps to excursions by bike to the Montemarcello Magra Park and horse riding. Prices range from 90 to 150 euros (double room). If you’re planning to spend a few days there during the summer, I suggest you book a week in advance

Continue reading: Holydays in Liguria: Antico Casale di Sarzana

If you are planning a romantic getaway to Liguria, this package offered by the owner of the famous palazzo Fieschi could be perfect for you and your sweetheart. Located in the small town of Savignone in the Scrivia Valley and built in the 16th century, the old palace has 21 beautiful rooms; you can spend a weekend there for only 332 euros per couple. The offer includes a bottle of champagne, fruit basket and lovely gifts for all guests. By the way, if you love to walk you may be happy to know that you can take part in several excursions through the valley (click here for more information about the “Tutti I sentieri portano all‘Antola” walking tour). Savignone is not far from Genoa, Portofino and the beautiful Cinque Terre. Offer valid until 30 September 2009.

Continue reading: Romantic getaways and places in Italy: Palazzo Fieschi at Savignone, Liguria

The Cinque Terre in Liguria are the towns of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso, some of which you can see in the photos here.

They are one of the most beautiful areas in the mediterranean, uncontaminated for the inaccessibility, despite the tourism. Building projects have been limited, given the lack of space between the sea and the mountains, meaning that the area is now a unique landscape in Italy, of panoramic sea views, terraced gardens and vineyards.

Perhaps the most famous wine from the Cinque Terre is the sweet wine Sciacchetrà. While the Cinque Terre are famous in Italy as a national park, they are also on the UNESCO heritage list.

If you’re looking for accommodation in the are, try the bed & breakfast Baranin at Manarola. Offers valid from March 7 to 27 include double room with breakfast at 70 euros a night, or apartments with kitchen at 70 euros a night, or 85 euros for the weekend.

Continue reading: Bed and breakfast in the Cinque Terre

If you’re planning a holiday in Italy to the Cinque Terre in the warmer months, here is good site with plenty of accommodation tips for Monterosso, Riomaggiore and rooms in the Cinque Terre area.

The Manario.it site has plenty of accommodation options including the Santuario di Montenero in the photo - a convent stay in this area. For discounts in the Cinque Terre region, try the Sconto Card or the Cinque Terre Card

Continue reading: Cinque Terre accommodation and the Santuario di Montenero

For anyone passing through Genoa on the Ligurian coast who has a bit of spare time before rushing off to Portofino or the Cinque Terre, stopping at Genoa’s acquarium is a great option. A new initiative means you can now say “ciao” to a dolphin or a whale and also go on a cruise around the biggest tanks of the acquarium. Called “Crocieracquario”, a tour will take around the marine mammal facilities of the area, while also expanding along the Ligurian coast.

A marine biologist from the WWF and the acquarium gives a guided tour to explain all the mysteries of these wonderful animals, while also discussing the aims and results of the “Delfini Metropolitani” project, which from 2001 studies the presence of dolphins along the length of the coast toured.

The excursion departs every Saturday at 1pm from the wharf under the Acquarium. The cruise and guided tour costs 42 euros for adults and 21 euros for kids (4 to 12 years).

For information and bookings call Incoming Liguria on 010/2345.666 or go to the website of Genoa’s acquarium at acquariodigenova.it. The coastal tour can be booked on its own for 32 euros for adults or 15 euros for kids.

Continue reading: Touring Genoa and Portofino: visiting dolphins on a guided tour

Portofino is a famous Italian jewel on the Ligurian coast. Between Genoa and the Cinque Terre, it’s a tiny town around a small harbour that has its roots in fishing, although aristocratic tourism slowly took over as the prime activity in the town.

In the late 19th century, first British, then other northern European aristocratic tourists began to visit Portofino, which they reached by horse and cart from Santa Margherita Ligure. Aubrey Herbert (1880–1923) was one of the more famous Englishmen to maintain a villa at Portofino. Eventually more expatriates built expensive vacation houses, and by 1950 tourism hadsupplanted fishing as the town’s chief industry, and the waterfront was a continuous ring of restaurants and cafés.

Continue reading: Italian panoramas: Relaxing in the Mediterranean at Portofino

In Liguria, where mountains and steep cliffs drop straight into the Mediterranean, creating a unique landscape that each year attracts millions of tourists, many old monasteries have been converted into posh hotels. The most famous is Hotel Splendido in Portofino. It was a medieval monastery which was turned into a hotel in the early 20th century. Many celebrities of the past spent their holidays there from Grace Kelly to the Duke of Windsor, and from Orson Wells to Humphrey Bogart; just to mention a few!

It’s a beautiful, magical place, elegantly decorated with enchanting bedrooms that nostalgically look back to the Belle Epoque; to that golden age when the world seemed to twirl around in a perpetually dance. Another amazing hotel is the Grand Hotel Portovenere located in Portovenere, a small harbour which actually is just a delightful cove between The Cinque Terre and the Gulf of the Poets where the great English poet Shelley died when his boat was turned over by a storm. The hotel used to be an old convent built in 1200 which in 1994 was converted into a hotel; a luxurious place from which one can see the exotic, breath-taking beauty of the Palmaria Island.

Via | Modapiu.eu
Foto | Flickr.com

Continue reading: Portofino & Portovenere: monasteries converted into posh hotels

Vernazza is the only village of the Cinque terre to have a real port. A small village with only 1000 inhabitants which, like the other four hamlets, is one of the best preserved natural areas around the Mediterranean. The Cinque terre is a Unesco world heritage site, perched on high, steep cliffs dropping into the sea. An uncontaminated natural paradise which never fails to impress.

And if you love to walk, there’s this Blue Path that from Monterosso leads to Vernazza. A two-hour walk that will give you the chance to enjoy breathtaking vistas and then have lunch at one of Vernazza inns, known for their good food and generous portions. Wikitravel recommends Trattoria da Sandro, la Torre or Trattoria Gianni.

Photos | rayced, luiginter, Alaskan Dude, bostoneff, antmoose, wyzik .

Continue reading: Taking a walk through The Cinque Terre

If you’re passing through the Cinque Terre and are looking for something to do this weekend, three days of a cooking class are available in Framura, La Spezia. The weekend is organised by Viaggi Solidali, a group that focuses on human and environmentally sustainable tourism.

The classes are set to reveal the herbal secrets of Ligurian cooking and involve a walk around the cliff land picking such herbs as wild thyme and fennel. In future plans there is also a weekend about bread making with afternoon tea at the end of the day. Go to Viaggi Solidali for more information.

Continue reading: Weekend cooking in the Cinque Terre