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Sea and mountain landscapes are both present in Liguria. Most vineyards are located in the hills, close to the coast: their small acreage offers a limited wine production and views of unsurpassed beauty. The landscape is spectacular: low stone walls enclose almost inaccessible vineyards, covering a total area of about 1,900 hectares. The Cinque Terre National Park is the symbol of Ligurian wine production and part of the Unesco World Heritage. Its terraced vineyards reaching the sheer sea coast, are also known as "heroic", due to the extreme conditions that make viticulture in that area, a very expensive and difficult activity.
Terraced vineyards, in the background the village of Riomaggiore, on the seaside
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Vineyards of the Lunae Bosoni winery (photo by Lunae Bosoni winery)
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Here the vineyards are served by modern monorails, to facilitate pruning and harvesting. Among the best known wines of the Levante are the Sciacchetrà, with a limited production in the dry and passito versions, and the Cinque Terre Doc. In western Liguria, known as the Ponente, red wines are produced, such as the Rossese of Dolceacqua, the Rossese of the Riviera di Ponente and the Ormeasco, and noteworthy white wines, like Vermentino, Pigato, and Lumassina. Ligurian wine villages are rich in art and culture. In Arcola, located between the Gulf of La Spezia and the plain of the Magra, the parish church of San Nicola and the fifteenth-century church of San Michele Arcangelo, are worth a visit. Towards Imperia, Pornassio, with its strategic position on the road linking the Ligurian coast to Piedmont, was the stage for longstanding disputes between the Republic of Genoa and the Savoy family. Garlenda and Ortovero, near Savona, are in the Pigato production area. In Garlenda the beautiful Costa Del Carretto Castle, also known as “Castello della Meridiana”, was built in the sixteenth century.
In Ortovero, tourists can see the remains of the thirteenth-century Castle, the parish church of San Silvestro, with Romanesque decorations and the Baroque chapel of the Immaculate Conception, with a circular layout.
The Cinque Terre, as well as being a valuable and unique area of wine production and terraced vineyards, are an ideal destination for hikers (photo by Maurizio Cattani)
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Liguria can be visited traveling along the “Wine Route from the Alps to the Sea". The main itinerary extends for 120 km from the plateau of the Manie (Savona), in the Maritime Alps, all the way to the Col di Nava, in the coastal hills of Imperia. The Route, which includes the eleven Communes in the Valle Arroscia, winds through mountains, high hills and valleys with vineyards, olive groves, chestnut woods. Historic villages and small towns, castles and churches can be admired. For information about “The Wine and Olive Oil Route from the Alps to Sea”: www.stravinolio.com
Places not to be missed
The cathedral of Albenga (photo by Alberga Municipality)
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Among the places to visit is the Cathedral of Albenga, dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel. According to an ancient legend, it was built to thank St Michael, who had freed the town from a murderous snake, sending lightning from heaven to destroy it. Located in the medieval part of Albenga, the Cathedral rises on an ancient Christian place of worship. The earliest structures date back to the eleventh century, but the present building was erected in the late twelfth, or early thirteenth centuries. Subsequent changes were carried out at the end of the sixteenth century, in the period of the Counter Reformation. The cathedral has three naves, divided by columnsand pillars supporting Gothic arches.
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