A wonderful holiday between… Cinque Terre and Portofino - portofino bay uk

Portofino is included in the homonymous Protected Sea area instituted in 1999 by President Decree whose surface includes also the municipalities of Camogli and Santa Margherita Ligure. The foundation of this protected area was necessary to protect the typical flora and fauna from the menaces caused by mass tourism. In addition to tourists that visit Portofino for its beauty there are also nature lovers that want to go deep into the unpolluted area of the Park of Portofino covering the surface of the homonymous point. The territory of the park is characterized by the typical maquis and by autochthonous animals like foxes, beech martens and wild boars. Portofino, the town... Portofino is located about 35 Km from Genoa, in the beautiful Riviera di Levante, inside a wonderful bay. According to the academics it was founded by the Romans with the name of “Portus Delphini”, due to the presence in the bay of numerous dolphins that still nowadays can be seen from the ferry boats sailing there. Due to its particular form, the small natural harbour of Portofino sheltered the vessels of the merchant navy of the Republic of Genoa in the late Middle Ages. For that reason Portofino began to be more and more important because it offered to the vessels a sure cover. The economy of the town, which since that moment was almost entirely based on fishing and agriculture, had a strong jump. The target of Portofino changed when, at the beginning of 20th Century, some upper-class English and then German families discovered its beauty. Portofino was already known by writers, painters and musician of the period but these families made Portofino famous more abroad than in Italy. One of the first personalities who discovered Portofino was Guy de Maupassant,famous writer of French Realism, who, at the end of 19th Century, described Portofino like that: “A moon arch around a calm basin”. Portofino became famous among the most famous people in that period but it remained anyway untouched by this unsuspected celebrity and maintained the characteristics of small sea town, with itsrenowned “Piazzetta”, now meeting point of international Jet-Set for its various premises and for its beauty overlooking the harbour, not more shelter for vessels but for luxurious yachts. The real boom was during the 50ies, when Portofino was the dearest destination of Hollywood actors, trendy writers, musicians, various artists… The town of Portofino stretches along the main road leading to the well-known Piazzetta. The whole area is rich in boutiques and small shops that can send all fashion-lovers into raptures. Always in the Piazzetta it is possible to see still nowadays fishermen landing boats after their hard work at sea. The buildings are typical Ligurian: high and narrow houses, one stuck to the other, with brilliant colours and green shutter-blinds. In Portofino are also worth visiting the Brown castle, ancient residence now a museum, and San Giorgio Church, patron saint of the town.