Lerici

As Lerici’s history is lost in antiquity, we really don’t know its foundation’s precise year, but its ancient name “portus iliycis” is likely to come from the Greek “Iliakos” (Iliac, Trojan) and this leads us to dream that Lerici was founded by a group of exiles from the war of Troy. In the VII century bC, the Etruscans occupied the Gulf after having founded the town of Luni. Because of its importance as a port, Lerici was for long an object of contention between the Romans and the Ligurians till the Middle Ages.
In 1241, it was occupied by the Pisans that built the castle and the walled village.

 After fifteen years, Genoa recaptured the village and enlarged the castle, while the maximum urban growth was between seventeenth and eighteenth century. At present, the castle hosts the geopaleontologic museum equipped with a multimedia system allowing a virtual journey through time. A chapel named after Saint Anastasia is also prsent inside the castle.
In the church of Saint Rocco, an interesting Fiasella painting is on view, while the church of San Francesco keeps two paintings of Fiasella, a marble triptych of 1529, Maragliano’s dead Christ, a slate pulpit, which Bernardino da Siena is said to have preached from, and the rests of the original church. Villa Marigola, that once hosted the Empress of Germany and Sem Benelli, (who wrote his "Cena delle beffe" while staying here) is today an important conference centre.
From a tourist and sports point of view, the Venere Azzurra plant has to be mentioned: it’s equipped with two swimming pools, tennis courts and golf field; the marina has a capacity of 2,000 berths.