Porto Venere

Porto Venere is one of the most attracting villages in Liguria and its beauty was celebrated also in Roman times, when the ancient Portus Veneris was a little port between Luni and Sestri Levante.
A Byzantine stronghold in mediaeval times, it grew over the next centuries thanks to the monastic movement, which involved the two islands of Palmaria and Tino. In 1113, it was conceded to the Genoese, who developed the military and marine potential of the town by building the characteristic row of fort-houses along the coast, the walls, the three towers, the town gate and, between 1118 and 1130, the church of Saint Lorenzo, keeping in the inside various works of art and, in the sacristy, a grand treasure. Genoa’s imprint is clear in the town’s gate, where is written "Colonia Januensis" (1113), and in the characteristic church of Saint Pietro on the clifftop, built in 1256.
The "upper castle", built by the Byzantines, was demolished in the fifteenth century to make room for the fortress, which was constructed in a number of phases until 1751.
It is today open to visitors and used as an exhibition space for shows and cultural events.
A road leading out of the village’s center takes you up the steep hillside towards the Cinque Terre through the Mediterranean maquis. From Porto Venere you can also reach, a few minutes by ferry, the islands in front of the coast.
The island of Palmaria is characterized by two diametrically opposed versants: the east one with luxuriant Mediterranean vegetation and many beaches, the west one with cliffs overhanging the sea and grottos. In some of them, the Grotta Azzurra and the Grotta dei Colombi,  remnants from the prehistoric time have been found.
On the island of Tino, the ruins of the monastery of Saint Venerio (XI century) are present, while on the Tinetto island the ones of a sixth century church.