Holiday apartment in La Spezia: art, history and paths along the Gulf

La Spezia combines maritime history, art collections and routes through the city and countryside. The waterfront promenade overlooks the Golfo dei Poeti. The Gulf of La Spezia was first referred to as the Golfo dei Poeti by the playwright Sem Benelli. In the city centre, redesigned for pedestrian traffic, there are cultural sites, historical tours and opportunities to explore La Spezia on foot or by bicycle.

Art and maritime history

The Museo Tecnico Navale preserves original Marconi apparatus and original Morse messages exchanged on 17 July 1897 during the world's first experiments in maritime radiotelegraphy in the Gulf of La Spezia. Other artefacts and memorabilia in the museum are dedicated to seafaring, exploration, battles, scientific experiences, inventions and innovations. The Museo del Castello San Giorgio houses archaeological collections with finds from prehistory to the Middle Ages and is accessible to people with disabilities; there are no architectural barriers there.

The Palazzina delle Arti “L. R. Rosaia” permanently displays an exhibition about Agostino Fossati, featuring paintings from the municipal art collections of La Spezia. The permanent exhibition comprises 49 paintings from the municipal collection, arranged in seven thematic sections. The Palazzina delle Arti is also accessible to people with disabilities and has no architectural barriers. The Museo Amedeo Lia displays works of art from the classical era through late antiquity and the Middle Ages to the modern era. Its collection includes more than 70 panels by the so-called “Primitives”, as well as works by Titian and Canaletto, including what is presumably an early work by Raphael. The museum is located in a pedestrian zone and is therefore not accessible to cars or coaches.

The Museo Civico Etnografico Giovanni Podenzana houses collections on the ethnography of Lunigiana and non-European cultures in a former 15th-century oratory. The CAMeC permanently displays art holdings from the editions of the Premio del Golfo as well as from the donations of Cozzani and Battolini. It also organises exhibitions on contemporary production and historical modern art. Its programmes for schools and the general public include art education formats, including art therapy programmes and workshops.

City and countryside routes

WALK! La Spezia offers themed city tours with multilingual historical and cultural information linked via QR codes. The project connects cultural sites with walking and cycling routes accessible by conventional or electric bicycles, as well as through the city's bike-sharing service. The Parco delle Mura is an uphill walking route running along the 19th-century city walls. The digital tour “Tesori nascosti” links cultural institutions, places of remembrance, historic architecture and landscape routes in La Spezia.

In the surrounding area, Cinque Terre National Park offers a network of more than 130 kilometres of coastal, hillside and ridge paths with vertical connecting routes. On the Pisa–Genoa route, La Spezia is the railway junction or terminus indicated by Cinque Terre National Park for travelling by train to the Cinque Terre. The Cinque Terre National Park information points for the Via dell’Amore extend across the area from La Spezia to Levanto.

Historic sites and collections

The Galleria Quintino Sella was restored as an immersive multimedia tour commemorating La Spezia during the bombings of the Second World War. The former Convento delle Clarisse was opened to the public after restoration work; five restored marble epigraphs are now publicly accessible there. The Batteria Valdilocchi, built in 1880 and featuring a rare pentagonal floor plan, was reopened to the public after an initial safeguarding measure.

The Museo del Sigillo displays a collection on sphragistics assembled by private individuals, described as the most complete of its kind. Thus, the range of historic sites and collections extends from archaeological finds and medieval artefacts to maritime memorabilia, modern art and a collection of seals.

Tradition and local cuisine

The Palio del Golfo is a historic rowing regatta held annually on the first Sunday in August in front of the waterfront promenade of La Spezia. Local cuisine includes Mesciua, a traditional dish from La Spezia made from pulses and grains.

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Also pay attention to included services, individual price components and the applicable booking and cancellation conditions. This keeps the specific features of each offer clearly separate from the city's diverse sites and experiences.

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