GENOA to PISA: Along the Italian Riviera September 9-16, 2022 575 Pierce Street, Suite 604 • San Francisco, CA 94117 • (415) 626-5678 [email protected] https://venture-out.com The following is our planned itinerary, which is being published well over a year in advance. We reserve the right to modify some of the details of this program. Day 1 — Friday, September 9, 2022 — Arrival in Genoa Upon arrival in Genoa (by plane or train) make your way to our group hotel where we’ll gather in the early evening for a welcome drink before heading out for the first of many delicious meals! Welcome Drink, Dinner Overnight in Genoa NOTE: Please see the Arrival & Departure Logistics further on. Also, if you would like to arrive in Genoa a day early we can set you up with an additional night at our group hotel. Day 2 — Genoa Our day will be spent on foot exploring the fascinating center of Genoa. It’s said that this is Italy’s largest historical city center, so be ready for some walking! — possibly adding up to three miles all together throughout the day. Genoa (Genova in Italian) is the capital of the Liguria region, a narrow crescent-shaped strip on the Mediterranean Sea that stretches from the French border near Nice down to Tuscany and hemmed in by coastal mountains. Italy’s busiest port today, Genoa has evolved over the centuries from when it was a mighty maritime power and one of the wealthiest cities of Renaissance Europe with extensive colonies. Fascinatingly eclectic the city appears a bit rough-and-tumble today at first glance, but it has been gentrifying, and many consider it to be an underrated gem when digging below the surface, filled with architectural delights and a sense of “real Italy.” The old town is a intriguing jumble — a tangle of twisting alleyways called caruggi, majestic old palaces, shabby apartment buildings, artisanal retail shops, churches, graffiti, laundry hung out of windows, monuments, and maybe even prostitutes. We’ll absorb all of this as well as the sprawling Mercato Orientale, 2 Genoa’s boisterous indoor food market that evokes days past when ships brought back commodities from far-flung reaches. Along the Strada Nuova, considered one of the most beautiful streets in Italy, we’ll admire a few sumptuous Renaissance palaces that are now notable museums or municipal offices decorated with sculpted facades, stucco work, and medallions. Breakfast, Lunch Overnight in Genoa Day 3 — Portofino Promontory Leaving Genoa this morning we proceed down the Riviera di Levante (Shore of the Rising Sun), a ruggedly beautiful coastline hugged by mountains that plunge into the aquamarine sea. Charles Dickens believed that “there is nothing in Italy more beautiful to me than the coast-road between Genoa and Spezzia.” Think Amalfi Coast — northern Italy version. First stop is the cute little fishing port of Camogli with its pastel-hued houses. They were originally all painted different colors so that the fishermen would recognize their houses from sea. From here we board a boat (not a private service) that will circumnavigate the gorgeous Portofino Promontory, most of which is only accessible by hiking or boat. From the water we’ll get a good shot of San Fruttuoso, a medieval abbey, and its surrounding hamlet. Our boat then continues to the internationally famed, chic resort town of Portofino. Too pretty for its own good, some might say. And certainly not off the tourist circuit. But it’s one of those “must-do” stops when in the area. The glitzy town is flooded with wealthy visitors, film celebrities of today and decades past, fancy boats (some with masts taller than the town’s buildings), upscale boutiques, quite spendy hotels, and so forth. (But you might also see laundry hanging out to dry, kids kicking a soccer ball around, neighbors from their windows gossiping across the alley.) We’ll stroll around this charming town, taking in its perfect miniature harbor protected from behind by steep green hills dominated by cypress- and olive-clad slopes. 3 To round out the day the boat will drop us at yet another lovely little seaside town, Santa Margherita Ligure, imbued with old-world charm, chic but not flashy, making it more appealing to some than Portofino. Nicknamed “the port of Milan,” (it’s popular with well-heeled Milanese) the town is set by a lush bay surrounded by exotic plants. Then we re-join our bus and head to our hotel in Portovenere where we stay for three nights. Portovenere sits at the tip of the rocky promontory that separates the Cinque Terre from the Gulf of Poets. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Overnight in Portovenere Day 4 — Cinque Terre The Cinque Terre (Five Lands) — a UNESCO World Heritage site — is a string of five little charming villages along the coast tucked into very steep mountainsides and all interconnected with stunning hiking paths. It’s popular with hikers who come here to spend two or three days doing these trails. We won’t be hiking, but we’ll explore a couple of the villages today using a boat (private service) to get us from town to town, then walking through (and up through!) the towns. (Note: Our hotel base, Portovenere, is not one of the Cinque Terre villages but has the nicest accommodation option.) The Cinque Terre are originally fishing, wine production, and olive oil making towns, but tourism has become now a major economic influence. Today’s plan is to see Manarola, which we think is one the prettiest of the Cinque Terre towns. It’s a near-vertical cluster of houses that rise up from the harbor one atop the other. The main street was once a river criss-crossed by little bridges. We’ll have time to explore the town and its steeply terraced vineyards, but also on the program is a fun session where we learn to make what is perhaps Liguria’s most prominent culinary claim to fame: real Ligurian pesto! — accompanied by a light lunch and heavy laughter. We'll also navigate up the coast to Vernazza, another contender for prettiest village in the Cinque Terre. Colorful houses around the harbor; a ruined castle atop 4 a rocky promontory that juts into the sea; a lively waterside piazza; boutiques and gelato shops; only 500 residents — you get the picture. Later we return by boat to our home base in Portovenere, enjoying the stunning coastal scenery en route, maybe catching some dolphin action if we’re lucky. Breakfast, Light Lunch Overnight in Portovenere Day 5 — Gulf of Poets / Lerici / Winery / Sarzana This morning our boat ride (private service) will introduce us to the so-called “Gulf of Poets” where such notables as Lord Byron, the Shelleys (Percy Bysshe and Mary), D.H. Lawrence, and others lived or spent time in the 19th and early 20th centuries. We’ll pass by some of the gulf’s little islands, mussel farms, and the village of Tellaro, disembarking in charming Lerici. Its beautiful historic center is towered over by a huge, well-preserved castle that today is a museum, and there are nice views across the gulf back towards Portovenere. After a short stroll in town our bus will collect us for the ride to the Lunigiana, a region between Liguria and Tuscany famous for its impressive castles and its wonderful wine that grows on its smooth hills. Here we’ll visit a family-run wine cellar situated in a beautiful setting. Our time here will include an explanation of their production process and a tasting of several wines accompanied by some delicious local foods. Afterwards we’ll see a bit of Sarzana, an attractive little town with a Medici fortress and a beautiful historic center with narrow streets, cozy little shops, antique dealers, and cafes. Its main street follows the old Via Francigena, which ran from Canterbury to Rome and was an important pilgrimage and trade route. You might like to partake of one of the local treats, spungata — puff pastry cake stuffed with jam, dried fruit, pine nuts, almonds, raisins, and spices. We return by bus to Portovenere for our final evening here. Breakfast, Winery Lunch Overnight in Portovenere 5 Day 6 — Pietrasanta / Pisa / Lucca Today we head south into the Tuscany region where our first stop is Pietrasanta, just inland from the Versilian Coast and known for its vibrant arts culture and its jewel of a historical town center. This refined art town is dotted with tiny art galleries, workshops, and fashion boutiques. In the early 16th century the pope put the nearby Carrara quarries at the disposal of Michaelangelo, who came here to source marble for many projects over the years. Artists continue to work here, including sculptor Fernando Botero, some of whose work is on display in the town. The main piazza doubles as an outdoor gallery for sculptures and other generally large works of art. After lunch we continue to Pisa — made famous, of course, by its “Leaning Tower,” but worthwhile for the entire Romanesque complex of which the tower is but a part. The 11th-century Duomo (cathedral) with its striking green and cream marble led the way for Romanesque churches throughout Tuscany. One highlight inside is the extraordinary octagonal pulpit sculpted from Carrara marble by Giovanni Pisano, son of Nicola Pisano, who was instrumental in the adjacent cupcake-looking Baptistery’s stunning hexagonal pulpit. This father-and-son team holds pride of place among sculptors of the period. The iconic Leaning Tower is officially the cathedral’s bell tower. It took almost 200 years to build and was already leaning when unveiled in 1372.