The mooring lines in place, a pair of shoes on your feet and your smartphone in your hand to be advised where to start to visit La Spezia. Assonautica aims to become the other gateway to the city for those arriving from the sea thanks to the project Find out where I’m taking you. An entrance less crowded than that of cruise passengers who disembark at the nearby terminal by the thousands at a time. Along the Passeggiata Morin there are 60 free places for any passing navigators, bearers of a way of understanding the journey and the discovery of the territory which is different in philosophy and certainly less time-constrained.
For them Assonautica La Spezia has thought of selecting a series of itineraries curated by Breathe Liguria, diversified according to needs. Those who have just two hours can cross the Public Gardens and then immerse themselves in the relics of the Naval Technical Museum, or go up to the Castle of San Giorgio and then explore the Parco delle Mura again. Those who have a whole afternoon or morning can reach Porto Venere and the islands or let themselves be transported to the Bay of Lerici for an excursus between landscape and literature on the coast that has inspired poets and writers. Those who have a full day can choose the Val di Vara of ancient churches, bathing lakes and tastings or climb up the hill of Marinasco through the Parco delle Mura and find a private garden where you can taste the wines of the Cinque Terre ready to open its doors.
“They are proposals aimed at both an Italian and foreign public, both local and passing through – he explains Veronica Forzoni Of Breathe Liguria -. There are destinations easily reachable on foot that start directly from the marina and others that are more challenging. Simply connect to the Assonautica portal and for each activity the duration, cost, possible distance to be covered on foot and the difference in altitude are specified in order to give everyone the opportunity to choose the best solution. We also have a calendar with activities linked to particular and perhaps in some cases even less well-known events. I’m thinking for example of the Brugnato Infiorata”.
La Spezia is a pioneer in the Discover where I’m taking you project, which involves the entire national territory starting from seventeen historical and cultural routes. The province of La Spezia is in particular the arrival point of the so-called Poets’ Route, which starts from Sanremo and practically crosses the whole of Liguria. “La Spezia has long become a nautical capital – says president Pier Gino Scardigli -, a sector that combines tourism and industry. We believe we can encourage knowledge of the territory and give it centrality through boating.”
“It is a container to be filled – underlines the director Romolo Busticchi – with proposals that have landscape, historical and also food and wine peculiarities at their centre. The Cambusa project, which has been underway for years, fits in in this sense, allowing local products to be received directly by boat. The best seller? To date, certainly our wines, which arrive on board directly from the hands of the producers. There are those who have tasted them here and today ask to receive them at home in Milan”.
Another new feature is the possibility to book and dine at the farmhouse during overnight stops. “Typically, those who arrive by boat do not have a means of getting around on land – recalls Busticchi -, so we made an agreement with the same entrepreneurs who take care of picking up customers at the marina, taking them to eat in their restaurant, and bringing them back to Assonautica immediately afterwards.” The activities participating today are The Hills of Rossoli of Sorbolo and theBelvedere Farmhouse 9 on the western heights of the city.
