Portovenere is usually proclaimed the Cinque Terre’s “sixth town.” But for me, that distinction belongs to the far much less heralded Levanto. The first time I visited Cinque Terre, earlier than I moved to Italy, my journey companion insisted we keep in Levanto, the city northwest of Monterosso.
I went together with the plan, although half of me apprehensive I would not be getting the full Cinque Terre expertise. Well, I could not have been extra unsuitable. Not solely that, I’ve returned to Levanto again and again since I’ve lived right here—it’s my Ligurian seashore getaway of alternative after I want an escape from Milan.
For starters, it couldn’t be simpler to achieve Levanto from Milan and the Cinque Terre from Levanto. The Intercity trains serving Monterosso additionally cease in Levanto, so there’s no want for a regional connection. Monterosso is only one cease (5 minutes) away on the Cinque Terre Express, and the seasonal ferry service between the villages additionally makes choose calls in Levanto.
Yet regardless of its proximity to the Cinque Terre, Levanto stays a world aside. Home to round 5,000 residents, which is greater than 3 times the inhabitants of Monterosso, it’s a lived-in city first and a vacationer vacation spot second, a reprieve from the over-tourism that has engulfed the Cinque Terre. Every yr, round 4 million guests converge on the 5 tiny fishing villages, putting immense strain on their slim streets, hiking trails, and centuries-old buildings.
While Levanto has its share of guests, it by no means seems overrun. Most are Italians or different Europeans, notably the French, German, and British. I not often hear an American accent moreover my very own.
The city itself can be noticeably extra widespread than the villages of the Cinque Terre. While the identical steep leafy inexperienced hills encompass the historic heart, Levanto stretches alongside a broad gulf, giving it a palpable sense of area. The turquoise, kilometer-long shoreline is fronted by a palm-lined promenade and stately Belle Époque villas, together with the bougainvillaea-draped Villa Agnelli, as soon as the FIAT household’s summer time residence. Unlike Cinque Terre’s seashores, that are pebbly and tucked into tiny coves (apart from Monterosso’s), the shoreline right here is surprisingly sandy, with each personal golf equipment and ample stretches of public beach.
Medieval remnants survive all through Levanto, together with the Thirteenth-century Gothic Church of Sant’Andrea and the Castello di San Giorgio, which rests atop a low hill. The Loggia Comunale, a Sixteenth-century reconstruction of the medieval retailers’ loggia, is acknowledged by UNESCO as a “Monument Witness to a Culture of Peace.” Inside, there’s a Fifteenth-century fresco from the authentic construction. Just round the nook, PAT Bakery is the place to attempt gattafin, Levanto’s signature savory fritter, normally piled excessive behind the glass.