Page 120 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italian Riviera

118  THE IT ALIAN RIVIER A AREA B Y AREA

7 Chiavari
Genoa. Road Map E4. * 28,200.
V @ n Corso Assarotti 1, 0185
325 198. _ Festa Patronale di
Nostra Signora dell’Orto (2 Jul).
∑ turismoinliguria.it
One of the principal cities in
Liguria, Chiavari stands on an
alluvial plain on the eastern
shores of the Golfo del Tigullio
and on the west bank of the
Entella torrent. Called Clavarium,
(“key to the valleys”) by the
Romans, the town was once
known for its old crafts, particularly
ship-building, chair-making and
macramé. Nowadays, tourism is The abbey of Sant’Andrea di Borzone, in a stunning position
the most important source of
income. The marina has space street, Via Rivarola and Via It was founded in the 12th
for some 450 boats. Ravaschieri have porticoes century by the monks of San
The ruins of a necropolis, made of the local slate. Colombano in Bobbio (in Emilia-
dating from the 8th–7th The cathedral, Nostra Romagna) and donated in 1184
centuries BC, now held in the Signora dell’Orto, has 17th- to the Benedictines of Marseille,
local archaeological museum, cen tury origins but many who reclaimed the land and
demonstrate that the area was alterations were carried out in used it for cultivation. The monks
inhabited by the Liguri Tigullio the 19th–20th centuries. The undertook a programme of
people in the pre-Roman era. interior, richly decorated with terracing and irrigation. Even
The fortified town of Chiavari gilded stucco and marble today, despite the fact that the
dates from 1178, when the inlay, contains works by Orazio woods have begun to encroach,
Genoese expanded into the de Ferrari and Anton Maria the remains of dry stone walls
Riviera di Levante in the Maragliano. The parish church can still be seen along the
struggle to counter the power of San Giovanni Battista was paths. The abbey was rebuilt in
of the Fieschi family (arch founded in 1182 but was the 13th century, at the request
rivals of the Doria dynasty). rebuilt in 1624. of the Fieschi counts, but has
The heart of Chiavari is On the outskirts, at Bacezza, managed to retain its original
Piazza Mazzini, around which is the 15th-century Santuario Romanesque look.
the arcaded streets of the old della Madonna delle Grazie, The church, with a square
city are laid out. One of these, from where there is a lovely bell tower, is built of brick and
Via dei Martiri della Liberazione, view stretching from Portofino stone. It has a single nave and a
is a straight alleyway known to Sestri Levante. Inside is a semicircular apse, and a cornice
as a “carruggiu dritu”; it was 16th-century cycle of frescoes of terracotta arches. Several
occupied by the bourgeoisie by Teramo Piaggio and cloister columns survive from
from the 14th century. This Luca Cambiaso. the old monastery. In the
presbytery there is a polyptych
dating from 1484, by an
8 Abbazia di unknown Genoese artist, and
Sant’Andrea di a slate tabernacle from 1513.
Borzone
9 Santo Stefano
Via Abbazia 63, Borzonasca. Road
Map E3. V Chiavari. @ Tel 0185 340 d’Aveto
056. Open until 8pm daily (after 7pm Genoa. Road Map E3. * 1,250.
mass). 7 @ n Piazza del Popolo 6, 0185 880
46. _ Cantamaggio (2 May).
The lovely abbey of Sant’Andrea ∑ provincia.genova.it and
di Borzone can be reached along ∑ parks.it
a winding road that runs
eastwards from the centre of Situated in an almost Alpine-
Borzonasca, an inland town some looking hollow, dominated by
16 km (10 miles) from Chiavari. Monte Maggiorasca, Santo
Standing in splendid isolation, Stefano is both a summer and
The old centre of Chiavari, with its Sant’Andrea is one of the oldest a winter holiday resort. It is a
characteristic arcaded streets Benedictine settlements in Italy. popular centre for cross-country
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp181–2 and pp191–4

118-119_EW_Italian_Riviera.indd 118 09/09/16 10:47 am