Liguria is an Italian region with ordinary statute in north-western
Italy of 1 502 943 inhabitants, with the capital Genoa. It is bordered
to the south by the Ligurian Sea, to the west it borders with France
(Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region), to the north with Piedmont and
Emilia-Romagna and to the south-east with Tuscany. The region is part of
the Alps-Mediterranean Euroregion. The borders of the current
administrative region largely coincide with the area governed by the
Republic of Genoa, and were reached when the provinces of Genoa and
Porto Maurizio reached an extension similar to that of the current
region.
The term "Liguria" to indicate this area became
established only in the course of the contemporary age: until the end of
the eighteenth century and for most of the nineteenth, "Genoese" was the
name used to indicate the territory of the maritime republic, and its
inhabitants they called themselves "Genoese". Liguria on the other hand,
until that time was a word of scholarly language, and was used to
indicate a region of the Roman era, larger than the current Liguria, of
which today's region with the capital Genoa constituted only a part.
Up until 1860 the administrative district of Liguria, which had been
part of the Kingdom of Sardinia since 1815, also included the County of
Nice, then ceded to France following the Treaty of Turin of 24 March
1860 with the exception of the district of Sanremo and that of Porto
Maurizio, which became part of the Kingdom of Italy.
According to
a commonplace, Liguria is sandwiched between the sea and the mountain
ranges of the Alps and the Apennines: consequently the region could be
reduced to two coastal strips, east and west of Genoa: the Riviera di
Ponente and the Riviera di Levant. In reality, Liguria also includes
large portions of territory tributary of the Po basin north of the
Alpine-Apennine ridge (about 28% of the regional area belongs to the Po
basin) and almost all of the maritime hinterland, the long stretch of
coast between the historic borders with France (Rio San Luigi near
Grimaldi di Ventimiglia) and the lower Magra valley around Sarzana and
Aulla (MS): however, this eastern border appears less defined, as it
only partially coincides with the lower course of the river Lean and
includes part of the coastal plain of Luni.
To an administrative
criterion (according to which at least everything located south of the
Alpine-Apennine ridge in the Grimaldi-Mortola/Passo del Bracco section
should be considered Ligurian) some marginal areas of the territory of
"physical" Liguria are subtracted, historical-political reasons belong
to other regional or state administrations; this is the case of the
middle and upper Val Roia (long disputed between the Republic of Genoa,
the Duchy of Provence and the Duchy of Savoy and now administratively
French, after having been Ligurian and Piedmontese) and the upper
valleys of the Pennavaira and Neva streams (with the villages di Alto,
Caprauna and Cerisola which, while remaining in the economic-commercial
sphere of influence of the city of Albenga, were controlled for a long
time by the Duchy of Savoy and then included in the Province of Cuneo).
The Oltregiogo in the province of Alessandria with Novi Ligure,
Ovada, Arquata Scrivia which includes part of the Orba, Lemme, Scrivia,
Borbera and Spinti valleys is historically and linguistically linked to
Liguria. Oltregiogo was part of the Republic of Genoa until 1797, then
of the Ligurian Republic until 1805 and after the restoration of the
Province of Novi, part of the Division of Genoa. It was annexed to
Piedmont after the Rattazzi decree of 1859. The island of Capraia was
part of Liguria until 1925 and of the Archdiocese of Genoa until 1977.
Liguria is a region of great tourist attraction for its anthropic
and natural beauties, among which - to the west - the Riviera dei Fiori
and - to the east - Portofino, the Cinque Terre and Porto Venere.
Liguria is divided into two regions:
Riviera di Ponente — Sanremo
and Riviera dei Fiori. Palm Riviera.
Riviera di Levante — Portofino
and the Gulf of Tigullio, the Cinque Terre and the Gulf of Poets are
part of it.''
Genoa
Apricale
Albenga
Finale Ligure
Framura
Imperia
La Spezia
Moneglia
Portofino
Rapallo
San
Remo
Santa Margherita Ligure
Savona
Seborga
Sestri Levante
Ventimiglia
Vernazza
By plane
Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport: about 6 km from the
centre, it is connected to the Genoa Brignole railway station with the
Volabus, a coach service calibrated at national and international
arrivals.
Direct flights: Milan Malpensa, Turin, Cagliari,
Naples, Palermo, Catania, Alghero, Olbia, Trapani, Trieste, Rome
Fiumicino.
International Flights: London Stansted, Paris CDG,
Cologne, Munich, Brussels, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Istanbul.
To reach
the Riviera di Levante, La Spezia or the Cinque Terre, Pisa Galileo
Galilei Airport is more convenient as it is directly connected by train.
Clemente Panero Airport in Villanova d'Albenga.
By car
Liguria is connected along the entire coast by the Ventimiglia - La
Spezia motorway axis or alternatively by the state road n. 1 – Aurelia.
Check traffic on major highways
A6 Turin - Savona
A7 Milan -
Genoa
A10 Genoa - Ventimiglia
A12 Genoa - Livorno
A15 Parma -
La Spezia
A26 Genoa - Alexandria
On boat
Ports of Imperia,
Genoa, Savona and La Spezia served to and from Sardinia, Sicily and
Corsica by the following ferry lines:
Moby;
Tyrrhenia;
Corsica ferries.
Maritime stations in Savona and Genoa.
On the
train
Ventimiglia/Genoa Genoa/Pisa lines
National lines: from
Turin to Savona and Genoa, Milan to Genoa, Parma to La Spezia, and joins
the Tyrrhenian route to Rome, Naples and the south.
International
lines: Liguria borders the French province of the Côte d'Azur to the
west, however today there is Thello, a company that operates a service
from Italy to France from almost all the stations on the Riviera, with
no change in Ventimiglia.
By bus
Urban and suburban lines of
the provincial public services:
AMT Genoa;
LPT Savona;
RIVIERA TRANSPORT Imperia;
ATC La Spezia;
ATP (Provincial
Transport Company) Province of Genoa.
Portofino and the Gulf of Tigullio
Conquer the reserved beauty of
Portofino, Santa Margherita Ligure, Rapallo, Sestri Levante, Chiavari
immersed in the embrace between land and sea that has attracted the
greatest personalities, from illustrious writers and poets to Hollywood
stars. A small paradise that has become synonymous with elegance over
the years, which encloses and sometimes hides from most even less
renowned places, but equally pleasant for the serenity and quiet of
their enchanting beaches, and the calm rhythms of the towns: Cavi Borgo,
Zoagli, Moneglia, and others .
Cinque Terre and Gulf of Poets
Unveil the charm of the Cinque Terre with panoramas hanging between sky
and sea, paths, vineyards and bands of olive trees, which reach to lap
the waves of the sea in a corner of Liguria that encloses a landscape
that is unique in the world. The unmistakable liberty style of the
gardens and museums of La Spezia, or the charm of the villages of
Lerici, Portovenere, Tellaro, famous for the illustrious poets and
writers such as Byron and Shelley who found inspiration for their works
in the local beauty.
Genoa and Golfo Paradiso
Genoa, European
Capital of Culture 2004, treasure chest of ancient art hidden inside
historic buildings, noble villas, its gigantic aquarium... Visit the
city that has been able to renew itself starting from its commercial
heart, the old port, enrich itself with museum spaces, prestigious
theaters, and present itself in new guises through the largest aquarium
in Europe and the Lanterna symbol of the city. And then Recco with the
famous focaccia with cheese, Camogli, Sant'Olcese who fight as equals in
food and wine.
The Ponente
It includes the provinces of Savona
and Imperia even if from a tourist point of view it is mainly known as:
The Riviera of the Palms
Enjoy the breath of the sea in all
seasons with splendid days spent on pleasant walks along the wide sandy
coasts of Alassio, Spotorno, Finale Ligure, Loano, Pietra Ligure,
Savona, Varigotti, Borghetto Santo Spirito, Andora, Varazze and Celle
Ligure. The mild climate also favors the discovery of the nearby
hinterland with its natural parks of Beigua, Antola, Piana Crixia, ideal
for trekking, and with the mysterious caves of Toirano and Borgio
Verezzi.
Sanremo and the Riviera dei Fiori
The embrace of the
colors of the sea, of the flowers, of the Mediterranean maquis, is the
testimony of how an always spring-like climate can make the landscapes
constantly splendid. Choose from the enchanting beaches of human-sized
locations such as Ospedaletti, Arma di Taggia, Diano Marina, San
Bartolomeo a Mare or the taste of noble towns such as Bordighera and
Sanremo, dotted with splendid exotic gardens and period villas; and
further up, hidden in the valleys, discover the ancient medieval
villages of Dolceacqua, Apricale, Ceriana, Triora, Pigna and Pieve di
Teco (just to name a few) perched on mountains with unspoiled
landscapes. The Ligurian Alps Park provides the possibility of
excursions up to 2000 meters above sea level just 30 km from the sea.
Itineraries
Via dell'amore, paths of the Cinque Terre,
Montemarcello.
Focaccia from Recco
Monterosso anchovies
Genoese pesto pasta
Muscles (mussels farmed in the Gulf of La Spezia)
Spinach and ricotta
pie, sardenaira
Drinks
Although none of the wines are included
among the Italian DOCGs, there are a fair number of DOC wines produced
in Liguria: Cinque Terre, Colli di Luni, Colline di Levanto, Golfo del
Tigullio - Portofino, Pornassio, Riviera Ligure di Ponente, and Rossese
di Dolceacqua.
Liguria is a generally safe region, crime is very low; in Genoa, being a large port city, you need to pay attention to pickpockets in some areas (via del Campo and the port).
Historical route
The ancient Ligurians settled on the
Mediterranean coast from the Rhone to the Arno, but later the Celtic
migrations, as well as the colonizations of the Phoenicians, Greeks and
Carthaginians, replaced the Ligurians in some areas starting from the
4th century BC.
Coastal Liguria was officially subdued by the
Romans only during the 2nd century BC, with various autonomous pockets
which, given the characteristics of the territory, would resist direct
central control for a few more decades. Liguria corresponded to the IX
regio Italiae as reported by Pliny (III, 5, 49): patet ora Liguriae
inter amnes Varum et Macram XXXI Milia passuum. Haec regio ex
descriptione Augusti nona est.
The word Ligure / Liguria was
assigned to this people first by the Greeks, then by the Romans and has
the meaning of marshy or marshy place. In the classical age, important
centers were Genua, Savo, Vada Sabatia, Albium Intemelium, Albium
Ingaunum and Lunae; the latter, located in the extreme east of Liguria
and known today with the name of Luni, gradually lost its importance
until it was definitively abandoned in the XIII century.
With the
fall of the Western Roman Empire (476), after the 5th century there was
devastation along the Ligurian territory by the Barbarians (Eruli and
Goths), and only under Byzantine domination Liguria (Λιγύρια in
Byzantine Greek) it experienced a kind of geopolitical stabilization.
After the Gothic wars there was a brief recovery that lasted until the
Lombard conquest of King Rotari in 641. After the Franks, Liguria was
divided around the 10th century into three zones (called marches): the
arduinica, the aleramica and the obertenga.
Subsequently it will
be Genoa and its Municipality that establishes itself and gradually
forms the future Republic of Genoa from the 11th century.
The
most important historical period for the region is the Low Middle Ages,
with a peak from the mid-13th century to the mid-14th century (it is
possible to identify the beginning of a long decline in 1340, framing it
in the international ambit, with the Anatolian events and the crisis of
the Asian trade routes due to the end of the pax mongolica and also the
arrival of the Ming in Cathay).
However, Ligurian history in the
Middle Ages must also be sought outside the so-called "mainland", rather
marginal for an overall understanding and study. In summary, the
medieval history of the Ligurians should also be sought outside the
current administrative borders of Liguria.
Starting from the
first crusade, it developed around the activities - first exploratory
and then commercial - of mostly Genoese families and hotels, however
affecting the lives of people throughout the region.
Republic
of Genoa which almost corresponds to Liguria. The western part of
Liguria administered for the Duchy of Savoy
The economic strength of
the Maritime Republic manifests itself with an ante litteram colonial
empire in a strongly and strictly economic sense, with political
foundations made up of a dense network of political-commercial
agreements throughout the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea; there is
a dense Ligurian merchant presence from Gibraltar to central Asia, with
documented evidence in a myriad of ports and commercial crossroads.
Not to mention the most important:
Southampton;
the ports of
Flanders;
Gibraltar, the area of Seville, Cadiz and Sanlúcar de
Barrameda;
Provence;
Corsica, as a direct possession of the
Republic of Genoa for over six centuries, and Sardinia;
the North
African coast, with Bugia, Bizerta, Bona and Tabarca, and Egypt at
Damietta and Alexandria;
Cyprus, with a long occupation of the port
of Famagusta and the economic failure of the crown, and Malta;
the
entire Middle Eastern coast from Gibelletto, formerly the personal
fiefdom of a Ligurian family (the Embriaci), up to Armenia, passing
through Caesarea, Tyre, Sidon, Jaffa, Beirut, San Giovanni d'Acri;
Anatolia, with the long life of the colony of Chios, and Focea
(Fogliavecchia), Metelino, Pera of Constantinople, Bursa, Trebizond,
Sinope, Erzurum, Erzincan, Iconio (Konya), Enos, Cesarea d'Anatolia,
Savasto (Sivas ), Alexandretta;
the Romanian coast with Vicina,
Moncastro, Chilia, Enisala, Isaccea and the Crimea with Caffa, Soldaia,
Cembalo;
the mouths of the Don with Tana;
the Asian crossroads of
Astrachan', Saraj, Samarkand, up to Culgia (Almaligh, or Armalicco) and
south-western China, with a warehouse documented as far back as Taiwan;
Mesopotamia, with merchants and shipbuilders in Baghdad.
As
written by Roberto Sabatino Lopez, the beginnings of the English,
Spanish and above all French royal navies have roots in the Ligurian
school, with the call of workers from the Rivieras capable of training
shipwrights and independent arsenals. Liguria also historically
distinguished itself in the mercantile era and in the late Middle Ages
for its explorers (among the most famous are the Vivaldi brothers, Leon
Pancaldo, Lanzerotto Malocello, Antoniotto Usodimare, in addition to the
better known Christopher Columbus) and admirals (primarily Benedetto
Zaccaria, then Ansaldo De Mari, Oberto Doria, Oberto Spinola, up to
Andrea Doria).
On the mainland, Genoa and its Republic gradually
take control of most of Liguria, from east to west and even encroaching
on those territories of Lower Piedmont closest to the Genoese capital,
and until the fall of the last formally free city, Savona, which after
the destruction of the Citadel and the silting up of the local port
definitively capitulated in 1528. With the end of the colonial world
concomitant to the Ottoman advance (fall of Byzantium in 1453 and of
Caffa in 1475), a new era began for Liguria. The period that saw
protagonists the figures of Charles V and the Onegliese admiral Andrea
Doria - the latter promoter of the establishment of a new republic (the
so-called Fifth Republic) more independent than the two major dominant
European powers (France and Spain) - and which involved the Ligurian
territory until the early seventeenth century was called as El siglo de
los Genoveses (the century of the Genoese), characterized by the
financial power of the Genoese bankers and by loans to the Crown of
Spain. In the late seventeenth century, a new and different long decline
began which will continue throughout the eighteenth century, up to the
Napoleonic period and the industrial revolution, the moment of rebirth.
With the start of the Napoleonic campaigns in Italy at the end of
the 18th century, and the consequent encroachment of the troops from
beyond the Alps into the Ligurian lands, the Republic of Genoa fell
within the French orbit in 1797 with the establishment of the Ligurian
Republic, until the subsequent annexation of the entire region into the
First French Empire (1805). The fall of Napoleon Bonaparte coincided
with the end of the independence of the region: after the ephemeral and
brief reconstitution of the Genoese republic, in 1814, the Congress of
Vienna decreed, despite the desperate diplomatic attempts of the
reconstituted Genoese Senate to save the independence and despite firm
popular opposition, the annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia, always in
battle with the dogal power.
Before leaving the Doge's Palace,
the Genoese rulers issued the following Proclamation:
«Inform
yourself that the Congress of Vienna disposed of our homeland by
reuniting it with the States of His Majesty. the King of Sardinia,
resolved on the one hand not to infringe upon his essential rights, on
the other not to use useless and harmful means, We depose an Authority
which the confidence of the Nation and the acquiescence of the principal
Powers had proven. What a Government endowed with nothing but justice
and reason can do for the rights and the restoration of its peoples,
everything, and our conscience attests it and the most remote Courts
know it, everything was attempted by us without reserve and without
hesitation. Therefore, nothing more remains to us than to recommend to
the Municipal, Administrative and Judicial Authorities the entire
exercise of their functions, to the subsequent Government the care of
the troops that we had begun to train, and of the employees who have
loyally served: to all the Peoples of the Genovesato tranquility, of
which no good is more necessary to the Nations. We bring back in our
retreat a sweet feeling of gratitude towards the Illustrious General who
knew the boundaries of victory, and an intact trust in Divine Providence
which will never abandon the Genoese.
From the Government Palace,
26 December 1814
Signatories: Gerolamo Serra, President of the
Government and Senators Francesco Antonio Dagnino, Ippolito Durazzo,
Carlo Pico, Paolo Girolamo Pallavicini, Agostino Fieschi, Giuseppe
Negrotto, Giovanni Quartara, Domenico Demarini, Luca Solari, Andrea
Deferrari, Agostino Pareto, Grimaldo Oldoini.
With the Sardinian
kingdom, Liguria was administratively framed under the VII Division of
Genoa including the provinces of Genoa, Albenga, Bobbio, Chiavari,
Levante, Novi and Savona. During the Risorgimento, various Genoese and
Ligurian personalities were fundamental and decisive for the cause of
the unification of Italy: among the most famous were Giuseppe Garibaldi,
Giuseppe Mazzini and Goffredo Mameli. The annexation of the Ligurian
region to the Kingdom of Italy led to a new administrative organization
of its territory; the historic provinces of Genoa and Porto Maurizio
(the latter will assume, in 1923, the current name "di Imperia" after
the creation of the homonymous capital of Imperia) was followed by the
establishment of the Province of La Spezia (1923) in the more Levantine
area of the region and during 1927 of the provincial body of Savona.
On the origin of the term "Liguria" there are two main hypotheses:
The Greeks called the Ligurians lígyes ("Λίγυες"), from which the Latin
Ligures, derived from lígys ("Λίγυς") with the meaning of "stridolo",
"resonant", probably referring to the cries that the Ligurians used to
emit before to fight or to the loud noise of the waves slapping on the
rocks during storms.
According to another hypothesis, the name
"Liguri" derives from the Mediterranean root *liga- meaning "slime",
"mud", "swamp". According to this hypothesis, originally the Ligurians,
settled near the current city of Marseilles, due to the invasions of the
Celts had to migrate further east, in the territories protected by the
Alps. It was here that they would have founded a city, which during the
Middle Ages will be called Prata Liguriae and then Liviera, in close
contact with the Greek culture, from which the name permeated.
General aspects
With its 5,416.21 km², Liguria is one of the
smallest regions of Italy, after Valle d'Aosta and Molise, but it is one
of the most densely populated as it hosts 1,552,545 inhabitants for a
density of 287 inhab/km² , well above the national average, ranking
fourth, after Campania, Lombardy and Lazio, in the ratio between the
number of inhabitants and the territorial area. However, considering the
orography of the territory and the fact that forests cover 62.6% of it,
it is evident that there are considerable differences between the
density of inhabitants of the hinterland (where, moreover, there have
been phenomena of depopulation and migration towards coastal cities) and
that of the coast, which is close to 1,000 inhabitants/km².
The
region is between the Ligurian Alps and the Ligurian Apennines to the
north and the Ligurian Sea to the south, with an uninterrupted chain
that forms a real backbone that is continuous in its development
(oriented according to two axes: SW/NE and NW/SE which meet a few
kilometers west of the center of Genoa), but discontinuous in its
morphology, with stretches in which the Alpine/Apennine ridge is
extremely compact and elevated, aligning very high mountain groups
(behind Ventimiglia, a series of massifs, which administratively became
French after the Second World War, rises up to altitudes of 2,700–3,000
m) while in other stretches (for example in the hinterland of Savona and
Genoa) the mountain barrier is not very high and deeply engraved by
short transversal valleys and passes that do not reach an altitude of
500 m above sea level (Colle di Cadibona, Passo dei Giovi, Crocetta
d'Orero).
The Ligurian Sea, facing Liguria, is an arm of the
Mediterranean Sea and the gulf of Genoa forms an important part of it,
while the second largest gulf is that of La Spezia. In the eastern part
of the Genoese gulf is the gulf of Tigullio, from Portofino to Sestri
Levante.
The coasts are generally high, rocky, jagged, especially
in the Eastern Riviera, while to the West there is an almost perfect
alternation between rocks overlooking the sea and sandy beaches. The
coasts are sometimes interrupted by estuaries of small rivers, often
torrential in nature, which furrow the territory perpendicular to the
coast at the bottom of deep valleys.
Liguria enjoys a Mediterranean climate, but not uniformly: it is in
fact affected by the rugged morphology of its largely mountainous
territory, open onto a decidedly warm sea in relation to its relatively
high latitude. There are in fact two main morphological factors: the
open arch shape of the region towards the south and the mountain ridge
that develops between the French and Tuscan borders and forms the
watershed between the tributary side of the Ligurian Sea and the
Po-Adriatic side.
When a low pressure area forms on the gulf of
Genoa in winter, the area around the Genoese capital is hit by the north
wind, bringing rain and snow at low altitudes, which can sometimes go
down to sea level, especially in some areas included between the western
Genoese coast and the eastern Savona area.
Summer is moderately
hot but rather muggy (in Genoa Sestri Ponente the averages for the month
of July are between +20.8 °C of the minimum and +27.2 °C of the
maximum). Normally daytime temperatures exceed 30 °C only 3-4 times in
the entire month of July, but often the atmospheric relative humidity
remains high even in the afternoon, amplifying the feeling of heat,
which is mitigated only by the breezes maritime.
Inland, the
climate is semi-continental and harsher, with decidedly low average
winter values, especially in some basins on the Po valley side of the
region (daily January average of 0 °C in Calizzano, +1.8 °C in Cairo
Montenotte , +1.4 °C in Sassello, +1.5 in Masone, +2.2 °C in Busalla).
The average lows of these locations are between -2 and -5 °C, while the
expected seasonal lows are around -10 °C, even if night-time
temperatures can drop well below this value during periods of frost more
intense, especially in val Bormida and val d'Aveto: for example
Calizzano reached -25 °C in the 1985 frost wave. Conversely, summer days
are hot, but the daily averages during the summer quarter are
conditioned by the strong daily temperature range and by rather cool
night-time temperatures (in Cairo Montenotte, 338 m a.s.l., the minimum
and maximum extremes in the month of July are between + 15.0 °C of the
nocturnal minimum and +27.7 °C of the daytime maximum). Going up in
altitude, in many valleys of the Genoese area, such as the Trebbia
valley, the summers are instead cool, dry and windy, with decidedly cold
and snowy winters, and frosts that can last until mid-April. On 1 June
2014, for example, 4 °C was recorded in the Genoese Val Trebbia. It is
not uncommon to record lows of 5-6 °C in the inland valleys even in
mid-July, especially in the plain of Rezzoaglio, where light frosts can
also occur.
Limiting ourselves to the coastal area, the Cinque
Terre, the Golfo Paradiso up to the easternmost districts of Genoa
(Quarto dei Mille, Quinto al Mare and Nervi), Genoa Pegli, the Baia del
Sole (Alassio and Laigueglia) and the entire province of Imperia,
significantly sheltered by the high hills immediately behind, are the
mildest areas in winter.
The mouth of the river Magra, the city
of La Spezia, Genova Voltri, the two "Albissole" (Albissola Marina and
Albisola Superiore), Savona and Vado Ligure, and the mouths of the
Polcevera (Genova Sampierdarena and Genova Cornigliano - Cornigliano
Ligure) and the Bisagno (Genoa Foce), on the other hand, are the
territories with the least favorable winter climate because they are
located at the mouth of large valleys that connect the sea side to the
Po basin.
The rest of the localities on the coast have overall
similar temperatures, however very mild for their latitude.
The
phenomenon of the macaia is characteristic, which originates above all
between late autumn, winter and the first part of spring in the presence
of the African subtropical anticyclone and winds on the ground from
southern quadrants which cause the humidity brought on the nearby hills
to condense mountainous up to form a compact layer of medium-low
cloudiness that can affect without solutions of continuity most of the
coast and coastal slopes of the region.
Liguria is a land rich in natural beauty in which the combination of
land and sea makes the variety of ecosystems present in its territory
particularly heterogeneous. In fact there are a national park, nine
regional parks, three nature reserves and a national one with which
Liguria therefore protects 12% of its territory, for a total area of
about sixty thousand hectares. In 2007, with regional law n. 34 of 15
November, dates back to the establishment of the most recent natural
park in Liguria: the Regional Natural Park of the Ligurian Alps,
covering an area of over 6,000 hectares and lying between the province
of Imperia and the border with France. Inserted among the areas to be
protected since 1995, but not yet officially established by the Liguria
Region, the Finalese Regional Natural Park is located in the provincial
territory of Savona.
To these institutions must be added the
famous and ancient Alta Via dei Monti Liguri (AVML), a hiking itinerary
about 440 km long which runs along the entire ridge line of the Ligurian
Apennines starting from Ventimiglia, on the border with France, and
arriving in Ceparana , in the plain of Sarzana on the border with
Tuscany. The protection of the sea is entrusted to two protected marine
areas and to the famous Sanctuary for marine mammals, the latter to
safeguard a stretch of sea between the French-Monegasque territory (Côte
d'Azur, Corsica and the Principality of Monaco) and the Italian (Liguria
and Tuscany).
In western Liguria, especially in the province of Savona, there are
three regional nature reserves:
The Bergeggi Regional Nature Reserve,
8 hectares, consisting of a small island of limestone rock, the island
of Bergeggi. It is covered in Mediterranean scrub and hosts a colony of
herring gulls. In addition to the island, the protected area also
includes the stretch of limestone coast between Bergeggi and Spotorno
including a sea cave accessible only by sea;
The Gallinara Island
Regional Nature Reserve, 11 hectares, hosts on the calcareous soil the
typical vegetation of the Mediterranean maquis and floristic species
such as the Gallinara rose and cornflower, present on the Gallinara
island;
The Rio Torsero Regional Nature Reserve, made up of 4
hectares, is a fossil deposit dating back to the lower Pliocene. In its
rocks there are remains of ancient molluscs. A collection of fossils
from the Reserve is kept in the Silvio Lai paleontological museum in
Peagna, a hamlet of Ceriale. The territory is typically rocky and
calcareous covered at times by Mediterranean scrub.
In the
Ligurian Riviera di Levante, in the metropolitan city of Genoa, there
is:
The Agoraie di sopra and Moggetto Nature Reserve, within the
territorial boundaries of the Aveto Regional Natural Park, at an
altitude of 1,330 m and located in the Ligurian-Emilian Apennines.
Extended for 16 hectares, it is characterized by four perennial lakes of
the group of lakes of the Agoraie di Sopra. The vegetation of the
reserve is characterized by beech and fir trees, thanks to the cool and
humid climate. Here there are numerous species of amphibians such as the
crested newt and the common frog.
There are two marine reserves that protect the seabed of Liguria,
located in eastern Liguria in the province of La Spezia and in the
metropolitan city of Genoa:
The Cinque Terre marine protected area,
consisting of a total of 4,591 hectares of extension, is divided between
Punta Mesco and Riomaggiore. The coast is divided into three zones (A,
B, C) differing in degree of protection and guardianship.
Characteristics of the area are the rock walls overlooking the sea and
rocky bottoms alternating with sandy areas. The seabed is populated by
various meadows of gorgonians, anemones and corals, while the sandier
areas are home to oceanic posidonia;
The protected marine natural
area and reserve of Portofino extends for 372 hectares and consists of
three zones with different degrees of environmental protection. The
stretch of protected sea is between Camogli and the bay of Paraggi, thus
uniting the two geographic areas of the Golfo Paradiso and the Gulf of
Tigullio. The submerged reefs host precious gorgonians, sponges and red
coral, while in the sandier areas there is oceanic posidonia.
It
should be emphasized that the Ligurian Sea is also part of the Sanctuary
for marine mammals.
Liguria has a wooded area equal to 69% of its territory, the highest
among all Italian regions in percentage terms and in thirteenth place in
absolute terms, whose average is 35%.
However, the high
percentage causes this region to suffer forest fires frequently, started
intentionally in 71% of cases.
The largest forest assets are
located in the Ligurian hinterland. The beech woods that cover the
wetter Apennine slopes are impressive, starting from the Val di Vara,
with the precious forests of Mount Gottero. The state-owned forests of
Monte Penna and Agoraie, located in the Aveto Regional Natural Park,
present the association between beech and silver fir, typical of the
ancient forests of the Ligurian Apennines.
The beech forest of
Colle del Melogno, near Savona, has been converted to tall trees for
some years, as has the Gouta fir wood in Imperia. The alpine forests in
the upper Val Tanarello, in the Imperia area, see the association of
Scots pine with beech and larch in the lower altitudes on the slopes of
Mount Saccarello.
The Ligurian flora is of the Mediterranean
type, but especially in the west it has welcomed various Alpine
associations at higher altitudes similar to the Provençal or Pyrenean
territories. Many species have been introduced by man over the centuries
such as the olive tree, the chestnut tree and the umbrella pine; in the
hilly area overlooking the sea the crops include vines, olive trees and
fruit trees; citrus fruits, especially lemons, are also sporadically
cultivated along the coast. In the Riviera dei Fiori the cultivation of
flowers outdoors or in greenhouses is famous and known, an activity that
feeds the economy of the area.
Along the coast, the Mediterranean
maquis includes species such as broom, buckthorn, mastic, myrtle,
strawberry tree and holm oak, a tree which in the past formed extensive
forests, in most of the region, at altitudes between sea and 600–700 m,
rarer plant associations limited to the warmer and more arid areas of
the two coasts are those formed by the wild olive tree, the carob tree,
which is sometimes associated with arboreal euphorbia; among the
aromatic shrubs present in the region are thyme, laurel and rosemary. In
the windiest areas, on undeveloped soils there is garrigue made up of
low, woody shrubs. Maritime pine forests and, more rarely, Aleppo pine
forests prevail in the maritime area and in the hills.
From the
middle sub-coastal hills up to mountain altitudes there are vast
coniferous woods, mostly of silvicultural origin; these are trees such
as the black pine (Pinus nigra) and the spruce fir (Picea abies) which
do not belong to the Ligurian flora but which were introduced by virtue
of the good crop yield and the quality of the timber and which now,
although naturalised, present problems of adaptation to the climate of
the Ligurian hills (generally too humid and subject to rapid and sudden
changes in temperature).
In other cases, as occurred for the pine
tree (Pinus pinaster) in the hilly areas of the whole region and for the
larch (Larix decidua) in the Alpine areas, these are certainly species
belonging to the Ligurian floristic domain, but which, favored with
selective cuts and forced well beyond their "vegetative climax", they
also grow in areas which, due to pedological and microclimatic
characteristics, appear very far from their original diffusion contexts,
which would be the sub-Mediterranean hilly belt of the two coasts, on
acidic substrates (rare in the region) for the foothills and the
subalpine level of the high reliefs of the Ligurian Alps, generally with
a northern exposure, in the case of the larch. Hence the marked
fragility of many forest ecosystems typical of the mountainous interior
of the region.
In the tourist resorts of the coast - starting
from the 19th century - decorative trees were planted, mostly native to
North Africa and the subtropical regions of North America, East Asia and
Oceania, such as many species of palms, which later became the "symbol"
of the Riviera especially in western Liguria (Riviera delle Palme). The
magnolia plants, which are also present in the gardens of the coastal
strip, come from the Asian region.
The Ligurian climate has
favored the acclimatization of these species, sometimes replacing the
native Mediterranean plants. One of the most exemplary places are the
gardens of Villa Hanbury near Ventimiglia, created by a family
originally from England in the 19th century. Almost 5,800 species were
originally introduced, reduced over the years to about 2,000. Among the
palms that decorate many seaside promenades, the most common species is
the Phoenix canariensis (with a large and stocky stem), followed by the
Phoenix dactylifera or date palm with a tall and thin stem.
The fauna of the region is particularly interesting due to the
presence of rare endemics, species adapted to the territory or left
isolated due to the fragmentation of their distribution area. Overall,
the faunal species are typical of the Mediterranean area, greatly
affected by the proximity to the French region of Provence or Tuscany;
it also includes species of more distant origin, which demonstrate the
ancient and historical links with distant areas separated by the sea,
such as Morocco, Sardinia and Corsica.
In the extreme Riviera di
Ponente there are some endemics such as the coluber lacertinus, the
largest European snake, widespread in the Imperia area and in the Nice
area, and the ocellated lizard, a lizard with a characteristic green
livery speckled with black streaks and with round blue spots on the
flanks called ocelli. In the hinterland there is the presence of the
black grouse and there are populations of chamois. On Mount Saccarello -
between Liguria and France - the marmot is present, following an
intervention in the 1970s by hunters (although the species cannot be
hunted).
Among the birds we note the solitary sparrow, the
warbler, the wren, the great spotted woodpecker, the wryneck, the cuckoo
and the redstart; the presence of blackbirds, finches, buntings and
robins is massive.
There is a large presence of nocturnal and
diurnal birds of prey such as the scops owl, the owl, the barn owl, the
tawny owl, the long-eared owl and the eagle owl; of the family of
diurnal birds of prey we note the short-toed eagle, the buzzard, the
kestrel, the black kite, the honey buzzard. In the typically rocky areas
some rare pairs of golden eagles and peregrine falcons nest (especially
on the coasts of eastern Liguria), while in the dense woods goshawks and
sparrowhawks hunt. Among the reptiles it is possible to admire the rat
snake, the coronella girondica and the viper. Among the amphibians, the
black salamander replaces the spotted salamander after an altitude of
1,800 m; some of these urodele amphibians inhabit several caves in the
region.
In ancient times there was a massive presence of the
Apennine wolf in the woods of the Ligurian Apennines, a subspecies which
has almost disappeared over the last few centuries and has survived in
some isolated areas of the Apennines, until a new expansion of its
range, thanks to its protection, starting from the 90s onwards. On the
other hand, there are numerous families of wild boars that sometimes go
to the inhabited centers to search for food: in Genoa itself several
times the television media or the local newspapers have testified with
photos and videos of their presence along the banks of the main streams
or in close to the houses. A situation of overpopulation that has also
sparked controversy and protests in some areas of the region, with
targeted requests for intervention from the main regional and provincial
bodies, for the damage that these animals cause to fences and fruit and
vegetable crops when they trespass from the woods onto private property.