La Spezia is an Italian town of 92 968 inhabitants, the capital
of the province of the same name in Liguria. It is the second
largest municipality in the region by population and its urban area
has over 136,000 inhabitants.
The city is located in the
extreme east of the Liguria region, a few kilometers from the border
with Tuscany, in the center of a deep natural gulf to which it gives
its name. The gulf, also known as the Gulf of Poets, is surrounded
by a continuous chain of hills whose highest peaks, Monte Verrugoli
(749 m asl) and Monte Parodi (673 m asl), are located at the
extremity west of the inhabited center.
The municipal
territory of La Spezia is part of the Interregional Basin Authority
of the Magra River while a small portion of the municipal territory,
consisting of the small village of Tramonti and the surrounding
hill, is part of the Cinque Terre National Park.
The city stands on a narrow strip of land sandwiched between the sea
and the mountains; a direct consequence of this is the presence of
numerous hilly districts and the rather irregular layout of the urban
plan, which in the 1920s even required the excavation of the Capuchin
hill (where the current Piazza Europa stands) to allow the historic
center to develop as possible to the east, in the direction of the
Migliarina plain, since the area to the west is occupied by the military
arsenal.
The particular shape of the gulf, well sheltered from
the fury of the storm surges and from possible enemy attacks, meant that
one of the largest arsenals of the Navy was built in La Spezia and, over
the years, one of the major merchant ports of the Mediterranean Sea.
The central districts of the city are the Cittadella, Piazza, Prione,
Sant'Agostino and Torretto districts.
More peripheral are the
districts of: Boschetti, Bragarina, Buggi, Canaletto, Case Toracca,
Cavallo Bianco, Chiappa, Colli, Corticola, Due Giugno, Fabiano Basso,
Favaro, Fossamastra, Fossitermi, Gaggiola, La Pianta, Limone, Lizza,
Mazzetta, Marcantone, Melara, Migliarina, Montepertico, Pagliari,
Pegazzano, Pianazze, Pieve di San Venerio, Porta Rocca, Rebocco,
Rigazzara, San Bartolomeo, San Cipriano, Scorza, Stagnoni, Termo,
Umberto I, Vailunga, Valdellora, Vicci, Vivera.
Biassa, Cadimare, Campiglia, Fabiano Alto/Coregna, Felettino Island, Marinasco, Marola, Pitelli and San Venerio/Carozzo.
Intermediate between the status of neighborhood and that of a hamlet,
the localities of: Antoniana, Bersedo, Buonviaggio, Contra, Costa di
Murlo, Cozzano, Fabiano Alto, Felettino, Foce, Fornello, Galere,
Ghiaccio, Gira, Guarsedo, Maggiano, Montalbano, Muggiano, Negrao,
Pianazza, Ruffino, Sant'Anna, Sommovigo, Torracca, Valdurasca,
Vecchiora, Viano, Vignale.
Vignale costa di Murlo, better known
as "Il Vignale" or "Costa di Murlo" is a hilly area, which begins to
extend above the important district of Pegazzano and reaches the Madonna
della Guardia church. An area renowned for its view of the gulf of
poets, which sometimes also manages to offer a panorama of Corsica (in
case of very clear days), it is not made up of a real village or village
but of many scattered villas/villas and a small part of the road where
there are more houses attached and close together. The area is provided
with a restaurant and various accommodation for tourists, given the
strategic position (20 minutes for Porto Venere and 5 minutes for Mount
Parodi with its many walks).
By plane
The nearest airport is in Genoa.
By car
La
Spezia is crossed by the SP 1/SS 1 "Aurelia", which for a stretch
coincides with the European E80 and which, starting from Rome, reaches
Ventimiglia. Further state roads branch off from La Spezia:
SS330 of
Buoviaggio, with destination the SS 62 of Cisa near Caprigliola;
SS331 of Lerici, with destination the SP 1 Aurelia and the SS 430 of
Bocca di Magra near Romito Magra;
SS370 Cinque Terre coast road, with
destination Manarola (Cinque Terre);
SS530 of Porto Venere, with
destination Porto Venere.
For the motorway connection from the
city it is necessary to travel along a section of the ring road, which
connects one of the city's main roads (via Carducci) with the "La
Spezia" tollbooth which serves the motorways:
A12 (Genoa-Rome)
A15 (Parma-La Spezia)
On boat
In addition to the merchant and
military port, the city has some maritime docks that allow both the
mooring of pleasure boats and access to maritime connection services
with other localities in La Spezia.
From Molo Italia, in the
spring and summer months, tourist lines leave for Lerici, Porto Venere,
Palmaria Island, the Cinque Terre, Portofino and Genoa.
Cruise
ships also dock at the port of La Spezia, whose passengers have guided
tours of the city and its museums at their disposal.
On the train
The lines that pass through the area and head to the station called La
Spezia Centrale are the Pontremoli Railway (Parma-La Spezia) and the
Tyrrhenian Railway (Genoa-Pisa).
The city as a whole is served by
three passenger lifts: in addition to La Spezia Centrale, there are the
La Spezia Migliarina station and the Ca' di Boschetti stop.
By public transport
Public transport is ensured by ATC (La
Spezia), which manages:
Urban service
Suburban and interurban
service that extends to the whole Province of La Spezia connecting all
the neighboring Municipalities (Carrara and Lunigiana up to Aulla and
the Province of Reggio Emilia);
National and international tourism
services;
By bike
A Bike Sharing service called "Spezia in
bici" has been active in the city since 2008 and consists of 19 bicycle
parking spaces located in strategic positions in the municipal area,
such as, for example, the interchange parking lots. This service allows
registered users, equipped with an electronic card, to pick up a
bicycle, use it and return it to any of the cycle parking spaces.
1 Cathedral of Christ the King, Piazzale Papa Giovanni XXIII, ☎ +39
0187 739809. The exterior of the imposing building is strongly
characterized by its circular plan and external facing, in the shape of
a single-pitched hyperboloid, closed and without openings. The large
churchyard, partly a garden, faces upstream and three access portals
open onto it. The interior receives light from the oculus placed in the
center of the vast dome (50 meters in diameter) supported by twelve
massive columns symbolizing the apostles. A second light source comes
from a glass along the perimeter of the room. The slightly sloping white
and gray marble flooring converges towards the central altar in white
marble, while the presbytery, paved in red marble, is slightly raised.
The crypt is a vaulted room; the reliquary of San Venerio and the tombs
of the La Spezia mystic Itala Mela and of the first bishops of the
diocese are kept there.
2 Abbey Church of Santa Maria Assunta, Piazza
Giulio Beverini, 4, ☎ +39 0187 734831. This important place of Catholic
worship, located in the historic city centre, was pro-cathedral from
1929 to 1975. The original sanctuary dates back to the 13th century and
L On June 8, 1371, an agreement was signed between the Podesta offices
of Carpena and La Spezia to decide their merger under the Genoese
consensus. In April 1943, during one of the most devastating bombings
that hit the city in the Second World War, the religious building was
almost completely destroyed and only the part of the presbytery was
saved with the two facing columns, which are therefore the only ones two
"originals" still in existence. At the end of hostilities, the church
was rebuilt and enlarged with a lengthening of the naves. The
reconstruction of the façade was entrusted to Franco Oliva who
re-proposed, on the basis of the old forms now lost, the dichromy of the
black and white bands, a typical decoration of the Genoese Gothic.
3
Church of Saints Giovanni and Agostino, Vicolo S. Giovanni, 2, ☎ +39
0187 736196, ssgiovannieagostino@gmail.com. This church is located in
the historic center of the city and was built in the 16th century,
originally as an oratory for the shelter of the deceased. The church
remained open to the public until 1797, then it was taken by the
Municipality for school use, until the French took possession of it to
quarter the troops during the occupation of the city. In 1799, the
French having withdrawn, the oratory resumed its functions for a short
time, until the battle of Marengo (1800), when it was again
requisitioned until 1816. In 1886, the oratory was erected as a parish
and under the name of San Giovanni Battista was added to that of
Sant'Agostino in memory of the nearby Augustinian church closed in 1779.
The building has a single nave very rich in decorations from the 18th
and 19th centuries, the result is a contrast between the austerity of
the exterior and the splendor of the neo-baroque decorations present in
the apse.
4 Nostra Signora della Neve, Viale Giuseppe Garibaldi, 65,
☎ +39 0187 714790, fax: +39 0187 715806. Santa Maria della Neve is
located in the historic city center and its construction dates back to
the end of the 19th century by the Salesian Society of St John Bosco. At
the top of the imposing access stairway, the facade of the church,
decorated with white and gray bands, is presented in its salient form
with three portals, of which the central one has a richly decorated
porch and is enriched by mosaics and various ornamental reliefs. A pair
of false side bell towers complete the whole while the real bell tower
rises at the bottom of the right side. The suggestive interior has three
naves with a coffered ceiling, divided by masonry pillars, interspersed
at each bay by pairs of red Verona marble columns with
Byzantine-inspired capitals and pulvinos.
5 Church of Our Lady of
Health, Via della Scorza, 3, ☎ +39 0187 743130. The church, known as
"Madonna della Scorza", stands in the Umbertino district, in Piazza
Benedetto Brin. Its construction began in 1887 as part of the
construction of the new popular Umberto I district and was completed in
1900, even if some architectural elements of the facade were still
missing: the two bell towers with neo-baroque domes were in fact
completed only in 1912. The church inherited the name and devotion of
the ancient temple, adjacent to a convent dedicated to the Madonna della
Scorza and dating back to the second half of the 16th century and
demolished following the movement of the railway station.
6 Pieve di
San Venerio (Church of San Venerio). This church is the best preserved
medieval religious building in the whole city, having survived the
demolitions and bombings of the city thanks to its decentralized
position, at the foot of the eastern hills that surround the city. The
church was named after San Venerio, a hermit who lived on the island of
Tino between the 6th and 7th centuries, and built to house his relics.
The frequent Saracen raids in the area suggested, about two centuries
later, to transfer the remains of the saint to Reggio Emilia and the
church subsequently lived in a state of abandonment. It was rebuilt in
1084 in the Romanesque style, as it appears today, by the will of the
lords of Vezzano and during the 12th century it was promoted to a
baptismal church inserted in the diocesan district of Luni. In the 12th
century it was promoted from basilica to parish church and the
neighborhood where it stands has since taken the name "La Pieve". The
development of the nearby settlement of Migliarina and the related
church of San Giovanni, which initially depended on the parish, reduced
its importance.
7 Church of Santo Stefano di Marinasco. It dates back
to around 950 and is one of the oldest parish churches in the Gulf. It
stands on the hill of Marinasco and over the centuries has suffered the
consequences of many geological instability, which today make it appear
almost unfinished. Suffice it to say, in this regard, that it is the
bell tower, built between 1780 and 1784 that supports the entire
structure. The external façade is characterized by the use of sandstone
and marble fragments. Inside, the naves end with three apses. One of
them, the deepest, is marked by an ogival vault with ribs resting on
shelves arranged in a geometric pattern and depicting deformed animals.
Opposite the historic church stands the recently built Benedictine
monastery of "Santa Maria del Mare".
Evangelical Baptist Church. The
Protestant church, which belongs to the Baptist cult, is located in the
city centre.
Church of the Sacred Heart. edit
Church of Saints Andrew and
Cyprian. Designed by the architect Franco Oliva, the church of Santi
Andrea e Cipriano stands in via Vittorio Veneto in the complex of the
Sant'Andrea civil hospital. The building, with a gabled façade, is
placed on a mezzanine floor with a rough ashlar facing. The entrance has
a porch surmounted by two statues of angels, the work of the La Spezia
sculptor Augusto Magli, to whom we also owe the Via Crucis in bronze
inside the church.
St. Andrew's Church. The Church of Sant'Andrea is
located in the Fabiano district. It contains at least three notable
paintings, two on canvas and one on slate. A canvas of St. Helena has
recently been restored and it is unknown how she arrived in the Church.
Measures 155 × 115 cm, very thin canvas, antique gilded leaf frame,
attributable to Francesco Guarino, (1611, 1654), considered one of the
protagonists of the Neapolitan school of the seventeenth century. Inside
was also housed a Madonna and Child of the fourteenth century, in
marble, now transferred to the Diocesan Museum. Lastly, the Church of
Sant'Andrea is to be remembered because the statue of the Madonna
dell'Olmo is kept here and, on the second Sunday in May, it is taken on
pilgrimage to the nearby sanctuary of the Madonna dell'Olmo, which can
be reached by climbing along a stairway path on Mount Santa Croce.
Church of Santa Rita. The church of Santa Rita houses a large mosaic by
the contemporary La Spezia artist Ferdinando Carotenuto.
Sanctuary of
the Madonna dell'Olmo. The sanctuary of the Madonna dell'Olmo is located
on the slopes of Mount Santa Croce, the hill overlooking the Fabiano
district, on the western side of the Gulf of La Spezia, about 280 m
above sea level. It houses a painted slate slab, by unknown author and
age, which depicts the Madonna holding Jesus in her arms with Saint
Joseph on her right and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino on her left. The
beginning of the cult towards this image, known precisely as the Madonna
dell'olmo dates back to around 1690, when the effigy was placed on a dry
stone wall along the road. In 1838 the heads of families of the parish
made the decision to build a larger and more beautiful church to house
the image, also to express gratitude for the end of the epidemic of
1817. On the second Sunday of May, the devotees of the Madonna dell'olmo
, they usually make a pilgrimage.
Church of San Giacomo Apostolo, Via
dei Pilastri 110, 19125 La Spezia (distance 4 Km). In the medieval
village of Isola di Montalbano, near the city, stands a church
consecrated to the apostle James the Greater, with eighteenth-century
paintings, and the remains of San Giustino. From here you can enjoy a
splendid panorama over the entire gulf. Before a landslide, the road
continued to the Fort of Montalbano, the main military construction
placed over the centuries to defend the city, which can still be reached
on foot, 3 kilometers away.
Church of the Blessed Virgin of Mount
Carmel. Catholic parish church in the Rebocco district in the northern
area of La Spezia. Every year, for at least four days, the patronal
feast is celebrated whose main day is July 16, the day of the Blessed
Virgin of Carmine.
Palaces
Among the most important palaces of the city are:
Lunigian Academy of Sciences (M. Costa, 1929)
Maltese Cross Hotel
(1845)
Albergo Gaetano (unknown 1903-1905 and V.Bacigalupi, 1908)
Hotel San Giorgio (F.Oliva)
House of Art (M.Costa, 1931)
Bertagna
House (M.Costa, 1933)
Peragallo House 1932
Palazzo Biassa, former
residence of the Biassa family
Palazzo Bianchi, via N.Bixio 84
(C.Piaggio, 1901)
Palazzo Bianchi, via N.Bixio 96
Palazzo Bianchi
Cavallo, via Fiume 61 (V.Bacigalupi, 1904 - 1906)
Palazzo Boletto (V.
Bacigalupi, 1927 - 1933)
Campodonic Palace (V.Bacigalupi)
Carletti
Palace
Palazzo Casamia (G.Bacigalupi)
Palazzo Castagnola, former
residence of the Marquis Castagnola
Palazzo Castrucci (V. Bacigalupi,
1903)
Town Hall (F. Oliva, 1933)
Palazzo Contesso (V.Bacigalupi,
1923)
Palazzo Crozza (C. Piaggio, 1890)
Palazzo Doria, first
residence of the Doria family
Palazzo Oldoini De Nobili, ancient
residence of the Oldoini family, then of the Marquises De Nobili
Palazzo Federici, former residence of the Federici counts
The
Bibbiani skyscraper (R.Bibbiani, 1927)
Palazzo Giachino (G.Guidugli,
1912)
Palazzo Maggiani
Palazzo Massa ancient late Renaissance
architecture
Admiralty Building
Palazzo della Fondega (V.
Bacigalupi, 1906 - 1914)
Ice palace (F. Oliva, 1923)
Government
Palace (F. Oliva, 1928)
Post Office building (A. Mazzoni, 1933)
Palazzo degli Studi (A. Titta, 1923)
Palazzo della Veleria, (1866 -
1870), inside the Maritime Arsenal
Palace of Justice (I. Gardella,
1994)
Palazzo San Giorgio (R. Bibbiani, 1927)
Treasury Palace
Vivaldi Palace
Orioli pension (M. Costa, 1935)
Villa Castagnola
(F.Oliva, 1924-27)
Villa De Nobili, on the heights of the city
Villa Marmori (F. Oliva, 1923)
Villa Falicon, Seat of the Bishopric
Civic Theater of La Spezia. the theater was inaugurated in 1846 as
the first theater specifically built for this purpose in the city. The
project was drawn up by the Ticino architect Ippolito Cremona, an
interpreter of Genoese neoclassicism. After some modifications made at
the end of the century, the theater, by now unsuitable for the needs of
an ever-growing city, was demolished to be replaced by a new theater
building to new needs. The new project was entrusted to the architect
Franco Oliva, while the sculptor Augusto Magli was in charge of the
decorative apparatus. The works of the new theater were finished in
1933.
Trianon Theater.
In La Spezia there are important museum sites, some recently
established.
Ubaldo Formentini Archaeological Civic Museum.
The civic museum is housed in the San Giorgio Castle; the Museum
collects numerous finds from all over Lunigiana, since the city of
La Spezia was for a long time the only museum site in the entire
area. The museum represents an essential step to learn about the
attendance and use of the Lunigiana area starting from prehistory to
the Middle Ages
Amedeo Lia Civic Museum. "House of culture" and
art gallery of the civic collections in 1980. The redevelopment and
restructuring project of the ancient Paolotti convent, already
approved by the Municipality, was then readapted to house the Lia
collection in 1995 (which was inaugurated in December 1996), thanks
to the important donation of works of art by Amedeo Lia and his
family. The collection includes Italian and foreign paintings and
miniatures dating from the 13th to the 18th century, as well as
ancient, medieval and modern sculptures and objects.
Palazzina
delle Arti and Museum of the Seal. similarly to the Lia Museum, they
were initially part of the "Casa della Cultura" which was supposed
to house the civic collections including the splendid paintings by
Agostino Fossati which still today have not found a place for the
public. The destination changed in 2000, following the donation by
the spouses Lilian and Euro Cappellini, today they house the most
complete sphragistic collection that has ever been assembled.
Giovanni Podenzana Civic Ethnographic Museum. has an exhibition
itinerary that offers an exhaustive synthesis of the Lunigiana
popular culture of the 19th and early 20th centuries, highlighting
the most characteristic aspects of a society and a territory with an
original feudal structure.
Diocesan Museum of La Spezia. The
Diocesan Museum is located in the very central Via del Prione, in a
building that for a long time was the seat of the city public
assistance, whose nineteenth-century facade hides the deconsecrated
oratory of San Bernardino da Siena, near the place where in the
medieval walls the ancient Porta Genova stood.
Modern and
contemporary art center of La Spezia (CAMeC). Inaugurated in 2004,
it houses an important civic collection of the works collected in
the various editions of the "Gulf of La Spezia painting prize", of
those donated by the Bartolini and Cozzani collections, as well as
those received from the various exhibitions.
Naval Technical
Museum. Located in its current location next to the main entrance of
the military maritime arsenal of La Spezia since 1958, it has a
century-old history; it was established with the intention of
keeping alive the cult and traditions of the Italian military navy.
The exhibition includes more than 150 models of ships and boats,
around 2,500 medals, 6,500 relics and 2,000 documents, as well as
5,000 technical and historical volumes.
National Transport
Museum. founded in 1986, it exhibits several locomotives and some
railway wagons and trams.
Sports Museum. inaugurated in 2010, it
has a permanent location in the "Gianfranco Mariotti" sports hall
and is the result of the ten-year commitment of the homonymous
association which has collected and cataloged documents, memorabilia
and materials relating to sporting events and activities held over
time at a local level and national and which saw the involvement of
athletes from La Spezia and the Province.
St George's Castle. The castle is the oldest military building in the city, in a hilly position, the first construction phase of which dates back to before the 13th century. The structure preserved and visible today is the work of the Genoese who also built various other fortifications in the gulf to defend against Muslim incursions. The development of the city and of the entire area of the gulf of La Spezia has therefore always been correlated to the military function of the area.
The public gardens of the city, rich as they are in various botanical
species, certainly constitute an aspect of great importance for the
urban and social fabric of La Spezia.
In the first half of the
19th century, when the city began to expand beyond the perimeter of the
ancient medieval walls and its social life became more active, the first
nucleus of public gardens was created.
However, it was only after
the opening of the military arsenal that the green areas experienced the
most significant expansion. The enormous quantity of earth gradually
obtained from the excavation of the basins inside the Arsenale under
construction was poured into the sea right in front of the historic city
centre, thus making additional space available for the development of
the gardens.
Inside the public gardens there is the imposing
equestrian monument dedicated to Giuseppe Garibaldi with the horse
standing on two legs. In the same public gardens there are other various
monuments dedicated to local personalities: among these the large marble
bust is interesting of Carrara dedicated to the cantor of the Apuan
Alps, Ceccardo Roccatagliata Ceccardi.
Still in the gardens is
the Centro Salvador Allende, a multipurpose facility used for
conferences, exhibitions and other cultural events.
Morin Walk
Named after Costantino Morin, it is the historic promenade of the city.
Adorned with palm trees and floral compositions, it allows a panoramic
view of the Gulf of Poets and from its quay boats leave for Porto
Venere, Cinque Terre and Lerici. The Palio del Golfo takes place on the
first Sunday of August in front of the promenade. On the border with the
promenade, the Italia pier extends perpendicularly.
La Spezia, since its inception has always been a green city. There
are many parks and gardens included in the urban area which allow even
those who have no way of moving from the city to have daily contact with
the "green".
In the east of the city is the Parco XXV aprile,
better known as Parco della Maggiolina. It consists of a vast lawn with
the presence of tall trees and rest areas with permanent rides and
spaces equipped for children. It is divided in two by the large Viale
Italia artery, and also has entrances from via Parma, Corso Nazionale,
via Prosperi and via Naef. A large area dedicated to dogs is also
accessible along Via Prosperi.
To the north of the city, on the
Gaggiola hill, is the Parco della Rimembranza, a green area that has an
extension of about one hectare, near the Sanctuary of San Francesco. It
is a real forest of tall trees, which also has a small lake inside. The
park was entitled, on 4 November 1923, to the Memory of the Fallen for
the Homeland, hence the name of Parco della Rimembranza. A tree was
dedicated to each of the 538 La Spezia soldiers who fell in the Great
War (cypresses on the top, oaks, pines, lindens and larches on the
slopes). The project was drawn up by the painter Felice Del Santo and
carried out by the agronomist Alfredo Bartolozzi.
To the west, in the
peripheral area between the Buggi districts and separated by the old
nineteenth-century walls from Pegazzano, there is the Colombaio Park,
right behind the Alberto Picco stadium and constitutes a green lung for
the western city thanks to its many specimens of 'tall trunk. It offers
a refreshment service (and even a disco-pub in the summer) as well as an
area equipped for dogs. It is crossed by the new cycle path that
connects the Rebocco and Fabiano districts, and includes an ancient
building, once a breeding ground for carrier pigeons of the Royal Army.
On the heights of Monte Parodi, a few kilometers from the city center,
there is the Palestra nel Verde, a suggestive fitness trail with tools
which, in addition to allowing visitors the opportunity to train in the
woods and Mediterranean scrub, allows them to admire the spectacle of
the Cinque Terre coast, the city and the gulf from above.
The historical appointments for the city are essentially two: the
Fiera di San Giuseppe and the Festa del Mare.
The Fiera di San
Giuseppe was established in 1654, upon request presented by the Council
of the Community of La Spezia to the Genoese Senate, to support popular
devotion and to give new impetus to trade. The Fair is held every year
on March 19, on the occasion of the feast of the patron saint of the
city. The fair, which lasts 3 days, sees the participation of over 600
itinerant traders from all over Italy, who exhibit in the area between
Piazza Europa, the public gardens and the promenade of the Morin
promenade. The whole city is involved and various demonstrations related
to the event are usually planned. The Fiera di San Giuseppe is also an
opportunity to taste some
typical products such as brigidini,
cotton candy, candied apples and porchetta.
Another historic
event in the city is the Sea Festival, which takes place every year on
the first Sunday of August. The protocol of the Festa del Mare provides
for the dispute of the Palio del Golfo, the rowing challenge in which
the 13 villages overlooking the Gulf of La Spezia take part, preceded,
the day before, by a themed masked parade through the streets of the
center citizen; the entire event ends on Sunday evening with a fireworks
display over the waters of the gulf.
For some years, the "Pop Eye
Festival" has joined the more rooted events, such as those just
mentioned, a musical event that has seen the participation of many
world-class artists (Lou Reed, Patty Smith, Sonic Youth, Afterhours,
etc.) and the "Cercantico", the vintage and antiques market which takes
place in Piazza Cavour (or Piazza del Mercato) on the first Sunday of
each month, except for the months of July and August.
In its territory an excellent olive oil is produced; La Spezia is
part of the National Association of Oil Cities.
Spezia was also
designed by the futurists for those arriving at the local Central
Station and had to walk along the central Via del Prione, seeing an
entire maze of streets open up in front of them. The historic center is
full of designer shops to see.
In the first periphery is the Le
Terrazze shopping centre, not far from the smaller J.F. Kennedy, and
from the family-run shops of Via Sarzana.
Path no. 228 (managed
by CAI Liguria, estimated time 3 hours) has the rarity of crossing a
shopping center -"Le Terrazze"-, complete with signs. The path starts
from La Spezia and connects neglected points of the surrounding hills:
Isola (Church of San Giacomo Apostolo), Montalbano (the Fort as part of
the defense system of La Spezia), to finish the tour on path n. 205 to
Valeriano-Buonviaggio-Carozzo-San Venerio, or Vezzano Ligure.
Following a landslide, the road from Isola to Montalbano (3 km) is
passable only on foot.
It is possible to connect to the paths of the
Alta Via del Golfo, or a digression from Isola to Sarbia-Castellazzo,
staying overnight at the Benedictine Monastery of Santa Maria del Mare,
enjoying a splendid view of the gulf, from the place where the mystic
and blessed Itala Mela.
Le Terrazze, Via Fontevivo, 117.
9:00-20:00. The mall has two floors. On the ground floor there is a Coop
supermarket, Mediaworld, Jean Louis David (hairdresser), herbalist's
shop, newsagent and tobacconist. Upstairs there are two restaurants,
bars and ice cream parlors, Feltrinelli bookshop, games room, gym with
indoor pool. On the two floors there are numerous clothing stores
(Cisalfa, Champion, H&M, Oviesse, Terranova).
Night clubs
Papilio Club, Via del Canaletto 136 (From the Alberto
Picco football stadium continue along viale Fieschi. At the traffic
lights, turn right onto Viale Amendola. Orientation points on the sides
of the avenue: Naval Museum/ Arsenale, and courier in Piazza Chiodo.
Turn right before the Oviesse: the restaurant is located under the
Megacine multiplex, visible from the S. Stefano junction, as soon as you
enter La Spezia). ~10 € but generally free. Elegant disc. From Friday to
Sunday it organizes themed evenings with disco music and a Latin
American room. Possibility of dinner by reservation.
Piper 2.0,
Piazza concordia (After the Oviesse at the beginning of Viale Italia.
Free parking outside the premises). Free entry with no obligation to
drink. Mon-Sun. Elegant disco. Possibility of dinner by reservation.
Saturday evening with DJ: disco music, 80s and 90s.
Jux Tap, Via
Variante Aurelia 136 (In Sarzana, 20 km from La Spezia. Take the A12
motorway in the direction of La Spezia-Pisa-Livorno, and exit at the
toll booth. Turn right and at the roundabout continue straight on Via
Aurelia, at the roundabout, turn right again at the end, after
Pittarello and Millepiedi.The disco is located 400 meters further on,
from the petrol station and above the bowling alley). ~10€. Disco club
open on weekends. Friday evening with hip-hop music. Latin American
Saturday. Sunday disco live on Radio Nostalgia. Sometimes
internationally renowned hip-hop singers or Latin dancers are invited.
Possibility of dinner by reservation. Free parking outside the venue.
A visit cannot be considered complete if you have not tasted the
cuisine of La Spezia.
Focaccia, pesto, chickpea porridge, stuffed
courgette flowers and vegetable pies are typical recipes of Ligurian
cuisine that are also widely used in La Spezia.
Furthermore,
although originally from Lunigiana, famous in this area of Liguria are
the sgabei and testaroli.
But it is by analyzing the true
gastronomic tradition of La Spezia that extra virgin olive oil and black
pepper are discovered to be the basis of some more typical recipes;
among these very well known is a soup of legumes and cereals called
mescciüa.
Average prices
Colle Del Telegrafo (Località Colle
Del Telegrafo), ☎ +39 0187760561. Excellent for unwinding after an
excursion.
Modest prices
Tramonti Hostel (Biassa). Outside Cinque Terre, but
can be reached by bus from La Spezia and Riomaggiore. Attention: the
last bus is at 20.00! edit
Average prices
Boutique Hotel
Novecento, Vicolo dello Stagno, 7, ☎ +39 0187 778539, +39 327 4057240,
info@hotelnovecentolaspezia.it.
Security is guaranteed by the Questura which is located on Viale
Italia near the Maggiolina park while the police are based near the "II
Giugno.
In 2017 La Spezia, tied with Massa-Carrara, recorded a
number of crimes reported in relation to the number of residents which
places it third in a national ranking of 7 places, and at a rate between
3-4,000 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants equal to less than half of the
other Ligurian and Tuscan provinces.
The areas of the Central
Station and the Umberto I District are considered by residents to be the
areas most at risk, especially at night. These aspects are partly
reflected in the rental and sales prices per square meter by type of
property.
Useful numbers
Pharmacies on duty in La Spezia:
addresses and opening hours
Medical Guard: +39 0187 026198
Sant'Andrea Hospital (Via Vittorio Veneto 197): +39 0187 5331
Sarzana
Hospital (Via Cisa): +39 0187 6041
Local police: +39 0187 7261
The city rises in the space between the sea and the
mountains; in the twentieth century, following the urban expansion
due to the distortion of the city fabric, caused by the construction
of the Military Arsenal, the city began to expand also on the hills.
The nineteenth-century orthogonal plan thus joins the ancient
medieval center on the urban plan. In the twenties of the twentieth
century it was even necessary to resort to the partial excavation of
the Capuchin hill (where the present Piazza Europa stands) to allow
the historic center to expand eastwards, towards the plain of
Migliarina, the only possible to the west it is occupied by the
Military Arsenal.
The area of Fossamastra where part of the
port today stands was once made up of a large marshy area, called
the Stagnoni.
The gulf that protects the city has an
extension of about 150 hectares and is closed by a breakwater about
2,210 meters long with two passages, the west one about 400 meters
wide and the east one about 200 meters. The bay of the gulf has a
length of 4.6 km and a width of 3.2 km.
The particular
conformation of the gulf, well sheltered from storm surges and
possible enemy attacks, has favored the construction in La Spezia of
one of the largest naval arsenals and, over the years, the
development of one of the largest merchant ports in the
Mediterranean.
La Spezia generally enjoys a warm
temperate climate; Specifically, the dominant climate is
Mediterranean, although influenced by Atlantic currents, it is
however characterized by mild winters, thanks to the position, the
mitigating action of the Ligurian Sea and the sirocco coming from
Africa. However, incursions of cold air of Balkan origin (coming
from the passes communicating with the Po Valley which are located
behind the city) can rarely happen, causing the temperature to drop,
causing the column to drop near, if not even, to zero. The average
temperature of the coldest month (January) is 7.6 ° C. Summers are
characterized by rather high temperatures, with averages of the
hottest month (July) above 24 ° C.
The rainfall is high, both
for the humidity present throughout the Ligurian arc, and for the
covering action of the Apennines. The average rainfall is 1,343 mm
of annual rainfall. The rainfall regime is of the Apennine
sub-littoral type, with maximum peaks in autumn (greater) and
spring, and minimums in summer and winter. Prolonged rainy periods,
especially in the fall / winter, occur frequently, but not every
year. In the decade 2000-2010, the month of November recorded 23
rainy days in 2002 (198.2 mm) and 21 in 2010 (284.2), while January
reached 20 rainy days in 2001 (253.4 mm). December 2009 was the
wettest month of the decade, with 362.8 mm. record month, December
2009 also recorded the heaviest snowfall of the decade with more
than 20 cm of snow in many areas of the city. Also, prolonged dry
periods, especially in summer, are frequently recorded. Again
considering the decade 2000-2010, the month of August remained
completely dry in 2008, in contrast to the 169.6 mm recorded the
previous year. Less than 4mm per month was recorded in April 2007
(3.0mm), June 2006 (1.0mm), July 2004 (3.8mm), and the infamous
August 2003 (3.6mm).
Although very rare, in some years snow
can make its appearance in the city, which can deposit in the hilly
areas of the municipal hinterland.
Winter
During the
winter months, when conditions of clear skies and calm wind persist,
La Spezia can have rather cold minimum temperatures, capable of
freezing the surface water of the fountains (on 12 January 2009 the
temperature dropped to -1.5 ° C in the city center, one of the
lowest since 2000), while in the hinterland of La Spezia the wetter
areas are covered by a layer of frost and small icefalls sometimes
form on the steep rocky slopes of the hills. In the areas exposed to
the sun, however, the temperature is generally mild and pleasant.
This fact is also found in the vegetation on the hills of the Gulf
of La Spezia, where pine and chestnut trees are present on the
coldest and most humid slopes (north and east); in the warmer
slopes, instead (south and west) olive trees abound.
On the contrary, on cloudy days and with precipitation, the winds
in the Ligurian Gulf are arranged counterclockwise, creating the
conditions for possible snowfalls in the area between Genoa and
Savona brought by the dark Tramontana (NNE wind), while in the
Levante Ligure the south-eastern component of the winds on the
surface brings milder air from the sea which makes snowfalls very
rare or in any case not abundant, except in exceptional events (for
example in 1985, in 1991, in 2006, in 2009, in 2010 in 2012, in 2013
twice and in 2018). In 2009 (in the night between 18 and 19
December) there was the biggest snowfall since 1985, with an
accumulation of snow that reached 20 cm in the city and 30 in the
eastern districts and with night temperatures that dropped to - 5.5
° C in the city and, in the hilly hinterland, down to -9.4 ° C.
Spring
Spring is extremely variable with abundant rainfall
and numerous rainy days. At the beginning of the season, late cold
waves sometimes bring snow on the tops of the Gulf hills, and
exceptionally some snowflakes can also fall in the city during the
most intense showers. These "lagging" snow phenomena occur
especially towards the end of March, when generally the low
pressures present on the Mediterranean favor the latest incursions
of freezing air from Scotland or Scandinavia. On the other hand,
there is no lack of particularly mild days that push the people of
Spezzini to take their first "out of town" trips or strolls along
the Riviera promenades where foreign tourists swim in the sea as if
it were midsummer, in amazement. water is around 15 ° C.
In
late spring, sunny days are more and more frequent, but showers and
thunderstorms, sometimes with violent lightning strikes and
hailstorms, can suddenly erupt at any time. The spring of 2008, for
example, was one of the wettest and coldest with temperatures that
almost always remained at 18 ° C until the end of May and in which
on Easter day the snow fell abundantly on Mount Parodi.
Summer
The activation of the sea breezes in the early afternoon
brings cooler conditions especially on the seashore, this can be
seen from the study of the daily temperature graphs that show a
constant increase in temperatures until 12:00, followed by a slight
drop and a slow afternoon recovery. During the height of summer the
humidity tends to decrease, resulting in higher temperatures, but
with drier air. Contrary to what happens in winter, during the days
of high pressure and calm wind, La Spezia records temperatures
higher than the other coastal areas of Liguria, but with a greater
temperature range, so that during the night the muggy conditions are
slightly less frequent, and mainly occur during the period of
intense heat around the end of July.
Summer afternoon
thunderstorms, quite frequent in the interior and in the Apennine
mountains, very rarely reach the coast and tend to hit the eastern
area of the city and the plain of the Magra river, leaving the
western areas and the La Spezia coast dry. Along the coastal
stretch, the main source of rainfall during the summer drought is
night thunderstorms. When the conditions are ideal, the fresh and
dense air coming from the "outflow" of the afternoon mountain storms
rushes towards the coast and undermines the warm and humid air
present on the surface of the sea, pushing it into the upper
atmosphere, creating violent, intense storms and self-healing with
thunderous thunder, spectacular lightning strikes and rushing gusts
of wind. These thunderstorms are particularly difficult to predict,
because they are caused exclusively by local microclimatic
conditions, but they occur punctually every year. The end of summer,
with the first forays of fresh air at high altitude, brings
comfortable temperatures and dry air, making the climate
particularly pleasant. Sometimes in the late afternoons of late
summer or early autumn, you can see sea trumpets on the horizon that
develop thanks to the temperature of the sea surface still warm, and
the cooler air present at high altitude. These trumpets rarely cause
damage and given the slow motion, they can easily be avoided by any
boats.
Autumn
Autumn still starts warm and sunny. But as the season
progresses and cooler temperatures arrive, the days become
increasingly gray and rainy. It is in this season that the heaviest
rains of the year are recorded. The low pressures of Atlantic origin
drop in latitude and attract hot air from North Africa which,
crossing the Mediterranean, is charged with humidity that is
discharged onto the Ligurian circle in the form of intense and
persistent rains. In this period of the year, violent storms can be
witnessed along the entire Ligurian coast caused by the strong winds
of Libeccio and Mistral.
Things do not improve much during
high pressure regimes when thermal inversions tend to occur in the
middle and lower layers, and the weak western component circulation
passes over the still warm surface of the sea, and condensing,
creates a mass of low clouds. and compact that sometimes generate
light drizzles. November usually has the most days with cloudy
skies. This is also noticeable by looking at the satellite images
that show a blanket of clouds over the Ligurian Sea and along the
coast, but you just need to climb the Apennines and admire a blue
and clear sky and clouds down in the valleys. With the first
incursions of cold air from the north, the winds of Tramontana and
Grecale arrive at high altitudes, which sweep away the clouds,
giving way to clear blue skies, pleasant and mild temperatures
considering the season, and exceptional visibility conditions that
"reveal "the islands of the Tuscan archipelago, from Elba to
Gorgona, and more rarely, also the tip of Corsica.
In a document dated 25 July 1071, the name Spezia appears perhaps for
the first time; the nucleus of the village can be identified with the
Poggio, in the heart of the old city. The first certain transcription of
the name dates back to 1256, in a document drawn up at Spezam.
In
the maps of the Republic of Genoa dated between 1597 and 1777 the
toponyms Spezza and Golfo della Spezza are used. The same term Spezza
also appears in the fresco of the Ligurian coast in the Gallery of
Geographical Maps of the Vatican Museums (about 1580).
Beyond the
etymology of the term Spezia, on the origin of which numerous hypotheses
have been put forward by scholars, without however reaching the point of
establishing its precise origin, the main controversies concern the use
of the article "La" which appears before to the toponym, an article that
already appears in the first documents written in the vernacular.
However, after the Congress of Vienna, with the passage of the whole
of Liguria to the Kingdom of Sardinia, the bureaucracy decided to
suppress the article, as it was considered a violation of the rule
according to which city names reject the article. The Spezzinis did not
welcome this change and repeatedly presented their complaints to the
central government, without however obtaining any results. With the
establishment of the Province of La Spezia in 1923, the different
denominations (Spezia and La Spezia) continue to generate confusion, so
much so that in 1926 the City Council votes on an agenda requesting the
restoration of the article in its usual form .
Thus we arrive at
2 April 1930, when a royal decree is finally issued which officially
rectifies the denomination of the name of the municipality in "La
Spezia". However, due to the rather schematic formulation of the text of
the new law, the "La" - written with a capital "L" - is understood not
as a declinable article, but as a particle to be used in an invariable
way before the noun, almost making part of the name itself.
Regarding the declension or otherwise of the article in current use, the
official use of the Municipality of La Spezia is to decline the article;
in fact, the municipal statute reads:
«In the denomination of the
municipality, the name "Spezia", according to the consolidated
historical tradition, requires the definite article. In all municipal
acts the article follows the rules of use and can always be declined.
In the local dialect, the article is only rarely used. The
inhabitants of the city and of the province, even when speaking in
Italian, frequently use expressions such as "Spezia is a port in
Liguria", "I'm from Spezia" or "I'm going to Spezia".
The use in
the Italian language, outside of La Spezia, however, is not uniform. In
a note published in La Crusca per voi it is suggested to use the graphic
solution that most faithfully reproduces the pronunciation therefore,
for example, writing about La Spezia and not about La Spezia. A
different opinion is held by Aldo Gabrielli, according to whom the
article has become an integral part of the name, just like in personal
names; therefore Gabrielli proposes I go to La Spezia instead of going
to La Spezia. The Treccani On-Line Encyclopedia follows the first of the
two conventions in the entry Spezia, La, but numerous entries in the
Treccani Vocabulary follow the second.
From the first settlements to the Roman Empire
The territory of La
Spezia was already inhabited in prehistoric times, as evidenced by the
lithic findings on the Castellana and on Mount Coregna and the findings
in the cave of the doves on the island of Palmaria. Another important
document consists of the numerous stelae statues and finds from the
Bronze and Iron Ages found on various occasions on the heights of the
Gulf and the adjacent valleys. Later, in historical times, the territory
saw the settlement of the Ligurian populations, subdued in 155 BC. by
the consul Marco Claudio Marcello.
The origins of La Spezia are
linked to the Roman colonization and are nevertheless intertwined with
the events of Luni, undoubtedly the most important center of the whole
area throughout the classical era.
With the fall of the Roman
Empire, after the fifth century there was the devastation by the
barbarians (Eruli and Goths).
At the end of the Gothic War, the territory of Luni and the gulf
region passed under Byzantine rule and entered the Exarchate of Italy
with the formation of the Byzantine Province of Liguria.
In 642
the Longobards of King Rotari conquered Liguria and the region of Luni
was detached from the Duchy of Liguria and annexed to the Duchy of
Tuscia.
The local policy of the Lombard sovereigns was oriented
towards countering the authority of the bishops of Luni but with the
fall of the Lombard kingdom, in 773, the region passed under the
Frankish dominion of Charlemagne, under which the bishops acquired
temporal power becoming Bishops- Accounts.
In 860 the region was
sacked by the Vikings of Hastein and, in the same century, it began to
suffer the incursions of Saracen marauders who, a century later, due to
the incessant looting and the devastation caused, led to the definitive
decay of Luni.
In the 9th century the main center of the gulf
area was Vesigna, which stood on the hill of Marinasco. From here began
a population migration which, by enlarging the already existing
settlements on site, contributed to the formation of the first village
on the Poggio della Spezia and to its development in the 10th and 11th
centuries.
In the 10th century, like most of Northern Italy, the
region belonged to the Kingdom of Italy. In particular, the area is a
fiefdom of the Obertenga brand.
At the beginning of the 12th century Genoa bought the village of
Porto Venere and, a few years later, also Lerici, thus increasing its
influence on the extreme eastern Liguria. In that period Spezia had
already reached a certain importance and is in fact mentioned in some
commercial documents of 1160 in which Bonus Johannes and Baldus de
Specia are mentioned.
Vesigna in 1223 and Carpena in 1224 entered
the orbit of the Genoese Compagna and with them, also the village of La
Spezia. However, already in the first half of the XIII century, Spezia
began to free itself from Carpena thanks to the mercantile development
and the salt industry.
In 1254 Genoa succeeded in taking Lerici
away from Pisan dominion and increased its control over the Gulf, but
for almost twenty years the village of Spezia was released from Genoese
dominion when, between 1256 and 1273, Nicolò Fieschi made it the center
of a own ephemeral "Guelph Lordship", extended from Sarzana to Lavagna,
which ended with the conquest of Oberto Doria. A notarial document from
that period, notarized in 1256, which reports an ancient transcription
of the term Spezam.
Between the 13th and 14th centuries the city
had a rather sustained development and in 1343 the Podesteria of La
Spezia was born at the behest of the Genoese doge Simone Boccanegra. La
Spezia thus began to establish itself as the main center of the Gulf, so
much so that on 8 June 1371 Carpena and La Spezia decided to unify into
a single entity, requesting Doge Domenico Fregoso to incorporate the
Podesta office of Carpena into that of La Spezia.
In the same year it
became the seat of the Vicariate of the Riviera di Levante (one of the
three into which the Genoese Republic was divided).
The end of
the fourteenth century saw the decline of Genoese power in struggle with
Venice and, after a period of internal struggles, the prevalence of the
Milanese Visconti dynasty over Genoa itself and all of Liguria,
including Spezia.
In the 15th century the city grew and, alongside traditional
activities such as agriculture and fishing, it increasingly developed
commerce. The Gulf of La Spezia was at that time also a great center of
pirate activity in the Tyrrhenian Sea and, together with the Cinque
Terre area, was considered dangerous for navigation.
On 26
October 1407 La Spezia managed to acquire its own statutes, granted by
the then French governor of Genoa Jean II Le Meingre, and first obtained
the appointment of a Podestà (a figure with only political prerogatives)
and, later, of a Captain (who assumes both political and military
functions). With the granting of the statutes, the presence of the city
of Spezia is certified. From that day we began to talk about the "Spedia
Community".
In 1436, Spezia was also involved in the war waged
against Genoa by Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, and suffered
devastation at the hands of the leader Niccolò Piccinino. 1463 marked
the beginning of the Sforza's dominion over Genoa and therefore also
over La Spezia, where a Captain continued to be sent with the functions
of Commissioner for the Ligurian Levant.
Milan saw the Gulf of La
Spezia as a fundamental limit to the Florentine expansionism of the
Medici, who in 1468 had bought nearby Sarzana and, despite the alliance
that united the two states, decided to fortify the border. In March
1472, at the behest of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza who wanted a new fleet
on the Ligurian coast, work began on the construction of an arsenal in
La Spezia.
Between the 16th and 17th centuries Sarzana remained
the main center of Lunigiana, but its primacy held only until the
supremacy of a new center, La Spezia, was clearly loomed, erected seat
of the Vicariate of the eastern coast from Pietra Corice to Capo Crow.
The first decades of the 16th century saw the French influence over
the Genoese Republic driven out, with ups and downs, and the affirmation
of the imperial one of Charles V (1528). In October 1541 the emperor
gathered in the port of La Spezia a contingent of the fleet destined for
the ill-fated expedition against the Ottoman base of Algiers and the
pirate Barbarossa.
In August 1571 a fleet of eighty Spanish
galleys, under the command of Don Giovanni of Austria, lay at anchor in
the port of La Spezia before joining the fleet of the Holy League to
face the Battle of Lepanto.
In 1607 the curtain wall of the
village was restructured and strengthened, expanding the area on which
the city stands. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Republic of
Genoa further expanded the fortifications of the Gulf to defend the
extreme east of its territory. To boost trade, in 1654 he then decided
to allow Jews to settle in La Spezia. In that period, markets and trade
fairs were established and St. Joseph became the patron saint of the
city.
In 1746 the territory of La Spezia, with the forts of
Sarzanello and Santa Maria, validly resisted the Austrian-Piedmontese
troops of Botta Adorno. The increased importance of the city, also due
to its role as a military stronghold, led the Genoese Republic in 1757
to replace the figure of the Captain with that of Governor of La Spezia.
1797 saw the fall of the historic Republic of Genoa and La Spezia
became part of the Ligurian Republic as the capital of the Department of
the Gulf of Venus.
In 1805 the Ligurian Republic was annexed to the French Empire: La
Spezia was included in the District of Sarzana of the Department of the
Apennines. Napoleon, aware of the military importance of La Spezia, then
elevated it to the rank of district headquarters and in 1808 he declared
it a military port by imperial decree. In March 1814 La Spezia was
captured by the Sixth Coalition led by the United Kingdom.
With
the fall of Napoleon and the Restoration, Liguria was annexed to the
Kingdom of Sardinia and La Spezia became the seat of the Intendenza of
the Province of Levante. The population grew and in 1823 the city became
the capital of the Province of Levante; in the same year, with the
opening of the Passo del Bracco road, the road connections were
improved.
The shores of the Gulf began to be the destination of
cultured travellers, artists, painters, musicians and poets, attracted
by the mild climate and the beauty of the landscape.
With a royal
decree of 1849, the Piedmontese Government decided to build a Maritime
Military Arsenal in La Spezia and in 1857 Cavour, at the time Prime
Minister and Minister of the Navy, took care to find the necessary funds
and entrusted Domenico Chiodo, an officer of the military, the care of
the construction of the new naval base. This led to profound and radical
changes in the city, which however throughout the 19th century also
maintained a strongly touristic character and was chosen on several
occasions as a holiday destination for the Italian royal family.
In 1864 the railway connection with Pisa was opened, while in 1874
the works of the railway line towards Genoa were completed.
The
Arsenal, which was built between 1862 and 1869, attracted a strong
immigration and the city of Spezia, which in 1861 (at the proclamation
of the Kingdom of Italy) had 5,964 inhabitants, saw its population
rapidly increase up to about 37,000 people in 1884, when a serious
cholera epidemic broke out.
Between 1873 and 1879 the breakwater
was built to shelter and defend the gulf. Later it was decided to build
the merchant port (whose work began in 1891) and a railway line
connecting with Parma (the Pontremolese, which was completed in 1892).
In 1901 La Spezia had about 73,000 inhabitants. The new century
manifested itself with a building push in Art Nouveau forms and with the
growth of cultural and social initiatives.
On 3 July 1916, Spezia
was devastated by an explosion which cost the lives of about three
hundred people. A fire had in fact broken out on a wagon loaded with
explosives at the Pirelli pier in Pagliari. Despite attempts by sailors
and soldiers to secure the area, three wagons blew up, overwhelming
anyone in the area. A few days later, on 11 July, an Austro-Hungarian
Brandenburg dropped some bombs on the ships Città di Milano and
Washington, killing seven sailors and wounding about twenty.
In
1923 the city, which became the capital of the province of the same
name, expanded further.
During the Second World War, due to its industrial and military
importance, the city suffered numerous air attacks by the Allied forces,
especially in 1943, where these raids caused heavy damage to the
military arsenal, industrial structures and various city buildings .
About 90% of the historic center developed between 1100 and 1600 was
destroyed.
After the armistice of Cassibile, with the
establishment of the Gothic Line, La Spezia found itself in a strategic
geographical position. After the establishment of the Italian Social
Republic, Junio Valerio Borghese reconstitutes the departments of the Xª
Flottiglia MAS, not only as a marine unit but with land departments,
engaged in the round-up operations of local and non-local partisans. The
Resistance develops both in the surrounding areas, but also in the city:
in the days following 8 September, the military committee of the CLN is
formed, with Renato Jacopini (representative of the PCI), the liberal
Rodolfo Ghironi, the shareholder Mario Da Pozzo, the Christian Democrat
Isio Matazzoni, the socialist Mario Fontana. In addition to the
management team, in the following months, patriotic action groups (GAP)
and patriotic action teams (SAP) were set up to operate in the city,
with information, sabotage and logistics actions.
La Spezia is
among the Cities decorated for Military Valor for the War of Liberation
having been awarded the Silver Medal for Military Valor for the
sacrifices of its populations and for its activity in the partisan
struggle during the Second World War. On the night of 23 April 1945, the
local partisan formations overcame the last centers of Nazi-fascist
defense and took possession of the nerve centers of the city, declaring
it free.
Postwar
At the end of the Second World War, in 1946,
on three ships – the Faith, of Savona, (renamed Dov Oz), the Fenice
motor sailer (renamed Elyahu Golomb) and the Exodus – 1914 Jews who
survived the Holocaust set sail from the city port headed to Palestine.
For this reason La Spezia is known in Israel and on Israeli maps with
the name of "Schàar Zion" (Gate of Zion). Also in relation to Operation
Exodus and the "Gate of Zion", in 2006 President Ciampi awarded the city
with the Gold Medal for Civil Merit.
The post-war reconstruction
involved a marked building renewal of the city often disrespectful of
its identity matured in previous centuries. The military base of La
Spezia gradually lost importance compared to that of Taranto, more
central in the Mediterranean theater and the military orders and related
related industries thus became less important for the city's economy.
After the demographic decline that began in the seventies due to the
economic crisis and emigration, a process of industrial reconversion
began in the eighties and nineties, aimed at the development of
activities related to shipbuilding, boating and tourism.
In 2001
the city, with its 91,400 inhabitants, was the fiftieth Italian city in
terms of size and one of the promoters of the Strategic Cities Network.