Italy - Levanto guide

16 Pages·2002·1.524 MB·English

COMUNE
DI LEVANTO
AZIENDA DI PROMOZIONE TURISTICA
FREECOPY
L E V A N T O
COMUNE
DI LEVANTO
Levanto: searching for a new identity In order to understand the present day Levanto, we must
by Massimo Quaini behave like we do with the people we love: learn its story,
give a historical depth to the landscape of today and learn
about the vocations and the identities that have followed one
another in time. We can distinguish at least three of them:
– the feudal and agricultural-pastoral identity of the Bardel-
lone mountain, which is linked to the control of the passes
and the communications by land, as well as to the centres
of Ceula and Zolasco that have now vanished;
The ancient splendour of the village of Levanto – the communal and mercantile-maritime identity, which is
The monumental character of the historical centre of Levanto – divided between centred around the village of Levanto and experienced
the ancient Village around the church of S. Andrea and the hill of S.Giacomo and through a complete devotion to the Republic of Genoa but
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the new Village or the Stagno, which was developed at the end of the XV century
on the plain of the Ghiararo – can be understood only if one considers the relevant
economic and political functions of a centre that, during the centuries, has always
remained faithful to Genoa. During the Middle Ages the economical life of Levanto
was mainly sustained by its mercantile activities – proof of this are the Loggia and
the Darsena – which were nourished both by the communication ways towards the
Pianura Padana (the Francigena or Pontremoli way) as well as by the maritime
ways, which opened on the Mediterranean. During the modern centuries, when
Levanto became a refined residence for the noble Genoese families, the agricultur-
al interests were predominant. These, with the plantations of olives and the vine-
yards, gave the valley the aspect, which still characterises it today.
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not without feeling the great importance of the agricultural economy: from the charm of
the agriculture of the villa to the constellation of the rural centres in the valley;
– the tourist identity, which takes place in two different periods and according to two dif-
ferent models: a type of tourism reserved for the élite (until the 1950’s) and one for the mass
(after the 1950’s).
The first model offers, especially to tourists coming from abroad, the refined image of a sub-
stantially rural Levanto, placed in the middle of a rural landscape that, according to the
impressions of the first tourists, was considered a great garden, a sort of paradise on earth.
The second model, instead, offers the image of a Levanto that turns its back onto its terri-
tory and concentrates on the coastal plain and on the Ghiararo (where many gardens tend
to disappear), on the beach and on the sea. This is the model that creates a split not only
with regard to the past but with the land as well. The previous models had, in fact, devel- S. Giacomo, detail of the basso-rilievo of the
portal of the Oratory having the same name
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1. The hill of the Madonna of
the Coast and part of the anti-
que village, the walls and the
clock tower.
2. Along the walls.
3. Medieval structures in Via
Guaini.
4. The Castle
5. The Loggia (beginning of the
XV century)
6. An arch of the wet dock (dar-
sena) in Via Finollo
7. Detail of the ex convent of
the Augustans, which later
became the hospital of S.
Nicolò
8. Chart of the Mediterranean
(XVI century)
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The new Village and the itinerary importance of Levanto
At the beginning of the modern age, when Genoa gives oped without any discontinuity and without any real imbalance between the
Levanto important administrative functions that make it a coast and the hinterland, between the Village and the Valley, between urban-
small capital city, with a jurisdiction that goes from Mone- isation and territory. The colonisation of tourists forces to comply with urban
glia to Monterosso and on the most part of the Val di models and styles that have no connection with the environment and it trans-
Vara, the medieval village becomes too small. The New forms the rural landscape and the traditional seats linked to it into mere
Village develops on the ranging of the Via dei Monti, building ground. This is what takes place in the area around the village of
which links the village to the valley and maintains still Levanto, where the building pressure, especially during the 50’s and 70’s, is
today its characteristic of linear village, with interesting greater, while the settlement system of the Valley is still able to hold on to its
buildings of the XVII and XVIII centuries, that look on to urban configuration.
the two sides of the road. The road characteristic of the set- Today, this phase has been overcome: we look to the history and to the future
tlement, which can also be seen in the alignment of Via of Levanto holding on to ideas and principles that acknowledge economic
Guaini (the “carrugio dritto” of the Medieval documents), value to the landscape, to cultural-historical territory, to its historical identi-
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is pleasantly proved by the grotesque caricatures of the XVI
century, which decorate one of its buidings with figures
taken from the bawdy life of an inn of that period.
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ty. Today we cannot help asking ourselves what would Levanto be without the constella-
tion of the “hamlets”, which have held on to their characteristics without the olive woods
and the vineyards, without the Mesco and the Cinque Terre, which, with great difficulty,
have been able to maintain their traditional landscape. The photographs that are provided
with this guide prove that today the community of Levanto moves on the basis of ideas,
which make sure that all types of interventions are consistent with the environment and
with its history (because the environment is also and especially its history), ideas that
defend the quality and the plausibility with development.
However, we, residents and tourists that enjoy this land and come back to it because we love
it, are all called upon to interpret the identity of Levanto. This because, on the whole, the iden-
tity of a land is always ambiguous and in constant evolution. Both during the historical devel-
The grotesques of Via Garibaldi
opment and in the present we can always find at least two different interpretations and readings.
3 4 5
1 Piazza Cavour
2/7Via Garibaldi
3 The ex monastery of the Cla-
risse, which today is the Town
Hall
4/8The facades painted accor-
ding to the typical tradition of
Liguria and restored with the
contribution of Raffaello
5 Buildings that look on to
Piazza Staglieno
6 Vinzoni, a map of Levanto
(middle of the XVIII century)
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The Piazzas
During the XVII century the village was completed with the In order to be more clear, we can trace these different readings
convent of the Clarisse, in the XIX century it was transformed back to the work of two families of cartographers of Levanto –
in the Town Hall and in Piazza Cavour, on which the Vannoni the cartographers are the interpreters of the territory: the Scot-
palace looks on to, the transformation of a villa belonging to to family, which operates between the XVI and the XVII centu-
the Genoese family of the Saulis. ry, especially in the field of sea cartography and of maritime
The piazza, thanks to an elegant restoration, has been freed of works, and the Vinzoni family, which operates from the end of
all automobiles and given back to the citizens and the tourists. the XVII century and during all of the XVIII century. The car-
It has been mainly conquered by small children who use it as tographers and engineers of the Scotto family operate on a
a playground. The liveability of Levanto has been also Mediterranean and European scale: on a scale in which Levan-
improved by the walkway of Via Guaini, which opens out on to is only a point on the map, a mere port or arrival point. A
the Piazza della Loggia and in the shady Piazza Staglieno, a scale in which any type of intervention becomes legitimate as
pleasant shelter from the burning sun of the beach. continued on pg. 10
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The Marina
1 Piazza Staglieno The bathing establishments, set against the ancient viaduct of the railway, took the
2/5Piazza del popolo and the Loggia
place of the leudos and the feluccas that transported goods and people and were once
3 The lido and children’s swimming pool
4 The Pietra and the boardwalk hauled on the beach. Among it all the Casino stands out. From here the boardwalk
6 Piazza Colombo
branches off, and in the direction of the Pietra it skirts the beautiful villas and parks.
7 Piazza Cavour
8 Bathing establishments Even if, during the summer the beach is full of beach umbrellas and cabins, Levanto
9 The Casino and the skating ring
has not altogether lost its marine character. In the shelter of the Pietra and in the small
eastern and western port, many Ligurian fishing boats and pleasure boats await to be
taken out to sea, in the waters full of fish of the Mesco and guided towards the many
inlets, which are amongst the most beautiful of the Ligurian Riviera. The Cinque Terre,
with its villages attached to the rocks like limpets and the steep vineyards are just over
the headland of the Mesco. When the sea begins to surge and the waves break, like a
signal, the surfers arrive and start their show.
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FOCE DI MONTALE FOCE BARDELONE
19
LEGEND
FOCE DI DOSSO
19
Medieval villages 24 17
Medieval routes Madonna
di Loreto
Paths SORLANA
Secondary paths 19 A12 VIGNANA
LERICI
Mountainbike paths
Roads CASELLA PASTINE Mdealldao Nnenvae
FOCE
Sandbanks DI LAVAGGIO
Marine park MONTALE 18
DOSSO
San Bartolomeo
23 GROPPO
LE GHIARE LEGNARO
LAVAGGIOROSSO FOSSATO GALLONA
BUSCO CHIE
LIZZA
RIDAROLO
23
FONTONA
19
A strip of the typical agrarian landscape 22
of the valley.
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BONASSOLA
1 LEVANTO 15
Scogliera
Marine park of the Cinque Terre. Tuvo
1
Portofino
8 Cinque Terre
ONE
The Valley
If Levanto hadn’t been situated in the middle of a very picturesque valley, it would not
have acquired its fame as tourist site, which, since the second half of the XIX century
continues to attract many and selected crowds of vacationers that come from all over
Europe. Its ridges, which drop to the sea with the headland of the Mesco and the point
of Levanto, are a splendid scenario covered by the silver green of the olive woods and
the bright green of the vineyards. In the centre of each territory there is at least one or
more villages that have maintained the ancient colours of their identity, not only in their
a Chiesa
e S. Antonio name but in their structure as well. Following the path of the mountainside, which links
them starting from the Annunziata Convent the tourist encounters: Lizza, Lavaggiorosso
(which is worth a visit for its particular architectural structure), Dosso and Groppo. Pass-
ing from the other side, on the central ridge, we encounter Montale, an ancient parish
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centre of the valley and lower down Casella, then on the more lateral one Ridarolo,
Legnaro, Chiesanuova, Fontona and Pastine and Vignana. Minor settlements indicate the
presence of mills, chapels and small sanctuaries hidden amongst the thick vegetation.
CHIESANUOVA 1
Madonna
di Soviore
Colla
12 di Gritta
A 9
Mad. del
Soccorso
1
MONTEROSSO
Monte Ve’
o Focone
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The valley of Levanto and the constellation of its rural villages
S. Antonio
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P.ta Mesco