Fivizzano and off we go to Porto Venere

We drove the long and winding road down to La Spezia and then along the coast road to Porto Venere, my favourite place along the Cinque Terre coast line but not part of it. It is a beautifully colourful village

We wandered and ate delicious gelato, then walked to the end of town to the Church of San Pietro, whose history goes back to very early christianity, the church probably started as a pagan temple dedicated to Venus. It went through many lives, into ruins, rebuilt many times and finally at the start of the 20th Century restoration began and is now part of Italian Heritage. It is really an amazing church.

We hired Popeye for the day, a little wooden motor boat owned by Eduardo, who was perfectly delightful and took us from Monterosso to Vernazza, past Corniglia and Manarola to Riomaggiore. So perfect to see from the sea and far more difficult to navigate by train and feet. There are so many tourists it can feel quite overwhelming. But we did have a lot of fun!

Popeye, Eduardo and my group. Fantastico.

My first fabulous Cinque Terre group of 2022 painting Vernazza

Some amazing paintings by my groups

A painting of the bridge down the lane from our Villa Medici, Fivizzano by me

There is so much more to tell you about this wonderful country, I just love Italy and the Italians sooooo much.

I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you about our wonderful chef Monica, fabulous food, a wonderful person and a pleasure to work with.

And last but not least. Wishing you the very best for 2024