The Hinterland

The ancient tourist towns: not only sea

After Sestri Levante the Coast is taken up by villages of ancient tourist tradition, from Chiavari, elegant town, with the Marina of Lavagna located nearby, to Zoagli, small seamen’s village with an ancient tradition in silk manufacture.

Santo Stefano d’Aveto is one of the only ones ski resorts in Liguria, while in summer it is destination of hiking tourism, especially on the mountains reaching the 1500 meters as theMountains Penna. Aiona, Zatta and Groppo Rosso.

The Aveto valley is besides the ideal place for gourmets: here cheeses made by bovine milk as the famous “St. Sté” are produced. Among the other products of the territory we can also remember the potato “Bianca quarantina”, main ingredient of the cake "Baciocca": it is a salty cake based on eggs, parmesan cheese, lard, garlic, cooked under a terracotta bell called "testo" with a layer of chestnut tree leaves under the mixture.

Varese Ligure - 100% Nature

Here rhythms are regulates by the seasons of the rural life, by the crops and by the transhumance. A Liguria that can seem "ancient" at first sight, but if you reach Varese Ligure, the first village totally "bio" in Italy, you will realize that tradition forms an indissoluble match with innovation.

A walk in the village let you discover the various treasures that houses: the castle, situated in the centre of the old town, the church of the Saints Filippo Neri and Teresa of Avila, the Church of St. Giovanni Battista in the new part of the village and the oratory of the Saints Antonio and Rocco, while a break in one of the restaurants will be the best occasion to taste the specialties of the area based on Chestnuts flour and the "Corzetti", a typical sort of pasta