Porto Venere
Porto Venere | ||
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Country | Italy | |
region | Liguria | |
province | La Spezia (SP) | |
Coordinates | 44 ° 3 ' N , 9 ° 50' E | |
height | 8 m slm | |
surface | 7 km² | |
Residents | 3,420 (Dec. 31, 2019) | |
Population density | 489 inhabitants / km² | |
Post Code | 19025 | |
prefix | 0187 | |
ISTAT number | 011022 | |
Popular name | Portoveneresi | |
Patron saint | Madonna Bianca | |
Website | Porto Venere | |
View from Lerici to Porto Venere |
Porto Venere (pɔrtoˈvɛːnere) is an Italian commune in the province of La Spezia, part of the Liguria region . It has an area of 7 km² and 3420 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019). Since 1997 Porto Venere has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the Cinque Terre and the nearby islands of Palmaria , Tino and Tinetto .
location
Porto Venere is located in the east of Liguria on the Ligurian Sea . The place is located about twelve kilometers south of La Spezia at the tip of a headland that borders the Gulf of La Spezia to the west. The offshore islands of Palmaria , Tino and Tinetto belong to the municipality . In the area of Porto Venere and on the island of Palmaria are the rock deposits of the exclusive gold-colored natural stone Nero Portoro .
history
Porto Venere probably existed as Veneris Portus since the middle of the 1st century BC at the latest. In the year 643 the place was devastated by the Longobard king Rothari . Several Saracen attacks are reported in the centuries that followed. In 1113 Porto Venere became the property of the Republic of Genoa , which built a castle above the settlement as a bulwark against the warring Republic of Pisa . In the long war that followed between the two city republics (1119–1290), the place played a particularly strategic role due to its location. The two churches of San Lorenzo and San Pietro were also built during this period. At times the place came into the possession of the Genoese patrician Nicolò Fieschi (approx. 1230-1310), Count of Lavagna and Torriglia and nephew of Pope Innocent IV , who had built up a great rule on the Ligurian Levant with a center in La Spezia , until the Genoese under Oberto Doria disempowered him in 1276.
In 1396 Genoa and with it Porto Venere came under Charles VI. under French rule. In 1496, the two church buildings were badly damaged in an attack that was ultimately successfully repulsed by an Aragon fleet .
From the 2nd half of the 15th to the 17th century, the Republic of Genoa adapted the castle to the further development of firearms and expanded it into a fortress. During this time, the Torre Scola was built on a rock east of the offshore island of Palmaria at the entrance to the Gulf of La Spezia as a fortification outpost, which was bombed by the English in 1800 and is now a picturesque ruin. In honor of the Genoese admiral and ruler Andrea Doria , the Castello di Porto Venere was also named Castello Doria .
In 1791 Porto Venere was occupied by Austro-Russian and French troops. Napoleon , who wanted to develop La Spezia into a sea fortress, arranged for a connecting road to be built in 1812, which is why it is also called strada napoleonica .
During the flight and illegal immigration of European Jews to Palestine between 1945 and 1948, several refugee ships were converted in Porto Venere to accommodate large numbers of passengers, including the United Nations and the Exodus .
In 1997 Porto Venere was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the Cinque Terre to the northwest .
Attractions
The main attractions of Porto Veneres include the fortress enthroned above the town and the churches of San Pietro (built 1256–1277) and San Lorenzo (built 1116–1494).
The Blue Grotto on Palmaria
Web links
- Website of the municipality (Italian)
- http://www.parks.it/parco.porto.venere/Gpar.html
- Official tourism website
Individual evidence
- ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.