Maybe you only think of pesto and the Cinque Terre when you think of Liguria. Well, stop it. The pencil-thin region of Liguria is loaded with places tourists don’t know about. Of all those places, Tellaro might just be my favorite.
It’s a small, seaside village . Houses spill down the hillside toward the tiny, secluded harbor that you can swim in, topless if you’d like. Tellaro’s main piazza is a wide spot in the road. But that piazza has a number of bars and restaurants nearby. One, the Miramare, even has a Michelin star. Still, you don’t have to be squished in with the tourist hordes when you visit Tellaro.
Because it’s not the Cinque Terre.
Ok, I shouldn’t be telling you all this stuff. Tellaro should remain a secret. And if small town life seems dull, well, take off in the ferry in the summer for Lerici with its fine castle or go to the Cinque Terre or Portofino. The marble quaries of Carrara aren’t far away, and Lucca beckons from the Autostrada. It’s seclusion with options, the smart choice.
You’ll want to stay in a place with a view of the sea. Clio is just such a place. Your view of the sea will be unobstructed.
Percy B. Shelley, with his wife Mary, the creator of Frankenstein, along with Lord George G. Byron were known to meander through the streets of Tellaro, at least when they weren’t swimming in the Gulf of Poets. What better recommendation than from poets? Isn’t it about time poets rose to social prominence again, perhaps displacing tee-vee stars and warmongers as our guides to the intellectual good life?

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