Accommodation in La Spezia

the Cinque Terre, rugged coast, blue sea, ancient villages and wilderness.

Train and boats make regular shuttle runs between La Spezia and the Cinque Terre, and Every kind of accomodationcan be found in La Spezia, from 4 star hotels to B&B, bed and breakfast, for an unforgettable holiday for all pockets

THE CASTLE OF SAN GIORGIO

It is likely that the Castle of San Giorgio was built over the remains of a pre-existing medieval fort. It is located on a small relief known as il Poggio, and once dominated the roman settlement. The construction of the castle was commissioned by Nicolo Fieschi in 1262, who wanted to reinforce his own power in Spezia. However, in 1273, the town was conquered by Oberto Doria, destroying Fieschi’s plans. The castle owes its current appearance to numerous reconstructions and amplifications. The tower, the battlements and the surrounding walls were built in the 14th century. Not a lot remains of the five towers built into the walls, which served as points of access to the castle. A building facing the sea was built in 1443, and in 1554, work was started on a watch post named La Bastia, which later became known as Forte Vecchio della Spezia e Bastione Santa Caterina. This building no longer exists as it was completely demolished in the 19th century to make way for the construction of the naval dockyard.

The castle assumed its definitive appearance in 1607, when the Genevans finished work on the walls and added a first floor to the already existing keep. The castle is today home to the Ubaldo Formentini Museum of Civil Archaeology

THE CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA ASSUNTA

Spezia’s ancient church gives onto the piazza Beverini. Little remains of the original structure, after the reconstruction works that took place after World War Two. Mentioned for the first time in 1343, it was adopted by the local parish in 1432. Between the 15th and 16th century, the church was expanded and adorned with a Biassa sandstone façade. Its importance increased in 1734, when it was declared a collegiate church, and in 1929 it was officially declared a cathedral. It maintained this status until the Cristo Re Cathedral was built.

Given its central location, the church houses many famous works of art, such as Domenico Fiasella’s “L’Assunta”, Angiolo del Santo’s statue of San Giuseppe and the sarcophagus of Baldassarre Biassa. A glazed piece of earthenware depicting the “Coronation of the Vergine di Andrea della Robbia, a Casoni tapestry depicting “La moltiplicazione dei pani”, and Luca Cambiaso’s “Il martirio di San Bartolomeo” were all recovered from the former Francescan convent when it was torn down to make room for the construction of the naval dockyard.

The 15th century chapel boasts a valuable Crucifix of the same era, which was recovered from the now demolished church of San’Antonio.

THE CATHEDRAL OF CRISTO RE

The modern cathedral dedicated to Cristo Re replaced the church of Santa Maria Assunta, which had held the title of cathedral since the creation of the spezian Diocese in 1929. The cathedral faces onto piazza Europa, and is built on a small relief that stretches out to the sea, over the remains of the Cappuccini convent. A harbour office is has also been built on the relief, overlooking the sea.

A competition was held to decide who would design and supervise the building of the church, which was won by Brenno Del Giudice. However, construction soon ground to a halt and was restarted in 1956 under the supervision of Adalberto Libero, and later Cesare Galeazzi, who both changed the design to suit their liking. The cathedral was consecrated in 1975.

Affittacamere Casa Danè (www.casadane.it) and Affittacamere Tre Frè (www.trefre.it ) are a short walk from numerous museums:

·          The Ubaldo Formentini Museum of Archaeology

·          The Amedeo Lia Museum

·          The Giovanni Podenzana Museum of Ethnography

·          The Sigillo Museum

·          The Diocesan Museum

·          The Naval Museum

·          The Museum of Contemporary Art (CAMEC)

The Formentini Museum was founded in 1873. It is dedicated to Ubaldo Formentini, who was director of both the library and the museum between 1923 and 1958, and who had a great love of spezian and lunigian culture.

The museum is housed in the castle of San Giorgio, and is spread over two floors, taking people on a journey through time, from the prehistoric era to medieval times. The ground floor hosts a collection of Neolithic artefacts that were recovered from Isola Palmaria, Capo Corvo and Equi Terme, a collection of stele from the Iron Age, including all the stele of Pontevecchio, and historical evidence of the “castellari”, ancient settlements dating back the Bronze Age, which were recovered in the necropolis of Ameglia and Genicciola, in Podenzana. The second floor houses the Fabbricotti collection, which includes roman artefacts recovered from the city of Luni, such as funeral and domestic articles, statues and mosaics and pieces of marble dating back to Byzantine and Carolingian times.

San Giorgio castle, via XXVII Marzo
Phone: 0039 0187 751142