L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano C om e to the beach wher e the s ea is blue, and little white waves come running at you. A wave comes splashing, over your toes; you just stand still, and away it goes. We'll build a castle down by the sea and look for shells if you'll come with me. ~ Anony- mous It never loses its romantic appeal. Warm azure waters lap- ping at your feet, the cry of a lone gull soaring overhead, cool refres hment s ipped under a colorful umbrella – a day at the beach! Like many of her other offe- rings to pleasure seekers, Italy's Ligurian coast beaches rank as some of the best in the world. It's a land of contradictions that meld into spectacular beauty. The Alps run their course casca- ding towards the sea, joining for- ces with the Apennines as they morph into rocky beaches. Fore- sts hide ancient trails that tran- sverse ridge lines standing guard over s apphire w aters below . Knitting it all together are won- ders of ancient engineering – ter- raced ledges hosting vineyards, gardens, and olive groves that cling to mountainsides as if gra- vity does not apply. Collectively, this magnificent crescent-shaped stretch of land is known as the Italian Riviera. A 186-mile expans e along the Ligurian Sea, the ancient seaport of Genoa serves as a dividing point of s orts . Reaching westward to the French border is "The Coast of the Setting Sun" – Riviera di Ponente. Spanning eastward until Liguria's border greets Tuscany is the Riviera di Levante - "The Co as t of the Rising Sun." The broad, sandy beaches and lush palms of Riviera di Ponente play host to jet-setters who gra- vitate to the resort town of San Remo, as well as sun seekers who'd just as soon throw out a towel and bask the day away. Moving eastward, beaches along the Riviera di Levante trade their sand for pebbles, hidden like treasures in small coves along the craggy coastline. There's plenty of glamour to be found in the resort towns of Santa Mar- gherita Ligure or Portofino, but small, colorful villages perched along shorelines and cliffs draw visitors for their spectacular beauty and uniqueness. Beach tourism in the Italian Riviera is responsible for about 79% of overall tourism in Ligu- ria, according to Paolo Odonoe, President of Unioncamere Ligu- re. Natural beauty, relaxation on PAULA REYNOLDS The Italian Riviera, heart of the Grand Tour riety as the associative term that would stand for all a coastal paradise held – the Riviera. The Italian Riviera evolved to be a holiday des tination for more than just the academic upper crust on a Grand Tour, however. With the advent of rail travel in the mid-1800s, middle class vacationers were able to access the sunny beaches and laid-back way of life along the coast. During this era, Ameri- cans began to dis cover the Riviera, returning with tales of its charm and immense appeal. And the rest, as they say, is history. The wave of discovery begun those long years ago remains steady and strong today. If trou- ble finding an empty lounge chair on the beach isn't proof enough, statistical data on touri- sm in the area validates the con- tinued popularity of time spent on the Italian Riviera. Yearly increases in international visitors remain steady, along with the healthy bolus to Italy's 71-bil- lion-euro tourist industry. Figures aside, the appeal of the coastal paradise is easy to figure out. Stereotypical "Rivie- ra" life is alive and well in larger towns decorated with yacht fil- led harbors and designer shops. However, the growing tide of tourists are those seeking the simpler elements of the Italian Riviera – life lived in harmony with sea, sun, and mountainside. The magical beauty of Liguria enchanted poets and artists from all over the world, although the Victorians were particularly fond of it an unspoiled beach, fresh regio- nal food and wine, and a well- preserved local culture all com- bine to create a universal appeal that draws tourists from Italy and around th e w orld. A nd sometimes too many tourists! Highly popular Cinque Terre is currently debating limiting the number of visitors who access the fragile trails winding through groves and vineyards between the five villages. With its striking beauty and leis ure-time offerings for a broad variety of tastes, the easily accessible Italian Riviera seems to have it all. No wonder, then, that the beach-minded traveler gravitates here. But has it always been a sun-seeker's paradise on the balmy Mediterranean? Other than for a brief period of time during the Pax Romana (27 BCE to 180 AD), this lush Ligurian coast was nowhere to be found on folks' travel lists. Larger coastal towns, in particu- lar the once-maritime republic of Genoa, served as ports for trade; however, the threat of attack from marauding pirates and other evil sorts was always pre- sent. Living inland was much safer and preferred by the popu- lace in general. It wasn't until the late 17th century that the modern version of tourism in Italy took hold. With relative peace on the high seas and a supportive economy, travel for the élite became possi- ble. It was a movement known as The Grand Tour – the begin- nings of travel for the sake of travel. Qualifiers included being a member of the aristocracy with the means for making an exten- ded voyage and, most frequen- tly, young, educated men, gene- rally from Britain. A trip to Italy was framed as scholarly and a chance to expose the youthful élite to works of art, music, and culture they would otherwise never experience. Italy was high on the list of chosen destinations for a Grand Tour due to a book written by Roman Catholic priest Richard Las s els . P ublis hed in 1670, V oyage to Italy piqued the intense interest of the educated world and is essentially respon- sible for initiating the ripple that became the tsunami of the touri- sm industry in Italy. The port at Genoa served as the welcome mat for these ari- stocratic tourists who arrived mostly by ship. In essence, the Italian Riviera was "discovered" as word spread to England and abroad of the allure and charm of this special slice of Italian coast. Its popularity grew throu- ghout the 18th century, and the unassuming word for coastline in Italian found its way to noto- There is charm and beauty even in the more industrial areas of the Italian Riviera, in the end ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES

• Cover