Liguria

Liguria is a very thin coastal region that stretches around the North-Western corner of Italy. It's the third-smallest region in Italy (after Valle d'Aosta and Molise), with a surface area of just 5,500km² and a population of about 1.6 million - 600,000 of whom live in the region's world-famous capital, the port city of Genoa.

The main towns of the region are Genoa, La Spezia, Savona, San Remo (home to the annual song contest), Imperia, Chiavari, Portovenere, and Portofino.

Historical Overview

The Ligures were a seafaring people, known by both the Greeks and the Romans, who settled the coastline stretching from Tuscanny through to south-eastern France, and inland as far as parts of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. Hesiod wrote of them, in the 6th century BC that they were one of the three 'barbarian' peoples ruling over the western borders of the known world. Their specific origins are unknown, with theorists arguing between a pre-Indo European origin (like the Iberians) or the possibility that they were a branch of the celts. Either way, the ligurian culture was eventually subsumed first by the celts (the gauls) and later by the Romans.

In the Middle Ages Genoa became one of the most important of the Italian city-states, with a naval fleet and trading area that dominated the Tyrrhenian Sea. Their participation in the Crusades gave them trading footholds in the middle east. Internal dissent and the arrival of the black death signalled the decline of the Maritime Republic. It was briefly declared the Ligurian Republic under pressure from Napoleon, and later annexed into France. Subsequently it was annexed into Piedmont and the kingdom of Sardinia, where it stayed until the unification of Italy.

Traditionally Liguria has had an economy based on trade and heavy industry which has been in steady decline since the 1970s. The emphasis, increasinly, has been on fishing, agriculture, and tourism (the cingue terre, for example, are a magnet for both Italian and international tourists).

Typical Products

Ligurian Wines

• Cinque Terre (white) from the province of La Spezia; including the following possible locations: Costa de Sera (Bianco) Costa de Campu (Bianco) Costa de Posa (Bianco)
• Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà (White) province of La Spezia
• Colli di Luni (White; Red ); with specific grape variety: Vermentino (White); an inter-regional DOC produced in the provinces of La Spezia (Liguria) and of Massa-Carrara (Toscana)
• Colline di Levanto (White; Red) produced in the province of La Spezia
• Golfo del Tigullio (White;Red ); with specific grape variety: Bianchetta Genovese (White); Moscato (White); Vermentino (White); Ciliegiolo (Red); produced in the province of Genova
Riviera Ligure di Ponente (White;Red); with specific grape variety: Pigato (White), Rossese (Red), Vermentino (White); for those wines only which specify the variety of grape, one of the following more limited geographical areas may be specified: Riviera dei Fiori Albenga or Albenganese Finale or Finalese
• Rossese di Dolceacqua or Dolceacqua
• Val Polcevera (White; Red); with specific grape variety: Bianchetta Genovese (White); Vermentino (White); produced in the province of Genova
• Val Polcevera Coronata or Bianco di Coronata (White) produced in the commune of Genova
• Pornassio or Ormeasco di Pornassio

Genoan Basil

Genoan Basil has been awarded the D.O.P. label, thanks to its quality and the historic association of the city with that most famous dish Pesto. Basil has traditionally been grown in the Pra area of the city, since antiquity. The Basil grwon (in Ligurian dialect known as baxeicou has small-medium sized leaves, and unlike Basil often grown elsewhere it has no mint scent.

Other famous Ligurian products

Formaggio di Santo Stefano d'Aveto - Produced in the high valleys outside of Genoa from the milk of Alpine cows, seasoned for two months it has a pale colour and a slightly spicy and bitter taste.
Olive Oil (Riviera di Ligure D.O.P.), Salted Anchovies, and a personal favourite in Genoese Focaccia.

Liguria