Lerichi

The Gulf of La Spezia is called the Gulf of Poets because of its attraction to some of the world's most celebrated poets who came, and even died, here. Shelley lived in the village of San Terenzo, and died when his boat was hit by a storm. There's a grotto dedicated to Lord Byron at Portovenere where he used to swim. Both Dante and Petrarch spoke of the natural beauty of the gulf. There are small villages scattered around the gulf. Lerici, the largest village on the Gulf of Poets, sits across the bay from Portovenere.