Portofino

One of the most famous villages on the Liguria coast, the Italian Riviera, is Portofino, not easy to reach on some narrow roads, especially at the end. Awaiting a free parking place, the last kilometer took about an hour.

Once you are there, however, you realize clearly that it was worth a bit of patience and another good thing is that the place is not too crowded, probably due to the difficulty of reaching it.

Originally a little fishing village, but following some 19^th century aristocratic tourism, today Portofino has its reputation linked to a number of celebrity and artistic visitors and part-time residents.

Its name seems originally to have been Portus Delphini, the port of the dolphins (we didn’t see any).

The little port is surrounded by colourful buildings (with a number of bars and restaurants).

On the top of a hill is an old castle, Castello Brown, which got its name from some later owners, but since has become property of the village. It houses today a little museum and offers some splendid views (see also top picture).

Not much space in the port, but there were some nice yachts (all of course registered in George Town, Cayman Islands). The owner of one of them enjoyed the sun.

Walking up to the (originally) 12^th century San Giorgio church and its cemetery, you have some splendid views over the coastline.