Porto Venere, La Spezia, Liguria, Italy, Europe
Porto Venere is a town and comune (municipality) located on the Ligurian coast of Italy in the province of La Spezia. It comprises the three villages of Fezzano, Le Grazie and Porto Venere, and the three islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto. In 1997 Porto Venere and the villages of Cinque Terre were designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In the municipality of PortoVenere, in Panigaglia, into the Gulf of Spezia, there is a regasification plant, thanks to which it can import by sea, in the liquid state, natural hydrocarbon gas such as liquified natural gas. Portovenere is a town that lives mainly tourist trade, catering and activities related to tourist accommodation. In recent years have become very important activities such as hotels, Bed and Breakfast, guest houses and residences. Very popular shopping promenade in the Doria quay and picturesque Alley and panoramic views to the church of St. Peter and the Doria Castle. The harbor of Portovenere, although the smallest of Liguria, in the summer season is always sold out and also host many celebrities. The ancient Portus Veneris is believed to date back to at least the middle of the 1st century BC. It has been said that the name refers to a temple to the goddess Venus which was sited on the promontory where the church of Peter the Apostle now stands. The name has also been linked to that of the hermit Saint Venerius. In Roman times the city was essentially a fishing community. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Porto Venere became the base of the Byzantine fleet in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea, but was destroyed by the Lombards in 643 AD. Later, it was a frequent target of Saracen raids. First indications of the existence of a castle date from 1113, and in 1161 the walls were erected. Porto Venere became a fiefdom of a family from Vezzano before passing to Genoa in the early 12th century. In 1494, it suffered a devastating bombardment from the Aragonese fleet during their war with Genoa: subsequently the old part of the town declined in importance, giving way to the development of the Borgo Nuovo (New District), which had existed from 1139 and is centred on the church of St. Peter. In 1797, with the French domination of Napoleon Bonaparte on 2 December the town became part of the Department of the Gulf of Venus, with a capital of La Spezia, in the Ligurian Republic annexed to the First French Empire. From 28 April 1798 with the new French law, the territory of Portovenere fell in the seventh canton, as the capital, the Jurisdiction of the Gulf of Venus since 1803 and the main center of the third State of the Gulf of Venus in the jurisdiction of the Gulf of Venus. From 13 June 1805 to 1814 it was included in the Department of the Apennines. It was at this point which, in 1812, it became part of the coastal route called Route Napoleon in honor of the French general and now known as localized road 530, which still connects the marine center with La Spezia via the Fezzano countries, Le Grazie and Terizzo. In 1815 it was incorporated in the Kingdom of Sardinia, according to the decisions of the Congress of Wien of 1814, and subsequently in the Kingdom of Italy from 1861. From 1859 to 1927 the territory was included in the First district of La Spezia, part of the Eastern District of the Province of Genoa before and, with the establishment in 1923, the Province of La Spezia then. In 1998 it obtained for its architectural heritage and natural entry in the list of protected World Heritage Site, with the Rolli in Genoa's historic center and the only two goods entered for Liguria, and in 2001 established eponymous Regional Natural Park. The village lies at the southern end of a peninsula, which, breaking away from the jagged coastline of the Riviera di Levante, forms the western shore of the Gulf of La Spezia Gulf, or also known as the Poets. At the end of this peninsula are three small islands: Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto; only Palmaria Island, which lies directly opposite the village of Porto Venere beyond a narrow strait, is a small part inhabited. Bordered to the north by the municipality of La Spezia and south, west and east is washed by the Mediterranean Sea. Is about 14 kilometres (9 mi) north of La Spezia and 117 kilometres (73 mi) east of Genoa. In addition to the town, there are the two fractions of Fezzano and Le Grazie, and the archipelago of islands Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto for a total of 7.7 square kilometres (3.0 sq mi). There is a conveyor system with the sewer grates and pumps that push the waste into a subsea pipeline that comes out to about 200 metres (660 ft) beyond the toe of St. Peter. The strong current and high depth of discharge, about 35 metres (115 ft), contribute to the rapid dispersion of the fluid.