Portovenere takes part of the province of La Spezia, and it is a typical village for the "Riviera di Levante".
The visitor is immediately impressed by the coloured group of houses, one attached to the other, built up to defend the village from pirates' raids.
Portovenere possesses an incredible cultural heritage: You can visit the parish church of S. Lorenzo (12th century) and the famous castle (16th century) built by the citizens of Genoa.
But the village's real symbol is the unique church S. Pietro, which is directly built on a rock. To discover the origins of the church you have to go back in time.

2000 years ago a pagan temple was built, and this temple represents the base for the church.
You should not forget about the 17th August: the celebration day for "Madonna Bianca" - on this day the whole village is illuminated by thousands of small lights.