A CRESCENT COASTLINE PARADISE

The Italian Riviera is home to a contradiction of nature that takes one’s breath away. Colorful seaside towns like the famed Cinque Terre trickle down the mountains, the glittering bays are dotted with white yachts in Portofino and Sanremo, and stately history sprawls forth from the esplanades of Genoa. This is the coastal region which inspired Christopher Columbus to set forth in search of a New World, played on the senses of Niccolò Paganini and Fabrizio di Andrè, and set Italo Calvino’s fanciful pen in motion. Liguria’s microclimate is protected by a backdrop of Alps and Apennine Mountains and contributes to a respectable selection of grape varietals, carefully tended for thousands of years by local farmers and transformed into exquisite wines. Laying claim to such gastronomic mainstays as pesto genovese, focaccia, fried baccalà and anchovies, it’s no wonder local fishermen always manage to find their way home to Liguria.