Portofino and Camogli, Italy

By Glen Bruels
This is part of a series called Pan European Sojourn 2023
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We made our last port call of the cruise in Portofino, a small commune with Liguria.  And when I say small, I’m not kidding — the population is about 400 people.  As in the case of St. Tropez, this started out as a tiny protected fishing village and then started to become a popular destination with Northern European aristocrats and ultimately jet setters.  If you want to know what it looks like and don’t have the time or money to get here, go to the Universal Orlando Resort, where there is a full scale replica! If you are a shopaholic, this is a good place to be.  For us, it was a lot of window shopping.  Instead we took a boat trip to Camogli, a small fishing village up the coast on the way to Genoa.  In a good news/bad news scenario, the boat we were on developed engine trouble and we had to head to a town in the opposite direction named Santa Margherita Ligure, where we had to change boats.  It was actually a pretty attractive town; I wish we could have spent some more time there.  On our way back to Camogli, we saw some dolphins and it turns out that an earlier name for this area was Port of the Dolphin, given by Pliny the Elder.  Yeah, you’ve heard of him!

The Portofino Lighthouse is the first thing you see as you are approaching the harbor. Built in 1917, it is still active (but automated). The rest is now a lounge/bar.
This is the Castello Brown. It has been used as a fort since Roman times , but then was turned into a villa and today is run as a museum by the city of Portofino.
Our ship’s tender shuttling people back and forth.
Looking up the hills to the Hotel Splendido, one of the most opulent hotels on the Mediterranean.
This little shack is owned by Bernard Arnault, the second richest man in the world at a net worth of $205B.
Deb in the Portofino town square, gearing up for a little shopping.
Lots of small streets lined with shops selling merchandise at all price points.
Santa Margherita Ligure, just a short drive from Portofino and a great place when your boat craps out and you need to replace it.
The Castello di Santa Margherita Ligure which was built in the late 1550s to defend against North African pirates.
The Santa Margherita waterfront. Wish we had more time to look around here!

Camogli was, and continues to be a fishing village.  In the old days, the fishing fleet went out for weeks at a time, leaving their wives behind.  It turns out that Camogli is short for Casa de Moglie, which translates to home for the wives!  Surprisingly, Camogli used to be an important naval center in the Mediterranean (it had around 700 sailing ships) during the mid-19th century that represented about a third of all the Italian’s power in the Mediterranean.  There is no evidence of that today and it’s hard to imagine where all those ships anchored! Anyway, we were there during the feast day for one of their two patron saints (San Prospero).  One of the locals told us we should stay for the evening for the big party and fireworks.  Unfortunately, we had places to be.  Camogli is a fun village to walk around.  There are lots of narrow alleyways and overlooks over the beach below.  They also have a very impressive Basilica (Santa Maria Assunta) with lots of impressive frescoes from the 1500s. The locals must have muscular legs because the apartment buildings are up to seven stories tall with no elevators.  As they will tell you, they are famous for their pesto, focaccia, and a local pastry called Camogliesi that is filled with cream.  We tried the focaccia, but passed on the others to try the fried seafood right off the boat.  Talk about fresh!  Deb ended up getting a sculpture made out found beach plastic in an acrylic.  He has shown his work all over the world.  On the way back, we stopped briefly at an old Benedictine monastery called the Abbazia di San Fruttuoso, that can only be reached by water (or a treacherous hike over the mountain). It was ultimately turned over Italy’s National Trust and you can now spend the night there or just enjoy the beach for the day.

Approaching Camogli Harbor. The town works its way up the surrounding hillside.
The harbor was crowded with fishing boats. Notice how tall the apartments are — no elevators!
For some reason, I feel that I’m being watched!
… but I passed on the Camogliesi. A little too early for cream-stuffed pastry!
We also missed the pizza, but by the size of the line, it must have been pretty good!
It must have been laundry day! I can’t remember the last time I saw clothes hanging on a line. Brings me back to my childhood days!
Lots of people heading to claim their spot on the gravelly beach.
Wandering through the maze of narrow alleyways.
Deb and the artist whose piece she bought. A skate made of beach trash embedded in acrylic.
Inside the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, built in the 12th century. There’s lots of gold in here!
Pretty opulent! This statue of Mary is carried during religious holidays.
Nearby was the Dragone Castle. Originally built in the 12th century, it has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times. Sadly, it was closed when we were there.
Our choice for lunch — seafood that was in the water a few hours earlier and flash fried to perfection.
Yum!
On our way to the Abbey of San Fruttuoso Capodimante. This is one of the crew’s girlfriends. There were several make out sessions during our trip. Ah, Italy — that’s amore!
It’s interesting to see a cloistered abbey being used in such a loud, public way. You can get here by boat or by hiking through the national park.
Pulling into Monaco to disembark and make our way to Paris. The first part of our sojourn was both educational and entertaining. Let’s see what happens next!

After we leave the ship, we are off to Paris!

This entry was posted in Cruising, Italy, Travel
Glen Bruels

I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.

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