Portofino

Portofino This small but beautiful town in the northwest of Italy is situated on the Liguria Sea. Portofino went from a small fishing village to holiday destination of the rich and famous when they began to flock this place towards the middle of 1900’s. Portofino is a very popular yachting destination. It is picturesque to the point of being picture perfect and is one of the most beautiful spots in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Romans who are credited with founding Portofino, called it Portus Delphini, or Port of the Dolphin, because of the large number of dolphins that inhabited the Tigullian Gulf. This is according to an ancient author, naturalist, naval and military commander Pliny the Elder. In the 1200’s Portofino was a part of the republic of Genoa. A few centuries later, after being sold to the Republic of Florence by Charles VI of France, it became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia in the early 1800s and from 1861, of the unified Kingdom of Italy.

Aristocratic British and European tourists began to visit Portofino in the middle of the 1900’s; and it began to gain recognition as a glamorous tourist destination. The transition of Portofino from small fishing village to exotic tourist destination happened just as it did with the many other small villages and towns on the narrow strip of the coast between the ligurian sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps

Balmy weather, fabulous food, breath taking views and numerous options for recreation make Portofino a perfect holiday destination. Sightseeing, water sports, fine dining and upscale shopping are activities which keep Portofino’s vacationers happy and occupied, and helps It continue to retain its position as an exotic holiday destination.

There’s a lot that makes Portofino what it is. All this and more is what will come alive on these pages. Come back for more!!

written for Portofino.com by Arturo