This is the Italian Riviera , with ample facilities for tourists even in the smallest of ports. The coastal hills are less developed. Genoa is the capital of Liguria, has long been an important commercial and military port.
Ligurian resorts are very popular with holidaymakers.
Portofino is one of the best known, with its small picturesque harbor full of sleek pleasure yachts, luxury clothes shops, its romantic villas owned by the rich and famous perched on the hillside and the Castello di San Giorgio, sitting high up on a promontory with magnificent views of the Portofino harbor and bay. Other resorts in this region include Ventimiglia, San Remo, Diano Marina, Alassio, Pietra Ligure, Spotorno, Sestri Levante, Lerici and the Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre Geologically, the landscape was created by a series of folds which were formed when the rocks were pushed, raised and pressed together in the Tertiary period. Here, five villages Riomaggiore , Manarola , Corniglia , Vernazza and Monterosso make up the Cinque Terre. Perhaps it is the air made salty by the sea spray on stormy days, together with the hard work that the farmers have been carrying out for hundreds of years, that have made the grapes so sweet and the olives and lemons so tasty.