What is Chiavari known for?

Light-frame bentwood chair invented in 1807 by Giuseppe Gaetano Descalzi, exported worldwide, the chair Napoleon ordered for the Tuileries. Continuous Gothic arcades on both sides of the medieval commercial street, the most complete thirteenth-century Genoese plan in Liguria. Cathedral and minor basilica built after the 1610 Marian apparition, Pantheon-style portico added 1841 as a vow against cholera.

Chiavari is a comune in the province of Genova, Liguria region of Italy, about 34 kilometers from Genova.

Liguria · Genova

Chiavari

The Tigullio capital between Portofino and the Cinque Terre, a 27,000-person Genoese trading town built around a thirteenth-century grid of porticoed streets.

34 km / 21 mi

Nearest hub (Genova)

27,307

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Chiavari sits on the Riviera di Levante where the Entella meets the Gulf of Tigullio, thirty kilometers east of Genoa. A pre-Roman necropolis from the eighth and seventh centuries BC has been excavated under the centre. Genoa raised a castle here in 1147 and laid out the medieval town as a grid of porticoed streets, both sides of the carruggio continuous under Gothic columns, the most complete thirteenth-century Genoese commercial plan in Liguria. The Chiavari family produced two doges of the Republic. In 1801 Napoleon made the city the capital of the Apennines department, one of three administrative units that absorbed Liguria into the French Empire. The Cattedrale di Nostra Signora dell'Orto was built 1613-1633 after a Marian apparition on 2 July 1610 to a local citizen, Sebastiano Descalzo; the neoclassical marble portico modelled on the Pantheon went up in 1841 as a vow for survival from cholera. Chiavari became a diocese in 1892 and the church a minor basilica in 1904. Slate work, silk weaving and the eponymous Chiavari chair are still made in town.

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Gallery

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Known for

Cattedrale di Nostra Signora dell'Orto
Built 1613-1633 after a Marian apparition in 1610, neoclassical Pantheon-style portico added 1841 as a cholera vow, minor basilica from 1904.
Caruggio porticato
Thirteenth-century medieval commercial street, both sides continuous under Gothic-columned porticoes, the most intact Genoese plan in Liguria.
Castello di Chiavari
Genoese fortress built in 1147 above the original town, irregular polygonal walls, partly absorbed into later residential buildings.
Civico Museo Archeologico
Holds finds from the pre-Roman necropolis under the city centre, eighth and seventh-century BC tombs of the local Liguri population.
Lungomare di Chiavari
Two kilometers of seafront promenade with Bandiera Blu beach below, the eastern anchor of the Tigullio walking circuit to Lavagna.
Palazzo Rocca
Seventeenth-century noble residence with frescoed halls and Italian garden, now home to the civic museums.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September to October are the working months: Bandiera Blu beach swimmable from late May, the seafront walk to Lavagna open in any weather, evenings on Piazza Mazzini under 25 degrees. The Sagra del Pesce in Lavagna next door and the Chiavari book festival in late September draw weekend crowds. July and August fill the lungomare with Milanese and Genovese families, and accommodation runs at three times shoulder rates. November through March is calmer but never closed: Chiavari has 27,000 residents, so the porticoed carruggio stays open, restaurants run year-round, and the cathedral's neoclassical marble portico looks the same in February rain as in August sun.