What is Framura known for?

Anzo, Setta, Ravecca, Costa and Castagnola, spread between sea level and 300 meters on the same hillside. Three round watchtowers built by Byzantine settlers against Saracen raids, still standing on coast and ridge. Old coastal railway tunnels converted into a paved cycle route that connects Framura to Bonassola and Levanto.

Framura is a comune in the province of La Spezia, Liguria region of Italy, about 64 kilometers from Genova.

Liguria · La Spezia

Framura

Five hamlets between sea level and 300 meters on the Riviera di Levante, with Byzantine watchtowers built against Saracen incursions.

64 km / 40 mi

Nearest hub (Genova)

577

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Framura is not one village but five: Anzo on the water, Setta and Ravecca on the slope, Costa above them, and Castagnola at roughly 300 meters with views back down to the coast. The commune spans from the rocky shoreline to 845 meters inland on the ridge that separates the Cinque Terre coast from the Vara valley. Byzantine settlers built the original circular watchtowers here against Saracen raids, three of them still standing on the coast and inland. The hamlets remained agricultural until the Genova-La Spezia railway tunneled through in the late nineteenth century, opening the commune to summer visitors. The seafront below Anzo, reached by a converted railway tunnel turned cycle path, carries the Bandiera Blu, and the same path runs north toward Bonassola and Levanto. Framura is the quiet outlier on this coast: the closest Borghi più belli village to Monterosso al Mare without being in the Cinque Terre national park.

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Gallery

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Known for

Torri bizantine
Three surviving Byzantine watchtowers on the coast and ridge, built to defend the village from Saracen incursions.
Castagnola
Highest of the five hamlets at around 300 meters, with views over the lower frazioni and the Riviera di Levante.
Anzo waterfront
Coastal hamlet at sea level with the Bandiera Blu beach access, the lowest of Framura's five settlements.
Pista ciclabile Framura-Levanto
Coastal cycle path along the former railway line, running through restored tunnels north toward Bonassola and Levanto.
Chiesa di San Martino
Parish church at Setta, the religious centre of the commune since the medieval consolidation of the hamlets.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October fits Framura, with the cycle path open and the coast walkable in any direction. May, June and September are the best for combining sea and hiking; mid-summer brings the strongest beach traffic but the upper hamlets stay calm. The Bandiera Blu beachfront below Anzo is small and fills early on August weekends. Winter is quiet, with reduced ferry and rail service to neighboring Cinque Terre and most accommodation closed in the hamlets, though the cycle path stays passable. The terraced vineyards on the upper slopes produce small quantities of the same Cinque Terre DOC whites grown in the protected zone next door.