What is Lerici known for?

Pentagonal Pisan-Genoese fortress on the harbour, with a paleontology museum holding Jurassic dinosaur tracks. Eastern shore of the Gulf of La Spezia where Byron and Shelley wrote and swam in the early 19th century. The commune's southern frazione, a borghi più belli member with houses stacked on a rocky promontory above the sea.

Lerici is a comune in the province of La Spezia, Liguria region of Italy, about 67 kilometers from Pisa.

Liguria · La Spezia

Lerici

The northern anchor of the Bay of Poets, a fishing harbour under a Pisan-Genoese castle where Byron and Shelley wrote and where the frazione of Tellaro hangs over the rocks at the bay's southern edge.

67 km / 42 mi

Nearest hub (Pisa)

9,425

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Lerici sits on the eastern shore of the Gulf of La Spezia — what English Romantics renamed the Bay of Poets after Byron and Shelley made it their address in the early 19th century. The castle that defines the harbour was begun by the Pisans in 1152 to control the Gulf, captured by the Genoese in 1256, and rebuilt in its present pentagonal form through the 14th and 15th centuries; today it houses a paleontology museum with Jurassic dinosaur tracks recovered from the local sandstone. Shelley lived at the Casa Magni in nearby San Terenzo in 1822 — he drowned that summer sailing from Livorno — and Byron swam across the bay from Portovenere on his way to visit. Beyond the historic harbour the commune stretches south past the colourful frazione of Tellaro, perched on a rocky promontory above the sea and a member of the Borghi più belli d'Italia network in its own right; the Castelnuovo trail links the two via olive terraces and pine woods. The town beach holds a Bandiera Blu and the harbour fills with sailing dinghies all summer.

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Gallery

10 photos · scroll →

Known for

Castello di Lerici
Pentagonal fortress begun by the Pisans in 1152, captured by Genoa in 1256, rebuilt in its present form in the 14th-15th centuries. Houses a paleontology museum with Jurassic dinosaur tracks.
Bay of Poets / Casa Magni
Eastern shore of the Gulf of La Spezia named for Byron and Shelley. The Casa Magni at San Terenzo (a Lerici frazione) was Shelley's residence in 1822, the year he drowned in the bay.
Tellaro
Pastel-coloured fishing frazione clinging to a rocky promontory at the southern edge of the bay. Member of Borghi più belli d'Italia. Linked to Lerici by the coastal Castelnuovo trail.
Spiaggia di Lerici
Town beach with a Bandiera Blu and a clear view of the castle. The harbour fills with sailing dinghies and the gulf's sailing-school fleet through the summer.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the open season in the Bay of Poets — warm coastal days, calm seas from late spring, and the sailing fleet active all summer. June and September are the best months: warm sea, longer light, fewer crowds than July-August. The castle is open year-round (paleontology museum included) and Tellaro is best in October-November when the colours go warm. November through March is mild and quiet; the harbour stays working but most pleasure boats are out of the water. Easter to mid-May is the wildflower window on the coastal trails between Lerici and Tellaro.