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.

When is the best time to visit Lerici?

Apr–Oct. 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.

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

How do I get to Lerici?

From Pisa, Lerici is roughly 67 km by road.

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.

Known for

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

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

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.

We've been

Feature from our free newsletter

Lerici | An Old Friend on the Gulf of Poets

We know the steep streets above the castle by heart. We know which restaurant is for the view and which is for the dinner. We know that the gelato in San Terenzo, made at a place called La Rana Golosa, is worth the half-hour walk along the sea to find. We know the underpass that takes you to the small free beach under the castle, the rocks at the back of it, and the bench halfway along the promenade to San Terenzo where, on a good day, the wind off the Gulf has the precise temperature of being alive.

From the Lerici letter, June 2026

Read the full feature on anywhereitaly.com

What to see

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.

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Living here

Population 9,425
Commuter belti
Pharmacy in town
High school within a 30-minute drive
Nearest airport Florence / Pisa, 1 h 10 min drive
Regional capital Genova, 1 h 30 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 10 m
Population: 9,425
Surface area: 16.01 km²

On the map

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These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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