Discoloration Of Lips In Dogs

: Levanto

Levanto is a seaside town, everyone knows that. There are wide beaches, local hiking trails, a marina, where land and, in winter, even waves suitable for surfing. But what we propose here is not a conventional tourist route, suitable for all seasons and enjoyable by those who seek not only to roast in the sun or enjoy an ice cream, but whose curiosity leads them to search for hidden traces of the past .

Levanto Vinzoni in cartography (1773)

Levanto, these tracks are not so hidden, you just come off just by the seafront promenade, just above the bathrooms and restaurants. The medieval town with a rich and powerful, noble Genoese vassalage, emerges with fascinating architecture and picturesque locations, allowing the imagination to reconstruct a unique urban landscape and profoundly different from today.

We can start an interesting path climbing from the promenade area in the former Casino, via a short flight of steps between the houses, the castle built in the second half of the thirteenth century, on a property that had been Malaspina as a defensive bulwark of the gulf Levanto. The castle, although they have not undergone renovations recently, is very well preserved and shows all its magnificence. Unfortunately, being a privately owned, the interior is not open, but it's still enjoyable views of the Bay of Peter and the hinterland, with the bell tower of St Andrew's Church which stands on rooftops and in gardens. Not far away, following the signs, you can take a fascinating journey of the walls that defended the town. Descending from the mighty medieval walls along a stairway very scenic but, unfortunately, a bit 'degraded, you can take a bow on the left, after a few steps leads to the large square in front of the Gothic church of St. Andrew, whose beautiful facade of alternating bands of white marble and serpentine local has a magnificent rose window stained. The church, mentioned for the first time in the thirteenth century, but probably more ancient, perfectly preserved Gothic aesthetic of the Ligurian and holds a long series of valuable works of religious art on display inside, including the choir stalls of the sixteenth century A crucifix of the fifteenth century, and many paintings and frescoes from various periods. In front you can see some faces apotropaic anthropomorphic, which go back to an ancient pagan tradition which is shown throughout the eastern Liguria and Lunigiana.

Going down the stairs of the courtyard and along the road perpendicular to it briefly, we find ourselves in front of the beautiful loggia of the thirteenth century, protected by UNESCO and which has become a symbol of historical Levanto. This lodge was used in medieval times as a point of loading and unloading goods, in the context of the ancient trading port. In fact, almost until the sixteenth century, the stream Cantarana, which now flows under the roadway, was navigable, at least in the first leg. This allowed the creation of a specially protected river port, where vessels penetrated from the sea, which was for centuries the center of life of the town. To find some remains of the harbor so unusual, it is sufficient cross the street in front of the lodge, the one that was the seat of the fairway, and set out in the unique atmosphere of the streets where you can see many times in serpentinite, now walled in, that many a time to load into warehouses for the storage of goods.

The mind works not just to rebuild the unique image of this important trading center, replacing a placid green channel and the road and the square in front of the lodge, imagining the stores turned estuary of the river where there are now buildings, factories beaches and bars. The Cantarana today is a draining of mountain water, the scope of which certainly does not think of a navigable channel, although past the inflow had to be much greater when you consider that it was the debris carried downstream by the river to bury the port, making it unusable to the draft of the boats and, therefore, decreed its end. In fact, already in the map Vinzoni (second half of the eighteenth century), the mouth of the river is very far from the medieval port.

Returning to the square of the Lodge, take the alley stepped on the right, along which you can admire the ancient home of the Da Passano, an ally of the powerful Genovese family, which for a time he had dominion over Levanto. Of particular value, along with some strings in serpentinite of excellent workmanship, the portal stained well preserved, even when inserted in an architectural context creepy.

Continuing in this way, you come to the oratory of St. James, home of the brotherhood of the same name, and the church of Santa Maria della Costa currently under renovation. To the left of the latter, the route runs between the houses and briefly reunited with the most evocative of medieval walls. Here is the clock tower of circular cross section and a complement to defensive structure, then (presumably since the nineteenth century), rebuilt to house a large clock tower. Tower soars above the entire town, dominates and providing a reference point for those who work in the urban landscape. From here, the route of the wall, with battlements still well preserved, the only ones that have remained intact, goes back to the bed of Cantarana.

At this point, continue going up the stream. First you can see the beautiful thirteenth-century architecture of the new home of the Museum of Material Culture and the hostel "Hospitality of the Sea." The building has been renovated a few years ago by the town of Levanto, and is obviously built with the same criteria for all buildings in the river port, in an elegant green serpentine, to accommodate both warehouses, and spaces for human habitation.

Adjacent to this building, there is a lower stretch of the walls, represented by the Water Gate. Two towers on opposite sides of the river are connected by a walkway suspended fine workmanship. The left tower, looking north, has an opening to the campaign, the only gateway to the town has come down.

Moving from this port town along the right side of the river hydraulics, and passing through a pretty little medieval bridge. Following the path for a few hundred meters, through a typical creuza country, we reach the town of Prealbe that, in the Middle Ages, was probably the 'ager Levanto. The name, probably of Roman origin, may be related to the presence of some limestone rock formation or gessifera (petra dawn = white stone), which, however, there comes memory. Prealbe is an area with a strong agricultural tradition, which successfully cultivated the olive tree, which was pressed in the past that stands in the watermill on the river, which remains in view of the metal wheel. Continuing through the cultivated terraces, the trail climbs the heights of Masco and is connected with the CAI n ° 1, which leads to Monterosso.

way back from Prealbe towards the Water Gate, it is impossible not to notice an urban project still under construction, Prealbe Residence, which is very intrusive in the quiet and beautiful nature of the valley. There are three or four bad apartment buildings with underground parking, which occupy the area of \u200b\u200bformer railway shed, next to the tunnel that led to Monterosso. This is one of those interventions "building up the wild", which made heaven Levanto real estate speculators. Not only the complex is visually ugly, but it is also invasive and inappropriate, as part of an agricultural landscape and natural element more suited to an urban center, whose construction philosophy is only that of profit and capital movement. In addition, finding the complex two yards from the river, has also prevailed on a specific aquatic environment, not to mention archaeological remains that would be expected to find many in a deep excavation in this area, but which instead do not know anything. Finally, the initiative is absolutely useless, entering a market that is universally referred to as "saturated" to say the least.

In any case, coming into the urban context through the Water Gate, you can finish the walk with an ascent of the walls, but did not deny a look at this laundry at the camp, used by local housewives to the end of the year 60.

Taking the alley that runs along the walls, which in this stretch in all their grandeur, between slits and windows go up to the Castle, from where the journey had begun.

This trip is suitable for everyone, adults and children, simple and easy to reach, but reveals a little-known heritage, to which the mass tourism greatly prefer the beaches and noisy distractions of the summer.

be noted as very positive note, the presence of signs and information panels that illustrate different aspects of life in Levanto in the Middle Ages, from the dock to the walls, the Palace to pass.

If you prefer, you can visit other sites that belong to the middle ages of this city, as the former convent of Poor Clares, the current town hall, the convent of the Augustinian Fathers, on the Rossola slopes of the mountain, the ruins of the monastery of St. Anthony of Masco, one of the most beautiful scenic spots in the Cinque Terre.