Liguria - The Italian Riviera
Liguria, often called the "Italian Riviera", is one of Italy's smallest regions, most fashionable resorts and yet the country's largest and liveliest commercial ports. It is a land of terraced hillsides, sophisticated, seemingly endless seaside resorts, rocky coves and cozy inlets. It's a place where narrow alleys stretch from picturesque medieval towns up to the hills, and where lemon trees, herbs, flowers, almonds and pines fill the air with sweet-smelling breezes.
Located between Tuscany and France, Liguria is divided into two parts: Riviera Ponente on the western coastline, a thin strip of coastal plain stretching to the French border, and the eastern coastline, Riviera Levante, a rugged and natural coast descending into the sea. Between the two coastlines lies the capitol and largest port of Genoa, Genova, known for its refined palaces of gold-ceiling rooms and precious furnishings and as the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, Andrea Doria, who made Genova one of the greatest Mediterranean powers, and Niccolo Paganini, the great composer and virtuoso violinist.