KNOW HERE: Interesting facts about Small Italian Portofino town in Genoa

Portofino is a small Italian town on the Italian Riviera in the province of Genoa. The port of Portofino is considered one of the most beautiful in the Mediterranean. 

The mountainous peninsula on which Portofino is located is a regional natural park. The Monte di Portofino is the highest peak village, with a height of around 612 meters.

History of Portofino Village:

The Romans may have founded the village called Portus Delphini (city of dolphins ) because of the large numbers of dolphins that populated the gulf. Pliny the Elder mentions the town in one of his accounts.

Over the centuries, the fishing village would be ruled by nearby Rapallo and the nearby Abbazia di San Fruttuoso monastery for a time.

 The village fell under the Republic of Genoa, which used it as a port of call for merchant ships, and later under the Florentine Republic and the Kingdom of Sardinia, to finally be incorporated into the unified Italy.

At the end of the 19th century, the village gradually became a tourist destination for the European aristocracy. The 1922 British novel The Enchanted April, set in Castello Brown, gave the village international fame. 

In the hills above Portofino, the Hotel Splendido was built on the ruins of a small monastery. From the 1950s, this hotel became a place where well-known personalities could retreat, contributing to the village’s image. 

From then on, fishing became less critical to the economy, and Portofino lived more and more from tourism, which has since become the primary source of income.

Culture of Portofino Village

Giuseppe Amisani died on the coast of Portofino, where he usually painted, on September 8, 1941. 

The day after his death, the Municipality of Portofino installed a plaque known as “Lungomare Amisani” with the inscription: Qui la bellezza del mondo sorrise la ultima volta a Giuseppe Amisani pittore (Here the beauty of the world smiled the last time at Giuseppe Amisani, painter).

The French-Italian singer Dalida sang the song Love in Portofino in 1959. Andrea Bocelli would later sing a cover version of the song. The film A di là delle nuvole is partly set in Portofino. 

Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence video clip was shot in the village. The 2018 Ferrari Portofino is named after the village. A replica of the small town is on display at Orlando’s Universal Orlando Resort.

In 1954, a statue of Christ was placed in the sea at a depth of seventeen meters in the nearby bay of San Fruttuoso. This image was called the Christ of the Deep and served to protect fishermen and divers.

Every year, the Trail di Portofino is run in the nature reserve. This is a race through rough terrain.