Noli

Noli, in the province of Savona, is yet another small gem on the Ligurian necklace. It is a fishing port that was once difficult to reach by any means except boat. Yet Margaret Gardiner Blessington, that intrepid traveler of the early nineteenth century, reached Noli by land and wrote charmingly of it.

“Many of the chains of rocks that bound the coast of the Mediterranean, between Finale and Noli, are of stupendous height; some large chasms on them resembling immense portals and windows; while the road, which is formed on a ledge, appears like a balcony overhanging the sea. Seen by moonlight, they give the idea of some gigantic palace, the residence of the genii of the place.