In the Tigullio, among saints, artists and fishermen: a day in Santa Margherita Ligure

Centuries ago, one fine day the inhabitants of the village of Santa Margherita Ligure noticed a boat entering the harbour and immediately arousing the interest of the people who began to crowd onto the quay. Someone thought the commotion was due to some fish of extraordinary size caught by the fishermen, but that time the already famous seafaring tradition of the place had little to do with it. The sailors brought to the village instead a beautiful Marian image, in which the Virgin held a rose in her hand. From this is born the cult that since the Middle Ages has been alive in the town, as shown by the name of the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora della Rosa, formerly the Basilica of Santa Margherita d’Antiochia, where the sacred image is kept. The Sanctuary also conserves a precious 18th-century statue by Anton Maria Maragliano, depicting Saint John of Nepomuk.

Besides the Madonna, protecting this wonderful town of the Gulf of Tigullio is, indeed, Santa Margherita, patron saint of women in labour, who lived between 275 and 290, the year in which, at only fifteen years old, she suffered martyrdom for her Christian faith. The extraordinary historical and artistic wealth of the municipality is set within a breathtaking landscape, in the innermost part of the Gulf of Tigullio, in a closed basin of the promontory of Portofino. In Friedrich Nietzsche's imagination this place was like an island that had come from afar and had finally anchored to the mainland. From the heights covered with woods of maritime pines, chestnuts and olive groves, a wonderful panorama opens up over the Coast of the Dolphins.

The territory, included in the Portofino Regional National Park, offers various nature itineraries, including those of the Golfo Paradiso, San Fruttuoso and the Gulf of Tigullio. The seabed is also full of treasures to discover: in the protected marine natural area there is a particular habitat of Posidonia oceanica meadows and coral formations and semi-dark caves, as well as countless species of fish. If today this splendid sea enchants tourists, in the past it was also a source of danger, because of the very frequent Saracen raids. To defend themselves from pirates, in particular from the dreadful Dragut who had sown terror along the entire Ligurian coast, in 1550 Santa Margherita Ligure also equipped itself with a fortress. The Castle, located on the seafront, was designed by Antonio de Càrabo, the same man who a year later would build the Castle of Rapallo.

Adjacent to the castle we also visit the Church of the Capuchin Friars, built in 1608 together with the Convent. Another castle, from 1626, stands in the hamlet of Paraggi, towards Portofino. Walking along the seafront we discover that Santa Margherita Ligure is the second Ligurian port by number of fishing boats, after Sanremo. Indeed, the picturesque multitude of boats that every day return from the sea with the excellent fresh fish of the Tigullio in their nets is remarkable. We certainly cannot resist the temptation to treat ourselves to an exquisite fish dinner, so we reach the Ristorante La Lampara, in the quiet via Maragliano, a few steps from the seafront. As we take our seats at our table, we notice the characteristic lamps in seafaring style.

“The name of the restaurant comes from a traditional fishing method, in which lampare were used, that is, powerful lamps with which the sea was illuminated to attract anchovies, but also small squid and other species, to the surface,” Mrs Maria Luisa explains to us; she runs the place together with her son Mario, a mechanical engineer, and her daughter Natalina. “My husband Lino Barbieri had started the business in Camogli, afterwards we worked for thirteen years in Piacenza, and then returned to the sea. We have now been in this location for twenty-nine years,” the owner tells us. We start with a rich mixed seafood starter, and with the cappon magro. We also taste cold marinated fish from the trolley, seafood salad and sardines in carpione. We continue with fish ravioli in red mullet sauce, a speciality introduced to the area precisely by this restaurant.

Among the first courses we also taste linguine with prawns, pansotti with walnut sauce, lasagne with pesto and spaghetti with small squid. All the pasta is homemade, and the fresh local fish is of the very highest quality. We wash down these delicacies with excellent Pigato and Vermentino and with Bianchetta, but we also taste a few good Piedmontese and Tuscan wines. We continue with a fantastic mixed grill and with oven-baked fish, all based on the catch of the day. The sweet epilogue of the dinner has us tasting tasty desserts all homemade, including the apple cake, the bavarese, the panna cotta with raspberry sauce and the crème caramel. The image of the castle with the fishing boats in the background, together with the flavours of authentic Ligurian cuisine, are unforgettable memories that will certainly bring us back soon to this splendid seaside town.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Ristorante La Lampara Via Maragliano, 33 Santa Margherita Ligure (GE) Tel.: 0185/288926 Facebook: La Lampara