Galleys, the Wood and Picasso: A Day in Sori

Just a few kilometres from the Genoese Foce gets you to the Golfo Paradiso, as beautiful as its name suggests. All at once, it's impossible not to notice a stunning bell tower in the typical Ligurian colours rising high against the blue background of the sky that blends with the sea: seeing it means we've arrived in Sori, a municipality located along the valley of the stream of the same name. Although the best-known aspect of the place is its seaside, in reality it's the mountains that dominate the municipal area, which reaches the watershed with the upper Val Fontanabuona, where Monte Becco rises to 894 metres. The first "travellers" to fall in love with the beauty of this landscape appear to have been the Greeks; in fact, according to some scholars it was a population from central Greece that founded Sori in the 7th century BC.

What's certain is that the first documents mentioning the village date back to 1143. The striking bell tower of the Church of Santa Margherita di Antiochia, one of the most beautiful Baroque bell towers in Liguria, had already existed for almost fifty years when in 1787 a certain Tommaso Picasso, great-grandfather of the famous Pablo Picasso, was born in the village. But Sori has contributed to painting also by giving birth in 1923 to Ugo Attardi, who, although he moved to Sicily early on, in some of his abstract seascapes, but also in one of his paintings depicting a brawl of sailors on the Pinta, seems to reveal a strong bond with his native land. Strolling through the picturesque little harbour, your thoughts fly to the times when the Sori shipowners with their galleys made the village's maritime trade flourish.

Unfortunately, however, terror and destruction also came from the sea: the people of Sori remember a particularly ferocious pirate attack, which took place in 1548, when the village was completely plundered and then set on fire and no fewer than 134 people were abducted. During this invasion, the Turkish pirates also stole a stone statue depicting the Virgin Mary from the parish church. They loaded it on board, but the ship couldn't set sail until the corsairs threw it into the sea. The people of Sori recovered the statue of the Madonna del Pontin and in 1637 placed it on the rebuilt medieval bridge. A refrain in dialect recalls the legendary story of that statue, which had been lost another two times (also following the disastrous bombing in 1944), but after which the sea always gave it back.

Besides the seafaring village, we also go to visit some hamlets of Sori, including Sant'Apollinare, San Bartolomeo and Capreno, where we admire very ancient churches built between the 11th and 12th centuries. After this lovely little tour discovering the most fascinating views of Sori, we decide to stop for dinner at the Ristorante Il Boschetto in via Ernesto Caorsi. Immersed in the greenery of the valley of the Sori stream, the large restaurant is arranged over several levels of verandas and terraces, and besides the restaurant rooms, on the other side of the road there's also the pizzeria and focacceria, open in the evening. "There was an osteria here already a hundred years ago. Our family took it over in 1962, so this year we're celebrating fifty years of our business.

At the start we made simple dishes, mainly for the workers, and little by little we enlarged the place, creating the distinctive restaurant it is today. What has never changed is our love for the genuine flavours of the area," Mr Ugo tells us, who runs the restaurant with his family: his wife Cristina, his sister Luciana who is the cook, and his nephew Michele who creates the desserts. We start with a rich mixed seafood plate that includes, among other things, smoked tuna, mussels, marinated anchovies, marinated salmon and seafood salad. We also have some vegetable tarts, as well as a delicious mushroom salad and the cheese focaccina. We continue with dishes of fresh homemade pasta, including the pansoti with walnut sauce, the taglierini with lobster sauce and the traditional ravioli al tocco and the lasagne al pesto.

Among the main courses we enjoy a fantastic mixed fried fish, as well as the mixed grill. Some of us choose the moscardini affogati, while others taste the stoccafisso in umido and the swordfish and tuna tagliate. The "carnivores" of the group choose excellent steaks, chops and tagliate. Finally, we treat ourselves to the tasty handmade desserts, including the fabulous warm apple pie with custard ice cream, the berry tarts, the bavarese and the tiramisù. Some of the group prefer to give up almost nothing, choosing the mixed dessert of the house, which includes several delicious tastings. After spending this very pleasant autumn day in Sori, we're certain to come back here as soon as possible, also to enjoy, in the warm season, the marine site of community interest where there are numerous species of fish and coral formations.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Ristorante Il Boschetto Via Ernesto Caorsi, 44 Sori (GE) Tel.: 0185/700659