A View over the Gulf from a Sea of Olive Trees: a Relaxing Weekend in Diano Marina

A sacred clearing bordered by a wood: this is how the place appeared to the first travellers who arrived millennia ago on the territory of present-day Diano Marina. The ancient place name "Lucus Bormani" testifies to it, dedicated to the god Bormanus, linked to the cult of the warm spring waters. If today the town is among the most loved destinations of Italian and foreign tourists, its vocation in this sense is, however, anything but recent. Already in Roman times, in fact, the mansio located between Capo Berta and Capo Cervo served as a stopping station along the via Iulia Augusta, built to facilitate connections between the Po plain and southern Gaul.

With the ancient Romans the god Bormanus gave way to the goddess Diana, protectress of hunters, and thus the castrum Diani was born, that is, present-day Diano Castello. A fief of the marquises of Clavesana for over a century, in medieval times it was the most important centre of the valley, and the only fortified one. In 1199 the Communitas Diani was established, uniting the villages of the Diano valleys, including present-day Diano Marina.

As we travel the road of about two and a half kilometres that leads from the coast to our home for this weekend, curve after curve we admire splendid panoramas that open onto the historic villages immersed among olive groves and flowering hills in a riot of colours and scents. We thus reach the perhaps oldest hamlet of Diano, Serreta, where tools dating back to the Palaeolithic have been found, used by groups of hunter-gatherers who populated the territory at the time and were probably enchanted by the beauty of the landscape exactly as we are.

We chose the Hotel Ristorante Liliana after reading numerous favourable reviews on Tripadvisor, which emphasised the comfort of the hotel and the excellence of both the service and the cuisine. We leave the car in the spacious private car park under the pines and take possession of our rooms. We feel as if we are in a large villa: every room (the hotel has as many as 40, between doubles, triples and family rooms, distributed between the central building and the dependance opposite) has a terrace or garden, and one can refresh oneself in the splendid pool with bar service, set in a typical Ligurian "fascia" sunny from dawn to dusk. "An island of tranquillity in a sea of olive trees" reads the hotel's motto, and we find it spot on: our rooms have every comfort, from satellite TV to the safe, to air conditioning, while the terrace, with a splendid view of the sea, is like a little oasis.

Bobby, our friend's little dog, is also very comfortable: at the establishment, in fact, four-legged friends are welcome too.

After refreshing ourselves, we set off to discover Serreta, where a short walk among lemons, olive trees and flowers leads us to the church of Sant'Anna. Taking the car again, we reach the coast, making a virtual journey through the maritime history of the town which for long centuries was part of the Republic of Genoa and stood out as a lively economic and commercial centre, mainly thanks to the prized olive oil of the riviera di Ponente. But the very long maritime tradition of Diano is also testified by the wreck of a Roman ship, discovered in the Gulf of Diano Marina in 1975. It is a ship coming from Spain, carrying fourteen large "dolia", terracotta jars each containing between one thousand and three thousand litres of wine.

In the centre we visit some beautiful churches, including the parish church of Sant'Antonio, located on the seafront. A religious building already stood on the site in the fourteenth century and during excavations a seventeenth-century churchyard was also discovered, made with white and black sea pebbles in typical Ligurian style.

Adjacent to the port, we visit the Oratorio della Santissima Annunziata, of medieval construction, while the baroque church of Sant'Anna dates back to the seventeenth century, erected by the Casalmiglia family. The Sant'Anna district is known to tourists from all over the world thanks to its beaches of very fine sand and extremely clean sea. Holiday places that have inspired several songs that became famous: in 1988 Bruno Lauzi dedicated the notes of "Diano Marina" to the town, while in the 1960s the melody sung by Giorgio Santiano was a great success: "Arrivederci a Diano Marina, bella straniera Auf wiedersehen, al tuo paese virai col ricordo del sol di Diano che il cuor ti ha riempito di felicità."

Among the pleasures that make a stay in these parts unforgettable, there are undoubtedly those of good food. Returning to the Hotel Ristorante Liliana with a fair appetite, we abandon ourselves to the joys of the palate seated in the large, very bright room overlooking the Gulf of Diano Marina, ideal also for ceremonies and parties. As we begin to taste the rich Ligurian starter with stuffed vegetables and green pies, as well as exquisite seafood starters, we chat with the owners.

"The establishment was founded in 1961 by my mother, Liliana, who is still the tireless soul of the kitchen. Over the years we have grown and we are always full of plans for the future too. Today, besides my mother and my father Renzo, the hotel is run by me and my wife Chrystel," Mr Silvano explains to us. "Our staff is completed by Elena, the secretary, Roberto, maître d', and Luigi the lifeguard."

We continue with the very good homemade ravioli (like all the fresh pasta), with very thin lasagne, dressed with the pesto of Diano Marina, and with tagliolini with fresh lemons from Serreta. "In our specialities we use many vegetables from our garden or from zero-mile sources. To enhance the products of the territory we have also created a small group called 'Tra cielo e mare' which, besides our establishment, includes the Poggio dei Gorleri winery and the olive farm Ardissone Nicolò e Figlio," Mr Silvano explains to us. In fact, we have the pleasure of tasting both the excellent Ardissone oil and the Vermentino, Pigato and Ormeasco of Poggio dei Gorleri with which we wash down the delicacies that follow one another on our table.

We continue with the rabbit with Vermentino, while on Sunday we will taste a speciality that must be a spectacle: the great roast leg, of 10-12 kilos, which is carved in front of the customers.

Finally, we willingly give in to the sweet temptations of the house, including first and foremost the "Dolce della Casa" with amaretto and peaches in syrup, a dessert much requested for fully fifty years. We also enjoy a lovely strawberry tiramisù and, at the end, with the coffee, the Oliviero, a digestive made at home with olive leaves.

The "Sol di Diano", as the song says, has filled our hearts with happiness too and it will always be a great joy to return here, once again as guests of the Hotel Ristorante Liliana, a place where one can also come to know and appreciate the soul of these lands of magical beauty.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Hotel Ristorante Liliana Strada Serreta Imperia, fraz. Serreta, Diano Marina (IM) Tel.: 0183/494743