The Charm of an Old Seaside Town: A Day in Spotorno Between Art, History and Good Food

In the framing of our photos depicting the lively seafront of Spotorno, if it had been possible to take them a few hundred years ago, we would have seen the colourful bustle of merchants, people loading goods onto the lembi, the typical boats with crews sometimes of even thirty people setting off for France, Sicily and Sardinia. Where today Piazza della Vittoria is, we could have witnessed the launching of elegant brigs, that is beautiful two-masted sailing ships built in the shipyard. Today Spotorno is one of the favourite tourist destinations of the Ligurian Riviera di Ponente, and the charm of the town derives, besides from its splendid geographical position, also from its great historical heritage that has its roots in the ancient seafaring culture. The seafront of Spotorno was in 1953 the set of the film La Spiaggia, directed by Alberto Lattuada.

Our walk takes us to discover many testimonies of past centuries, often marked by hard wars, such as that of 1226 when the nearby Noli, allied with Genoa, invaded and sacked Spotorno. To recall these and other battles, today there are the ruins of the Castle, several times destroyed and rebuilt, on the heights from which a splendid view opens over the coast, but also the lookout turrets built towards the end of the 16th century to keep watch over the sea and prevent the attacks of the Turks and pirates. In the past Spotorno was known even abroad for its intense lime production, as still testified by some ancient kilns that can be seen in the town.

Wandering through the very colourful historic centre, characterised by the typical Ligurian caruggi, we arrive near the Civic Library, where we notice some nice tiles with amusing drawings dedicated to the town: these are the works created for one of the past editions of SpotornoComics, a festival of satire and comics whose highlight comes every year in the month of August, during the Night of Cartoons. In 2006 the edition was dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, and so a likeable fish, with teeth shaped like a piano keyboard, asks us with a smile: "Did you know that Mozart passed through Spotorno?" Certainly other famous figures from art and culture have passed through here, such as the British writer D.H. Lawrence, author of the novel "Lady Chatterley's Lover", and the poet Camillo Sbarbaro, a great friend of Eugenio Montale.

Born in 1888 in Santa Margherita Ligure, Sbarbaro, to whom the Library is dedicated, stayed here numerous times, also because of his family ties with Spotorno. During our tour we also visit some beautiful churches, including the parish church of the Santissima Annunziata, with works inside dating back to the 17th century. On its facade stands out one of the most beautiful sundials of the town, conceived according to the Italian usage (different from the method of French sundials), to show farmers how many hours of light remained available. After this long walk, a bit of hunger makes us fancy a nice fish dinner, and so we decide to stop at the Ristorante Piccolo Vallega, a few steps from the beach.

We were also "invited" into this restaurant by a nice sign in the shape of a dachshund in front of the entrance that assured us that here dogs are welcome too; indeed they are very welcome guests, as our poodle can also confirm, who is not only affectionately welcomed into the place, affiliated with the Welcome Pets circuit, but we discover can even dine like us. In the intimate, elegant and cosy setting of the dining room, furnished with taste and in light, bright colours, we are welcomed with great kindness by Mr Angelo, the owner and chef who runs the place together with his partner Enrico and the assistant Veronica. We immediately notice that here the attention to quality and care for detail concerns not only the kitchen, but extends to everything, including the disabled bathroom where the light comes on automatically, without needing to touch the switch.

As we begin to study the menu, our gaze falls on a large richly decorated ornamental plate hanging on the wall above the counter, and when we ask the owner for information about it, we immediately have the chance to discover an interesting chapter in the restaurant's history. "That plate was won at the 'A Campanassa award in the 1970s for the preparation of the pastotta," Mr Angelo recalls the times when the Vallega was still a hotel in another part of the town. "I worked there for twenty-five years, and after that long experience, in 2002 the possibility arose for me to start this restaurant, carrying on the historic Vallega name in this new location, an old building restored in 2000," the owner explains.

Our dinner in the name of the flavours of the sea begins with anchovies marinated with strawberries, which we follow with the Piccolo Vallega starter, made up of five dishes that vary according to product availability. This time we taste marinated catch of the day, asparagus with eggs and cheese, mussels marinara and baby octopus "all'inferno", nice and spicy with chilli, as the name suggests. We continue with one of the house's most loved specialities, the potato gnocchetti marinara. We also very much like the homemade tagliatelle with salmon and Taggiasca olives, but we cannot even resist the paccheri alla siciliana and the classic spaghetti with clams. We wash down these delicacies with excellent local wines from the Sancio winery and continue with a fine mixed fry of catch of the day and exquisite grilled fish.

Finally, we gladly give in to the sweet temptations of a great variety of homemade desserts, including the tasty apple and cinnamon, pear and almond, banana and amaretti, and caramelised pineapple cakes, as well as the caprese chocolate cake and the amaretti and jam one. Our friends, on the other hand, enjoy delicious coffee or pink grapefruit sorbets, as well as very good ice creams. We will remember this day as one of the most beautiful of our holiday and will gladly return here in the future too, perhaps on the occasion of one of the themed evenings full of flavour, such as the Spanish evening dedicated to specialities like paella, to be eaten while sipping good sangria.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Ristorante Piccolo Vallega Via Aurelia, 113 Spotorno (SV) Tel.: 019/741433 Summer closing: Monday, and Tuesday at lunchtime Winter closing: Monday