Tellaro is located on the east end of Liguria. Then starts Tuscany. It is very similar to the villages of Cinque Terre, however, it is not so crowded as the famous 5 villages. What is more, Tellaro is inscribed on the list of the most beautiful hamlets of Italy.
How to get to Tellaro?
- by car
– A12 motorway – Sarzana motorway exit and then follow the road signs to Lerici (road SP331). In Lerici, on the first crossroad turn and follow road signs to Tellaro. The journey lasts about 10 minutes. As in Cinque Terre, you can’t arrive at the town centre so you have to find a parking place out of the centre (blue one 1,5€/h).
-provincial road SP331 from La Spezia to Lerici. Then as I wrote above.
- by bus – line L from La Spezia. It brings you to town Lerici (about 30 min). Then from Lerici, you have to take a bus to Tellaro (about 15 min). Well … arriving by car is definitely the best way … much more comfortable 😉
Legend
There is a legend that regards Tellaro. It tells that in 1660 a Saracen pirate named Gallo d’Arenzano wanted to conquer the town. He chose a night of a bad weather with a fog and a thunderstorm. In that time a bell tower of Saint George church was used to alarm the town case of danger. But that night a guardian on the bell tower was asleep. However, when the pirates started disembarked, the bell started to ring anyway. Woke up the inhabitants that could defend the town. Tellaro was saved and the inhabitants discovered that it was a giant octopus that warned the population by climbing up the church tower and ringing the bells. Since that day, the octopus is the symbol of Tellaro.
Things to see & do
The town is minuscule and very similar to the villages of Cinque Terre. When you arrive in Tellaro you will start visiting it from via Fiascherino street that is located in the newer part of the town. It leads you to the old hamlet of Tellaro.
When you start strolling in a labyrinth of small, narrow streets you can choose to go up. There you will find a tiny church Oratorio Santa Maria in Selàa (that, unfortunately, is almost always closed You can continue by going down through narrow carruggio that lead you to the sea side. There you will find the church that was mentioned in the legend.
Chiesa di San Giorgio (Saint. George Church)
The church was built in the XVI century on a rocky shore. When you are inside the church and the sea is rough you can hear the waves breaking against the rocks !!! It is the really amazing experience. The church hasn’t been renovated and nowadays it really need it. That’s why this year was started a renovation process of Saint George church.
Next, to the church, you can find the “main” square of Tellaro. Here you can find a bar and a small beach. From here start also many paths that lead to many, very picturesque beaches.
Sagra del Polpo (Festival of the Octopus)
“Sagra del Polpo” takes place every year on the second Sunday in August. During this feast, you can eat …. octopus! Grilled or boiled, all delicious 😉 Maybe eating octopus is a little bit strange way to feast the saviour of the town … but in Tellaro they feast it in this way 😉
Barbazzano
Who loves history and trekking should absolutely go there. From Tellaro you can follow a trail that leads to the rests of this Medieval hamlet (115 meters high above sea level). The hamlet was mentioned already in documents of Otto II in 981 a.c. (!) Unfortunately, in the XVI century, the town had been decimated by an epidemic of plague and abandoned. Nowadays you can find there the rests of houses and walls through the florid plants.
What else can I say? Who is looking for calmness, beautiful views and fantastic beaches, absolutely should come to this idyllic place. You will fall in love from the first sight! 🙂
