Santa Margherita Ligure ( lij, Santa Margaita) is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) in the

Metropolitan City of Genoa The Metropolitan City of Genoa ( it, Città Metropolitana di Genova) is one of the fourteen Metropolitan cities of Italy, located in the region of Liguria. Its capital is the city of Genoa. It replaced the Province of Genoa. History It was first ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region

Liguria it, Ligure , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, located about southeast of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, in the area traditionally known as

Tigullio 240px, Diagrammatic aerial view showing the main communes of Tigullio. Tigullio is a traditional region and a gulf in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, Liguria, northern Italy. Part of the Riviera di Levante, it includes the communes of (from West to ...

. It has a port, used for both tourism and fishing activities. Part of ''comune '' territory is included in the Regional Natural Park of Portofino. Santa Margherita Ligure borders the following municipalities:

Camogli Camogli (; lij, label= Genoese, Camoggi ) is a fishing village and tourist resort located on the west side of the peninsula of Portofino, on the Golfo Paradiso in the Riviera di Levante, in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, Liguria, northern Italy ...

Portofino Portofino (; ) is a ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore. Since the late 19th century ...

Rapallo Rapallo ( , , ) is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, located in the Liguria region of northern Italy. As of 2017 it had 29,778 inhabitants. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, on the Tigullio Gulf, between Portofino and Chiav ...

History

The presence of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

settlement has not been definitely proven. The burgh, known as ''Pescino'', was devastated by

Rothari Rothari (or Rothair) ( 606 – 652), of the house of Arodus, was king of the Lombards from 636 to 652; previously he had been duke of Brescia. He succeeded Arioald, who was an Arian like himself, and was one of the most energetic of Lombard kings ...

in 641 and by the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

s in the 10th century. Later it was a fief of the

Fieschi The Fieschi were a noble merchant family from Genoa, Italy, from whom descend the Fieschi Ravaschieri Princes of Belmonte. Of ancient origin, they took their name from the progenitor ''Ugo Fliscus'', descendants of the counts of Lavagna. The fam ...

family until 1229, when it was acquired by the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...

. In 1432 it was attacked by the fleet of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

and in 1549, together with

, by that of Turgut. In 1813, under the Napoleonic domination, the two burghs of ''Pescino'' and ''Corte'' were unified as ''Porto Napoleone''. Two years later it was annexed to the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

as the commune of Santa Margherita Ligure. In 1861 it became part of the newly unified

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

. Connected by rail in the 20th century, Santa Margherita became a renowned tourist resort after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Main sights

* Castello di Santa Margherita Ligure, built by the

in 1550 as defence against the increasing attacks of

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

n pirates. It was designed by the same architect of the Castle of Rapallo. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it was restored and entitled to the Italian victims of that conflict. *Basilica of St. Margaret of Antiochia, built from 1658 on the remains of a 13th-century church. * ''Abbazia della Cervara'', a historically relevant abbey on the road to Portofino. *''Villa Durazzo'' complex, including two patrician villas, a 16th-century castle and 17th-century park. File:Santa Margherita Ligure-IMG 0086.JPG, Villa Durazzo File:Santa Margherita-Castello.jpg, 16th-century fort

Outlying districts (
frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...
)

* Paraggi was a small village of fishermen and millers. It is located along the "Costa dei Delfini", halfway between Santa Margherita and

. It is about from Santa Margherita Ligure, reachable by bus or by boat. * Nozarego is a natural terrace over the Bay of Tigullio. Here there is the church of Santa Maria Assunta with the cobbled square in typical ligurian. From Nozarego also leave several trails in the Park of Portofino. * San Lorenzo della Costa is located on the slopes of the mountain, to the north, along the Aurelia road that leads to

. There is a Flemish triptych in the local 13th-century church.

References

External links

Official website

Santa Margherita Ligure website

Santa Margherita Ligure - collection of images and videos
* {{authority control Cities and towns in Liguria

History

Main sights

Outlying districts (frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...)

References

External links

Outlying districts (
frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...
)