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Levanto, starting point of our itinerary, became famous during the last century as a holiday resort of the rich and famous of Italy, which led to the construction of numerous holiday homes in the Art Nouveau Style, which can still be seen with their towers around the area. The tortuous provincial road that leads from the motorway to the town ended up keeping the great mass of tourists away, but today Levanto maintains its slightly “retro” vitality and a certain veil of antique nobility.

The trek is a stretch of the green blue trail, the coastal connection between Genoa and Porto Venere; it starts from the seafront of Levanto and follows the former railway track. The trail climbs up to the altitude of Punta Gone until it reaches the small hamlet of Scernio, from where we catch a glimpse of Bonassola. We then begin the descent, first on a short stretch of tarmac road, then amid vineyard terraces, down to Bonassola. The village is situated in such a snug and inviting bay, that it suffered numerous raids by pirates.

The vines of this area, of the municipalities of Levanto, Bonassola, Framura and Deiva produce a dry wine with the grapes warmed by the evening sun, which earned the denomination of Colline di Levanto Doc, both for the white and the red variety. Furthermore the whole stretch, the one behind us as well as the one before us, is for a large part immersed in the Mediterranean scrub, consisting of juniper, winter savory and French lavender, conveying incomparable scents to the wine. At Bonassola we again meet the old railway line and follow it to the small village, until we encounter the trail, which leads to Montaretto. From here we begin to ascend again for a short stretch towards Poggio del Salice above an uncontaminated bay, with only a beautiful villa a sheer drop from the sea. Having left the street to Montaretto we descend on the trail between terraces of vineyards and olives towards Framura, a place which exists on the geographical maps and on train timetables, but does not have a correspondence in reality. Framura consists of five tiny groups of houses along the street: Framura itself does not exist.

We follow the street along the sea to the village of Vandarecca and arrive near the train station of Framura. On this stretch the stones are magmatic: we find pillow basalts of red colour and green ophiolites, rendering the cliffs still more fascinating. Going uphill from Vanderecca we pass the villages of Anzo, Ravecca and Setta and then turn left taking the trail which goes along under the Monte Serra, and, brushing the so-called Cliff of Apicchi, brings us to Deiva Marina, where in summer the population quintuples.