Rapallo

Elegant Riviera resort town on a glittering Ligurian bay

Tucked snugly into a crook on the Ligurian coast is thriving Rapallo. Think “Portofino” but more down to earth and a tad bigger. Rapallo’s got the pastel buildings and the beach promenade, but also a little more to it.

Admire the rich yellow and ochre buildings on the shorefront and in town. You might notice that window shutters, columns and niches are painted directly onto their façades. That’s a favourite technique of the Italians called “trompe-l’œil”, which means “optical illusions”. It adds a little playfulness to the town.

W.B. Yeats and Ezra Pound floated around town during Italy’s years of fascism. Other poets and writers flocked here. For that reason, the place holds a certain controversial mystique that lets it stand out among the other picturesque, pretty fishing towns nearby.

A little castle tower on the shore endears you – what invaders could it have repelled being so dainty? It seems to know itself that it wouldn’t have been any use, but it cuts a striking figure nonetheless.

Get yourself some gelato and spend a while meandering the town’s little alleyways and squares. Breathe the sea air and feel your heart find a slower, more peaceful rhythm.

Or hike to the nearby Santuario Basilica di Montallegro and get it beating. A steep 4-kilometre (2.5-mile) mule path brings you to it, wrapped in a shroud of dense Mediterranean greenery. Of course, for a more scenic route, there is a cable car station in Rapallo’s centre which will also take you there. Why not take the car up and walk back down?

The view out from the Basilica lets you take in the bustling town below you as it spreads its arms wide to the sea. The midday sun dazzles. The setting sun bathes all in orange. The moon opens a golden pathway on the waves to who knows where.