The beautiful, rocky coastline of Liguria – also known as the Italian Riviera – stretches from the French border in the east to Tuscany in the west, taking in fishing villages, famous resort towns and the historic city of Genoa. The maritime Alps separate Liguria from the northern Italian provinces of Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna, creating a narrow strip of land between mountains and sea. Olive trees stretch as far as the eye can see, and tiny ancient villages perch precariously on mountainsides.
The western stretch of the Ligurian coast (the Riviera di Ponente) is famous for its production of flowers; greenhouses sheltering all kinds of plants and fields of vegetables dot the landscape. Continuing on past the port town of Genoa, the eastern half of this province – the Riviera di Levante – is characterised by its turquoise coves and dramatic cliffs. This stretch is home to the stunning Cinque Terre, a cluster of five tiny, pastel-coloured villages that are unreachable by car and now form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The numbers visiting this beauty spot have grown so large in recent years – 2.5 million in 2015 – that this year a ticketing system has been introduced to severely restrict numbers.
The unique landscape of this region creates a warm microclimate that supports ingredients more typical of southern Italian climes. In Liguria, as in the south of Italy, produce such as garlic, citrus fruits, tomatoes, artichokes, pine nuts and basil grow abundantly and form the base of many dishes. Unlike other northern Italian cuisines, olive oil (not lard or butter) is the primary cooking fat and the highly regarded olive oil of the area, olio di oliva della Riviera Ligure is PDO protected.
The region is home to its own breed of artichokes, carciofo spinoso di Albenga – which are native to the Mediterranean basin and star in many of the local dishes. With a spiky exterior and soft, tender hearts, they are often eaten raw – shaved into salads and seasoned with Parmesan.
