San Pietro Church, Portovenere, Italy
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A word nerd's heaven
The tip of the triangular peninsula that's home to Porto Venere points us to the open Ligurian Sea. Round this cape capped by the Church of St. Peter and you'll find yourself in the cozy Gulf of La Spezia, known as the Gulf of Poets for the wordsmiths its teal-tinted waters have enchanted. Literary figures who've written of or lived in La Spezia include Petrarch, Dante, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron (whose many claimed exploits include swimming across the gulf).
Drive if you dare
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