Summer events in Cinque Terre and La Spezia are pretty unique and symbolic of the local folklore and traditions.
July
July starts the season of summer festivals with the patron of Lerici, Sant’Erasmo. It celebrates the 10th of august with a small fair, a religious procession, and fireworks on the beach.
Another great event in July is the Festa del Mare, in Levanto. It celebrates St. James with religious processions, medieval events around the village, fireworks, and 10.000 lights floating on the sea’s surface.
To sum up:
- 10th – Festival of Sant’Erasmo, Lerici
- 24th/ 25th – Festa del Mare, Levanto
Summer events in Cinque Terre: August
The most important summer event in La Spezia is certainly the Palio del Golfo. It is a historical rowing competition, started in 1925, between 13 teams, one for each village of the Gulf. Initially, it was contested using fishing boats, but nowadays every boat is handmade by craftsmen following precise rules for a specific design, based on agility, speed, and ergonomy.
The celebration is on the first Sunday of August, followed by overnight fireworks on the harbor.
The night of San Lorenzo, on the 10th of august, celebrates the patron of Manarola, in Cinque Terre. This event includes a religious procession from the main church to the sea, but also a small fair and fireworks on the sea.
The most charming and fascinating summer event is instead the Madonna Bianca, in Porto Venere. The entire village is covered with candles and lights and a religious procession celebrates the virgin mary. This event is very special and beautiful also by boats, luckily ferryboats take people to Porto Venere from La Spezia.
Another major summer event in Porto Venere is “Minaccia bel tempo”. A pyrotechnic performance is set up in the harbor and you can see lights reflected in the water.
To sum up:
- 1st Sunday – Palio del Golfo, La Spezia harbor
- 10th – S. Lorenzo Manarola
- 17th – Madonna Bianca, Porto Venere
- last weekend – Minaccia Bel Tempo, Porto Venere
2021 Infos:
Due to covid-19 some of the events could be suspended all the updates will be posted here:
- coming soon