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Portofino – it looks and feels like a love song

Beautiful Portofino - the Port of the Dolphins. Even the trees are according to Lonely Planet, handsome in Portofino!

Portofino is an Italian fishing village and holiday resort famous for its picturesque harbour and historical association with celebrity and artistic visitors like me.  It is a comune located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera.

Text and photo by Trude Helén Hole

The town is clustered around its small and beautiful harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore. In Portofino love is in the air. 

Some history about the Port of the Dolphins 

Pliny the Elder (AD 23 – AD 79) referred to Portus Delphini (Port of the Dolphin) as on the Ligurian coast between Genoa and the Gulf of Tigullio. After 1229 it was part of the Republic of Genoa. The town’s natural harbour supported a fleet of fishing boats, but was somewhat too cramped to provide more than a temporary safe haven for the growing merchant marine of the Republic of Genoa.

In 1409 Portofino was sold to the Republic of Florence by Charles VI of France, but when the latter was ousted from Genoa the Florentines gave it back. In the 15th century it was a fief of families such as the Fieschi, Spinola, Adorno, and Doria. In 1815 it became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia and, from 1861, of the unified Kingdom of Italy.

From fishing to tourism for the rich and famous. In the late 19th century, first British, then other Northern European aristocratic tourists began to visit Portofino, which they reached by horse and cart from Santa Margherita Ligure. Aubrey Herbert and Elizabeth von Arnim were amongst the more famous English people to make the area fashionable.

Eventually more expatriates built expensive vacation houses, and by 1950 tourism had supplanted fishing as the town’s chief industry, and the waterfront was a continuous ring of restaurants and cafés.

Love is in the air – always

Even the trees are according to Lonely Planet, handsome in Portofino. This small, but perfectly coiffured coastal village that sits on its own peninsula, seemingly upping the exclusivity factor by mere geography. Hotels here are hushed and headily priced, but a drink by Portofino’s yacht-filled harbour or a stroll around its designer shops and lovely surroundings, can be easily enjoyed on a day trip from Genoa.

Portofino became famous in the 1950s with the song “Love In Portofino” which was written by Leo Chiosso and composed by Fred Buscaglione, and released on 12 May 1958. Fred Buscaglione was also the first singer to perform it.

And I must admit, Portofino with all it´s beauty and charm, booth looks and feels like a love song – so this is the place to go with someone you love. And drink wine, not water – because water is very expensive.

And a day in Portofino is all you need

So why don´t you check out SeaDream Yacht Club? SeaDream Yacht Club offers you a casual and personalized luxury unlike any other cruise vacation. This is also probably the best way to explore the beautiful Italian coastline. You will find my articles about SeaDream Yacht Club right here.

Nothing is better than visiting amazing places and then retreat to a fantastic yacht in the afternoon to relive the experience with a glass of bubbles in the whirlpool together with happy friends, before switching to dinner. At the picture below, I am with my friend Kelly from the USA, just after visiting Portofino and having a dip in the yacht’s swimming pool. I Simply Love to Live it!

But again, to Portofino and a trip with SeaDream Yacht Club is something you do with the one you love. Just saying! 

For more adventures and traveltips – click here.

For more articles in English – click here.

Trude Helén Hole

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Art of Living – travel & adventure, wining & dining, literature & art – Trude Helén Hole

Text and photo; Trude Helén Hole

This article was written by Trude Helén Hole, who is an author, journalist, sommelier and business owner. Hole owns and runs the media agency New Spirit Communication with a focus on marketing travel and experiences, as well as digital storytelling and content production. Hole, who is also a speaker, collaborates with both Norwegian and international destinations and travel-related brands. You will find references here and more travel articles right here.

If you want to cooperate – contact me here.

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Yours sincerely Trude Helén Hole
Norwegian author, journalist, sommelier, lecturer & artist

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My latest posts – please enjoy

Trude Helén Hole

Live your life through joy, generosity and love – then the world becomes a better place to be for all of us. 

Shortly about me/this blog – I am an author, journalist, artist, sommelier and traveller that have experienced a lot of beautiful places all over our amazing world. I have written articles for several magazines for more than three decades, and have written over 30 books, including more than 20 on the subject of wine. You can read my travel tips here – and my books can be found on Amazon, among other places.

If you want to cooperate, please feel free to contact me at: truhole@hotmail.no

Follow this link to my media agency; New Spirit Communication

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