Walk around the central vista and make your way up an incline towards the San Giorgio church, admiring views of the bay as you move along. The Armani villa, Castel San Giorgio, is just 50 metres away. The former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi rented this villa as his summer residence for more than a decade. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana bought Villa Olivetta from the original owners, the Italian family Trossi Fracassi. You may chance upon the beautiful vacation homes of Giorgio Armani or of the Italian fashion-designer duo Dolce and Gabbana. There isn’t much to do in Portofino, except wander around and admire the colourful homes, charming setting and happy bustle of the town. Portofino itself has just about 400 inhabitants. The local white wine is a great choice to round off your day in Portofino!
A crepe-like snack called Farinata is another favourite, as are mussels. The pesto is a must, for this is where it originated and the locals are very proud of it, making it with locally grown basil, cheese, local olive oil, garlic, and pine nuts. But if you want to go really local, get yourself the Focaccia al Formaggio, the local Ligurian bread and eat it topped with cheese, herbs, tomatoes, onions and pesto. When it comes to eating, you will be spoilt for choice of course! The Italian pizza and pasta cannot be missed, nor can the world-famed Gelato, available at numerous outlets, each proud of their own offering. I politely declined the friendly shop assistant’s offer to try it on and walked on to the sprawling rust-coloured Alexander McQueen store and the numerous charming boutiques offering the choicest dresses and baubles. The first boutique I walked into was – but of course Dolce & Gabana! I fell for the first dress that my eyes alighted on – a dreamy, flowy one-shoulder graceful outfit. We decided to walk around and save for later the food and wine as we gazed lazily into the beautiful Mediterranean distance, absorbing the charming Italian culture, cuisine and climate.
You can choose to browse through the fashion boutiques and enjoy Italian food and service at the trattorias before or after your walk around the town. The first sight that accosted us was of the numerous trattorias and the chic bistros overlooking the Ligurian Sea with its fishing boats and ferries alongside a couple of yatchs (that surely belonged to Hollywood celebrities) bobbing peacefully in the luxuriant waters. We would soak up all that Portofino has to offer in the limited time we had – the sun and sea, the rocky climbs, churches, and castles perched on hilltops, and the general milieu of a happy listlessness. We dropped the idea of visiting Santa Margherita Ligure or Cinque Terre, the highly recommended string of centuries-old villages further along the Italian Riviera coastline, or even of checking out the Leaning Tower at Pisa, which is just about an hour’s boat ride away. Get off at this sleepy Italian village and you are immediately engulfed by a sense of timelessness, a deep need to let go and lean in to a simple, slower pace of life. We arrived in Portofino exactly two weeks later. While the ceremony took place in a medieval castle in Portofino with a beautiful view of the gulf, the reception took place at Villa Olivetta owned by Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. No wonder this is where, as recently as on May 22, Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker chose to have their wedding - an extravagant ceremony sponsored by Dolce & Gabbana. This charming fishing village is a world-famous resort that has magically retained its untouched charm, famed not just for its stunning harbour, but also for its artistic and celebrity visitors.
The village is on the Italian Riviera, a part of Liguria, the crescent shaped region in North-West Italy. Portofino (Latin Portus Delphini=Dolphin Harbour) is the name that Romans gave this beautiful gem because of the numerous dolphins in the Ligurian Sea.
It is another matter that one visit is bound to lead to many more…Īs we stepped off our cruise ship onto ferries that took us to this picturesque Italian fishing village, we realised we had never seen such crystalline turquoise waters, such spectacular colourful houses clustered around the harbour, nor such a stunning bay as we were approaching at some speed. If you have ever wanted to indulge in la dolce vita (I cannot imagine anyone who hasn’t dreamt of a life of self-indulgence and indolence!), you must visit Portofino once in your lifetime. The classiest gem of the Italian Riviera, Portofino is a playground of the rich and famous with enchanting tales attached, and yet retains a rare, pristine charm.
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