La Spezia
The city of the Poets' Gulf
The territory of La Spezia was already inhabited in prehistoric times, as evidenced by the numerous statues of stelae and the finds of the Bronze Age and iron found on various occasions on the heights of the Gulf and adjacent valleys. Later, in historical times, the territory saw the allocation of the Ligurian populations, subjugated in 155 BC. from the Roman consul Marco Claudio Marcello. The origins of La Spezia are linked to the Roman colonization and are intertwined with the events of Luni, the center without doubt more important than the whole area throughout the classical era. Between the XIII and XIV centuries the city had a rather sustained development and in 1343 the Podesteria of La Spezia was born at the behest of the Genoese doge Simone Boccanegra. La Spezia thus began to establish itself as the main center of the Gulf, so that on 8 June 1371 Carpena and La Spezia decided to unify into a single entity, requiring the doge Domenico Fregoso to incorporate the Podesteria of Carpena in that of La Spezia. In the same year it became the seat of the Vicariate of the Eastern Riviera (one of the three in which the Genoese Republic was divided). At the beginning of the nineteenth century the shores of the Gulf began to be a destination for educated travelers, artists, painters, musicians and poets, attracted by the mild climate and the beauties of the landscape. You could travel 15 km (from Marola to Lerici) on the sea without ever leaving the sandy beach.Between 1862 and 1869 the construction of what will be the largest military arsenal will change the vocation of the city from tourism to industry. At the end of the twentieth century, after a long period of crisis in the industrial model, the city began to develop activities related to tourism.
City museums
CAMeC Center of Modern and Contemporary Art was founded with the intention of preserving, exhibiting and enhancing the civic collections of contemporary art, as well as creating critical exhibitions and exhibitions dedicated to authors and movements of the twentieth century, along with events, performances, concerts. Among the permanent collections of contemporary art has particular significance the selection of works related to the Gulf Award, conceived in 1933 as a review-competition by Marinetti and Fillia, restored for the first time from 1949 to 1965 and then, again, in 2000 with biennial cadence. Piazza Cesare Battisti 1 Tel. 0187-734593 Open: from Tuesday to Sunday 11 am-6pm Closing: Monday (except Easter Monday), January 1st, December 25th, August 15th
http://camec.museilaspezia.it/
Naval technical museum with naval models and navigational instruments, testify to the maritime heritage of the city. Viale Amendola 1 Tel. 0187-784763 Opening: 8: 30-19: 30 Closing: 1 January, 15 August and 25 December
http://www.marina.difesa.it/storiacultura/ufficiostorico/musei/museotecnav/Pagine/default.aspx
Castle of San Giorgio, in the hills, houses an archaeological museum with finds from prehistory to the Middle Ages. Via XXIV marzo Tel. 0187-751142 Winter opening: Monday 9: 30-12: 30; Wed - Sun 9:30 am - 12:30 pm and 2 - 5 pm Summer opening: Monday 10:30 am - 1:30 pm; Wed-Sun 10:30 am - 4:30 pm Closed: Monday afternoon, Tuesday, January 1st, December 24th and 25th
http://museodelcastello.spezianet.it/
Amedeo Lia Civic Museum houses paintings, bronze sculptures and illuminated miniatures in a former convent.
Via del Prione 234 Tel. 0187-731100 Opening: from Tuesday to Sunday: 10 am - 6 pm The ticket office closes at 5.30 pm Closing: Monday (except Easter Monday), January 1, August 15, December 25
Giovanni Podenzana Ethnographic Civic Museum with utensils, furnishings and objects of popular cult is housed in a former oratory of the '400. Via Prione 156 Opening: Thursday 10-12: 30; Fri - Sun 10-12: 30am and 4pm - 7pm Tuesday and Wednesday only upon reservation of the schools. Closed: Monday
Museo Del Sigillo exhibits thousands of seals, from the 4th century BC to date, in a neo-Gothic building Via Prione 234 Tel. 0187-778544 Opening: Wednesday and Thursday 15-18; Fri - Sun 10 am-6pm Closing: Monday and Tuesday
Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art The museum traces the history of the local diocese, offering visitors a journey on the works that accompanied the diocesan formation between the Gulf, the Riviera and the hinterland. Via Prione 156 Opening: Thursday 10-12: 30; Fri - Sun 10-12: 30am and 4pm - 7pm Tuesday and Wednesday only upon reservation of the schools. Closed: Monday