Piazzetta di Portofino (Piazza Martiri dell'Olivetta)

Piazza Martiri dell'Olivetta, known simply as the Piazzetta, is Portofino's small seafront square. Tall, colour-washed houses frame three sides; the fourth opens onto the harbour, with the castle's green shoulder above. The square's scale brings the village's waterfront architecture and sheltered cove into a single view.

Why it matters

The Piazzetta functions as the village's central public space, linking the harbour with the lanes leading into the borgo and up the promontory. In 1889 Guy de Maupassant anchored in the bay aboard his yacht Bel Ami and admired the vivid colours of the houses reflected in the clear water. The official name, Piazza Martiri dell'Olivetta, sits alongside the familiar local name used for the square.

What to notice

The façades rise directly from the quay in the tall Ligurian manner, their colours reflected in the harbour when the water is still. Above the roofs, the castle terrace and its pines close the view from the headland. The inner harbour preserves a working maritime presence among the boats, while the surrounding lanes connect the square with San Martino, San Giorgio and the peninsula monuments.

Context and history

Portofino developed as a fishing village around a deep cove, and the Piazzetta occupies the cove's landward edge. English visitors began discovering the bay in the late nineteenth century, when yachts also became a familiar presence in the harbour. The square remains a protected part of the historic borgo, where the coloured waterfront houses, harbour and wooded promontory define the character of the village.