Parco Naturale Regionale di Porto Venere

The Porto Venere Regional Natural Park wraps the borgo, its headland and the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto into a protected landscape of roughly 400 hectares, established in its present form by Liguria in 2001. The park includes trails, historic monuments and a protected marine area.

Why it matters

The park covers about 400 hectares of environmental, historical and cultural significance: the ancient borgo of Porto Venere, the coastal strip towards Valle dell’Albana and the archipelago’s three islands, with Natura 2000 sites covering Isola Palmaria and the Tino-Tinetto group. UNESCO recognition arrived in 1997, when the World Heritage List took in Porto Venere, Cinque Terre and the Islands under criteria (ii), (iv) and (v); the park's territory forms part of that inscription. The park manages paths, interprets the area's historic sites and protects its Mediterranean environment.

What to notice

The park's layered geography includes headland paths above the borgo and Palmaria's ring route, which crosses holm-oak woods and disused portoro quarries. Its network includes designated trails and a rock-climbing sector. The protected marine area and the cliff vegetation are also part of its ecological character. The park also supports environmental education programmes.

Context and history

The present park was established by Liguria’s Regional Law 30 of 3 September 2001, following earlier protected-area arrangements. Its territory includes a borgo shaped by Genoese rule, islands reused by the military, and a sea corridor shared with the naval activity of the Gulf of La Spezia. The 1997 UNESCO inscription of Porto Venere, Cinque Terre and the Islands added an international layer, recognising the centuries-long interaction between communities and a difficult, isolated environment — terraces, compact settlements and defensive works included. The park's managing body coordinates conservation, trail maintenance, environmental education and the marine protected area.