There’s nothing like having a guest to get you out and about. Portofino is generally not on our list of go-to places (think Disneyland Makes an Italian Fishing Village), but it is on the list of pretty much everyone who comes to visit. And in fact, it is well worth visiting because, touristy as it is, it still looks like a charming little fishing village.
Guest and I wanted particularly to take the ferry from Rapallo to Portofino, because it is such a pretty way to see that stretch of coast. But the weather has been cruel the past two weeks; as soon as the rain stops, which has been infrequently, the wind picks up and the ferry suspends operations. Finally, in desperation, we gave up the ferry notion and just drove the scooters out – which is also a pleasure because the coast road is deliciously windy, and is one of the most famous short stretches of road in Italy. And we learned something worth knowing. The reason it always looks like Portofino is sunnier and warmer than our hillside home is because it is!
If you haven’t been to Portofino in as a long a time as it’s been for me, you too might be surprised to see the several amusing additions to the sculpture garden above the port. I’m not quite sure what they mean, but they are very funny.
Why a rhino? Beats me. And why is he hanging from straps? Maybe he just dropped in? Or… well, I was going to suggest something slightly off-color, so excuse me if I don’t finish that sentence.
Meerkats. Not only is this mob much larger than life, they are also, obviously, much pinker, and very, very far from their usual home.
Having pooh-poohed Portofino for years as nothing more than a tourist trap I got my comeuppance on this recent visit. Turns out it still is a quaint little fishing village. We saw a group of four men working with ropes (couldn’t resist skipping over them, men not amused) as well as this fisherman mending his nets. He resignedly agreed to my request to take his picture and admitted that yes, it’s a request he receives pretty often. But he couldn’t have been nicer about it. He uses his mouth to stiffen the string which runs along a sort of large wooden needle. Looks like very fussy work to me, but he made nice even stitches. He said he was a native of Portofino, born and raised. When he was a lad the town had a full time population of about 1,200. Now it is somewhere between 300-500, the rest of the property having been purchased by ‘Milanese’ (which is northern Italian for anyone from outside who comes to your town to buy property. It is most usually used with the adjective ‘ricco.’)
I guess it’s good to get your assumptions shaken up a bit now and then… guess I’ll have to visit Portofino more often. I got to see animals way out of context, and I learned that sometimes things are what they seem.
An Ex-Expatriate 
Marco, Farfalle, Pat….anyone, can you tell me the significance of the Rhino hanging from straps??
Wish I could… but I can’t. Humor? Whimsy?
Addendum:
Portofino is great as long as you dont eat or dirnk or buy anything there … even for the Milanesi .. 40 Euros for two ice creams and a bottle of water last time I was there (2003) but if you really want to spend money .. mariuccia’s toast’s are the bestest!
You’re right, Marco – one needs to visit the bancomat before visiting Portofino. But I’ll quibble – I think the best way to spend money is to go take tea at the Splendido – it’s only about E 15/per, and you get the silver tea set, great service and an incomparable view. Unfortunately you do not get a biscuit with your tea…
Milanesi are a part of your neck of the woods just as much as pesto, Salsa di noci and focaccia … As far as Portofino .. you always have a way of making me homesick (and I say it with a smile) the best part is riding a moped or scooter all the way down from Il covo (when it was open in the 80’s it was our destination night club) to paraggi and then take the walk from paraggi to Portofino up high.. man .. those were the days.. I remember sneaking up those paths to go smoke cigarettes as a teenager (I spent most of my summers from age 5 on at Bagni Fiore) … aaah those were the days thank you thank you thank you
Marco, there’s another terrific walk to Portofino that begins above Santa in Nozarego, goes through the orchards and woods, past Acqua Viva and Acqua Morta and ends up in the cacophony that is Portofino… did you used to make that one? Il Covo is, I believe, in operation again. There’s a lot of construction there and the parking lot has been closed for two years; nonetheless, if Covo is open, people will come. I think I found one of your cigarette butts on one my walks. Oh! Have you seen the pedestrian walk that was built between the west end of Santa and Paraggi? Fantastic – gets everyone off that narrow road. Too bad it doesn’t go all the way to Porto…
growing up i used to live in Busseto which is a a street above the Ristorante La Stalla (you take a right before arriving in Nozarego). I took that road to Paraggi with my grandmother a couple of times.
In later years we would go and hang out at the end of the asphalt road in Nozarego or I would take a date to watch the sunrise over the Tigullio.. I also doubled back in my car a couple fo times to go take the dirt road that takes you by Regina Elena Hotel because a black cat had crossed my path going the normal route to Santa… right now though my fondest memory goes back to 1982 when Italy won the world cup and driving around Santa margherita screaming at the top of my lungs .. Well I wasnt driving .. my father was .. he had swiss plates and I kept screaming that i was italian not swiss (I actually am both) … I hear the weather has been quite dreary lately .. nonetheless I wish I was there
Oh my gosh – we’ve actually eaten at La Stalle a couple of times. We found them by chance on one of our first visits to the area, and they completely charmed us. We stuck our noses in the door and the staff was all having their mid-day meal. Nonetheless they motioned us over, uncorked a Proseco and made us drink with them. Needless to say we made a reservation for that very night. I’ll look for Busseto next time I’m over that way. Everyone’s talking about Italy’s 1982 victory, and of course hoping for a repeat in the days ahead. I gather there was a LOT of noise that night – glad you were part of it. Sunrise over the Tigullio sounds soooo romantic. And yes, the weather has been beyond dreary… so wait and come when the sun is shining again.
Ha ha! In France it is ‘le parisien’ who is hated for buying up property and generally poncing around France during his summer holidays upsetting everyone else. Unsurprisingly, in Spain they feel the same about ‘los madrileños’ (usually suffixed – ‘de mierda’)!
And where I lived in Connecticut it was ‘the New Yorkers.’ I guess we’re all that way no matter where we live. But here’s a question: in Tuscany (south T anyway) is it the damn Romans or the Damn foreigners??
My first awareness of Portofino came at about age 10 when watching movies taken by my father of my mother (who was acting as his secretary during his business trip for Socony Mobil Oil) as she sat typing something on a balcony there. The town appears quite the same, just as it did when Jeff and I were lucky enough to visit it several years ago. Perhaps some picture postcards should stay that way.
I wonder if your parents stayed at the Splendido? If so, lucky they! It is a lovely town, and largely unchanged – just chotched up a bit and absolutely overrun with tourists, at least ‘in season.’ Several years ago… would that be 9, by any chance?? (poke, poke, snick, snick) Doesn’t matter. Portofino looks the same. Except for the Rhino and meerkats.
I don’t understand the rhino either, but I like it anyway. It has been there for a while. I have several photos of it. Portofino is a very pretty place.
D’accordo!
In my time it was the Milanese (also at S. Margherita). We used to walk to Portofino, but only out of season! Do they still make Paciugo ice cream sundaes?? I remember that they cost a weeks salary and I only ate then when my mother-in-law treated!
Tried to send this, but got a notice that it is a duplicate comment and I have already said it!! Will try again…
In my time it was the Milanese (also at S. Margherita). We used to walk to Portofino, but only out of season! Do they still make Paciugo ice cream sundaes?? I remember that they cost a weeks salary and I only ate then when my mother-in-law treated!
Ha! The term milanese gets thrown around quite a bit from what I’ve heard in our travels. And here I thought americans, brits and other foreign investors were buying up the place?
Americans have been in short supply around here during ‘the crisis’ and the crummy dollar. In our little neck of the woods it seems to be more Milanese who can actually buy the fancy properties. I believe the Americans and Brits have completed the purchase of Tuscany though… Chianti has been renamed Chiantishire!