Our craving for the sea: A day at Voltri.. Liguria region, Italy

content:
photos:
Vote this travel review

When you decide to escape the big city for a day at sea, you would have the teleport and land on the beach with the speed of thought. If you're coming from Milan and its surroundings, the fastest way to achieve this is to go to Voltri. Gallery after gallery is located in the village goes directly to the west of Genoa, once inhabited by tribes of Ligurian Veituri, hence the name. Voltri, which gave birth to the likes of Goffredo Mameli and seventeenth-century painter Orazio De Ferrari, the city became a Royal Decree in 1903 and is since 1926 part of Genoa.
And 'enough about an hour and a half drive for us to walk on the promenade, looking like white gulls and cormorants majestic oversee the rocks waiting for the fish a sweet tooth. The walk has panoramic Voltri: with good weather, the view sweeps along the coast to Cape Noli and beyond, making clear to the naked eye that Voltri is the far North Western Mediterranean Sea.
After a ride on the waterfront, we head towards the old town where we visit the Church of St. Nicholas and Erasmus, built in the seventeenth century on the site of a thirteenth-century chapel. The warm colors of its bell tower, in keeping with the houses around tipicamnete Liguria, are very similar to those of the bell tower of the nearby Church of St. Ambrose. That area there was a chapel, is matter of record since the fourth century. The church was then rebuilt and enlarged several times, as reported in a fresco in commemoration of 1266.
Walking in the alleyways of the village, discover the beautiful Villa Brignole Sale Duchess of Galliera. Its park, which extends over thirty-two acres, is a wonderful oasis that attracts many visitors throughout the year. As well as beautiful garden plants, the main attraction of the park is the deer: back in their pen is always easy to see groups of curious children.
Nearby we visit the Convent of San Francesco, now abandoned, and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace, also dedicated to St. Nicholas, at the top of the hill, probably built in 343.
Moving westward, we reach Cerusa Village, the area of ??the ancient western gate of the country, now dominated by the oldest coat of arms of the city, and visit the Church of Santa Limbania, original home of the thirteenth century and the Brotherhood of Turchini. A few steps from here are still several paper mills, which flourished in Voltri industry since the Middle Ages. It is said that once the Queen of England should sign all his official documents on the excellent paper produced at Voltri.
To crown this beautiful day with the pleasures of good food, do not resist the call of the cartel Please Matta Restaurant, located a stone's throw from the Church of Santa Limbania, Via Cerusa.
We settle in the room where the colors in full sun Ligurian style bring us joy, as well as photos of fish and other artistic works of modern art on the walls. Chatting with the young owners, the chef David and Katia that welcomes us in the room, we discover that this is the restaurant located further north of the Western Mediterranean Sea. "We opened four years ago. Where today is the restaurant at the time was one of the oldest furnaces Voltri ", tell us. In addition to the exquisite proposals to the paper, there are different menus that can suit every palate, including the surprise tasting menus, one for children, and the menu "The highest expression of the poor fish." "We want to exploit the poor fish, delicious, fresh, never farmed and little known," explains David.
We begin, of course, with delicious layers of poor fish jade, with the chips to the olives. Also sample an antipasto misto "Raw copyright", with a dozen small portions, in addition to our pure fish with pistachio mousse and mortadella and Cappon slender fish of the tradition. We follow these rich delicious appetizers from squid ink noodles spiked with calamari, spinach and lemon-weds, the stuffed tortellini with pesto, shrimp and lobster pot of curds and Ligurian gnocchi with white fish and crispy prosciutto, dried in the oven. When choosing the second we divide between raw and cooked bonito excellent with amatriciana of vegetables, olives nasellotto split of mashed seasoned steam pork to the Mediterranean and dolphin fish. Let's water these goodness Ligurian wines, but also French and German, and we conclude with some delicious dinner gluttony: the almond blancmange, a soft lemon cake, the Sacher mille feuille with zabaglione and in the glass.
After this wonderful dinner, we are even happier that we Voltri is the point of Liguria is easy to reach, we are sure to return soon, with our usual craving!
Francesca Bertha

INFOS:
www.voltriweb.it
www.lavogliamatta.org
Ristorante La Voglia Matta
Via Cerusa, 63-65-67-69R Genova Voltri (GE)
Tel.: 010/6101889