A vision of heaven on earth awaits those who discover the Italian Riveria. Along the north west coast of Italy lie aqua marine bays, elegant villas and picture postcard towns.
In Portofino the pristine waters were so translucent that it seemed as if the boats were floating on air.
From the stately villas dotted around the shoreline, yellow, white, cream and russet brown houses receded up the hillside in a symphony of colour.
The green landscaped terraces created a play of geometric steps and angles, composing the exquisite, horse-shoe shaped inlet that was Portofino.
Pip was on his best behaviour as there were several signs about dogs.
Some of the most stately villas had castellated medieval walls and turrets and were guarded by working dogs.
They were told the two villas with the most commanding positions belonged to the world famous designers, Gabana and Dolce.
Pip tried to look his best, in the hope of being noticed. Sailor Boy looked hard but couldn’t see either of the well-dressed fellows.
They spent a pleasant day walking the hillsides and narrow streets. In the town, they were surprised to discover, that much like an attractive woman, some of the beauty had been applied with paint. To portray an image of well-proportioned houses, ‘windows’ had been carefully painted onto the walls of some buildings creating a realistic effect called “trompe d’oeil”. It was very deceptive.
Pip was thrilled to find plaques recognising writers who had stayed in the town. Guy de Maupassant who was a master of short story writing, frequently sailed his yacht “Belle Ami” around that coast calling in at Portofino.
The great early Renaissance writer Petrarch had also visited, traveling by donkey. Petrarch is sometimes referred to as the world’s first tourist, as he was the first to climb a mountain in southern France for the pure enjoyment of the experience.
Pip thought, that in his travels, Petrarch would have dreamed of exquisite beauty and unrequited love, because he was famous for his love sonnets, even inventing his own poetic structure.
A jewel in the crown of the Italian Riveria, Portofino was certainly the place to do it.
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