HISTORY
AND LEGENDS
The Old Harbor of the Gods
The very famous anthropologist Paolo Mantegazza stayed here at length
and thereafter decided to live out the rest of his years in San Terenzo.
He died in San Terenzo in 1910 and used these words to describe the
area.
The town rests on a small bay which is overlooked by its picturesque
medieval castle and is completed by the magnificent park of the Maccarani
estate on the Lerici side, with its one hundred thousand pine and
oak trees extends towards the sea, offering a mysterious and fresh
shade even in the hottest hours of the day. The presence of giant
palm trees here and there in the little gardens suggest a mild climate.
The town of San Terenzo rises beneath a promontory which is called
Falconara (also known as Fenociaria centuries ago). This town is located
at the extreme western side of the Gulf of Lerici
The ancient name of the town is Portiolo, Portus Dei, but later on
took on the name of Santo Terencio, in honour of the patron saint
Terenzio, who arrived hapharzardly in the town due to a storm.
The first historic writings date back to the period in which the town
was part of the Trebiano township. It was 1224.
In medieval times the town was known as an important gathering place
which welcomed pilgrims passing through.
We can also find San Terenzo as a commercial reference at the end
of the 1400's when the Republic of Genova was purchasing bricks and
at the same time, the sand from its beaches was used to cut marble
from the Apuan Mountains
Subsequently, the mapmaker, Matteo Vinzoni, traces this town from
the 1700's as a place gathered almost entirely between the Castle,
the current day Via Trogu and Piazza Drento.
Between 1809 and 1819, San Terenzo was the town headquarters during
the Napoleonic era.
The
Land loved by Shelley
The town, situated on the coastline between two blue crystal clear
bays known as Venere Azzurra and Baia Blu, had already sparked the
attention of the romantic English writers back at the beginning
of the 1800's for the intense blue color of its waters and its pink
colored sand. Percy Bysshe Shelley would vacation there with his
wife Mary and right in this village, unforgettable pages of English
literature were born.
Shelley and his wife Mary stayed with another couple in Villa Magni,
a white house located along the coastline, which at the time, was
quite isolated from the rest of town. Shelley left San Terenzo onboard
the "Ariel" from which he was shipwrecked. People say
that the spirit of this romantic English poet still lives on between
the inlets and the rocky points of Marinella, which have maintained
their charm and bewitched this English poet. After many years, a
Swiss painter named Arnold Bocklin captured the emotions conveyed
by the coastline, the rocks, and the vegetation on his canvas. Other
beautiful works of art which depict the San Terenzo bay are exhibited
in several Russian museums and were painted by Nikolaj Nikolaevic
Ge.
"I still live in this divine bay, reading Spanish plays, sailing
and listening to the most enchanting music". So wrote Percy
Bysshe Shelley from San Terenzo in 1822.
The Cave of the Turks
Under
the rocky spur on which the castle lies is a little natural cave
which today is completely buried underneath. The waters in this
cave were once crystal-clear and the townspeople referred to this
as The Cave of the Turks ("La Tana dei Turchi".)
Legend has it that in the fifteenth century, the Turks came to prey
on the gulf and that, despite the existence of the castle, they
nevertheless attempted the assault on San Terenzo.
The castle guards awaited with all their ammunition ready; they
let the enemy get within their firing range and when the Turks were
ready to disembark from their boats in the middle of the night,
the castle guards covered them in a tempest of iron and fire.
The sails began to burn while the savage cries of the Turks persisted.
Such an energetic welcome convinced the Turks that they should make
a hasty retreat but a few boats had already reached the shore.
The pirates attempted to rob and plunder the townspeople in any
case chasing them towards the castle, but were pushed back by the
soldiers who defended the castle.
The Turks who did not want to be captured as prisoners or perish
under fire tried to escape towards the sea, in an effort to swim
towards their boats, but the valiant defenders continued to chase
them.
So the Saracens sought refuge under the rocky spur of the castle
in a hidden corner to be safe from the crossbows, and so eight of
them hid in the cave.
Their efforts were to no avail however since the soldiers found
them and killed them, leaving their skeletons on the bottom of the
cave, not buried since they were unfaithful…
... and there they still remain!
Tribute to San Terenzo Andrew
Lang (1844-1912)
Mid
April seemed like some November day,
When through the glassy waters, dull as lead,
Our boat, like shadowy barques that bear the dead,
Slipped down the long shores of the Spezian bay,
Rounded a point, and San Terenzo lay
Before us, that gay village, yellow and red,
The roof that covered Shelley's homeless head,
His house, a place deserted, bleak and gray.
The waves broke on the doorstep; fishermen
Cast their long nets, and drew, and cast again.
Deep in the ilex woods we wandered free,
When suddenly the forest glades were stirred
With waving pinions, and a great sea bird
Flew forth, like Shelley's spirit, to the sea!
|
|
