Introduction to Rapallo, Italy

RAPALLO is a highly developed resort town – three times bigger than Santa Margherita – with an expanse of glass-fronted restaurants and plush hotels crowding around a south-facing bay. In the early part of the twentieth century it was a backwater, and writers in particular came for the bay's extraordinary beauty, of which you now get an inkling only early in the morning or at dusk. Max Beerbohm lived in Rapallo for the second half of his life, and attracted a literary circle to the town; Ezra Pound wrote the first thirty of his Cantos here between 1925 and 1930, D.H. Lawrence stayed for a while and Hemingway also dropped by (but came away muttering that the sea was flat and boring). The resort's striking landmarks are the large marina and the castle, now converted into an exhibition space, stuck out at the end of a small causeway. Unlike most of the Tigullio resorts, Rapallo does have an existence independent of its tourist trade, particularly around the old town, a grid of cobbled streets behind the stone Saline Gate: this is the commercial centre and venue for the Tuesday fish and vegetable market, while the busy Thursday market at Piazza Cile to the northwest of the centre beneath the train tracks is a good place to buy cheap clothing.

The tourist office is at Via Armanda Diaz 9 (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–6.30pm, Sun 9.30am–12.30pm; tel 0185.230.346), and can provide details of diving outfits in the town and places to rent boats. The hotels are headed by the lavish Excelsior Palace, Via San Michele di Pagana 8 (tel 0185.230.666, fax 0185.230.214, www.thi.it; over €200). Cheaper are the welcoming Stella, Via Aurelia Ponente 6 (tel 0185.50.367, fax 0185.272.837, www.hotelstella-riviera.com; €65–80), and Riviera, nearby at Piazza IV Novembre 2 (tel 0185.50.248, fax 0185.65.668, www.tigullio.net/hotelriviera; €80–105); both are converted villas a block in from the sea, the former with parking and some discount shared-bath rooms. Best bargain is the Bandoni, in a fine old palazzo within sight and smell of the sea at Via Marsala 24 (tel 0185.50.423, fax 0185.57.206; €50–65); its modest rooms are tastefully furnished and the management are flexible about full pension. The Rapallo campsite is at Via San Lazzaro 4 (tel 0185.262.018; June–Sept).

Many restaurants in Rapallo and along the Tigullio coast serve the local speciality bagnun, a dish based on anchovies, tomato, garlic, onion and white wine. You'll find good trattorias in the alleys behind the mediocre seafront restaurants: Da Mario, Piazza Garibaldi 23 (closed Wed), is moderately priced, with tables outside under medieval porticoes. O Bansin, Via Venezia 105 (closes 9.30pm & closed Sun), is an affordable old town restaurant. Zi Teresa, opposite the train station at Corso Italia 33 (closed Wed), has a good mixed menu of pizzas, pasta and more expensive fish dishes. Nin Hao, a pleasant Chinese with its own garden at Piazza Molfino 4 (open daily), has good-value set menus, from as little as €8 for lunch. For just a drink or a snack, try the pubby Taverna Paradiso down a side alley off Via Mazzini 73 (evenings only), the delightful Il Castello winebar at Lungomare Castello 6, with its waterfront terrace, or the Gallo Nero at Via Magenta 10.

Information by Rough Guides

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