Bagni U Nustromu, San Lorenzo al Mare: The Smallest Town in Liguria, Shaped Like an Anchor

Italy | San Lorenzo al Mare | Imperia, Liguria

Looked at from above, San Lorenzo al Mare is shaped like an anchor — a hillside part and a coastal part, connected by the narrow strip of land where the Rio San Lorenzo empties into the sea. The two halves were genuinely rival villages for most of their history, only formally unified in 1797 when the Genoese Republic fell, with a bridge built to connect them physically in 1831 and the single combined name adopted only in 1862. The town is the smallest municipality in Liguria by area, 1.3 square kilometres, and roughly 1,400 people live here year-round.

That modest scale hasn’t stopped the place from carrying real history. In 1284, sixty-two sailors from San Lorenzo al Mare sailed out on a galley to fight alongside the Republic of Genoa in the Battle of Meloria against Pisa — one of the decisive naval engagements of medieval Italy, the outcome of which effectively ended Pisan power in the western Mediterranean. The contribution from a town this size reads as a significant commitment, and I find something worth noting in the fact that this small anchor-shaped village sent that many men to sea for a battle of that consequence.

The church on the seafront, Santa Maria Maddalena, carries its own legend: the saint is said to have been fleeing the Holy Land by raft, heading for Marseille, when she took shelter on a rock just off this beach. The church was founded in her honour, its origins probably dating to the 13th or 14th century, though the current building reflects several later modifications and a late-Baroque interior. It sits close enough to the sea that salt damage to the plasterwork and bell tower is an ongoing maintenance concern rather than a distant one.

Bagni U Nustromu sits at the mouth of the Rio San Lorenzo, the name meaning roughly “Our Boatswain” in the local maritime dialect — an affectionate title for a beach establishment, and one that fits the seafaring character of this small town.

Getting There: About 5 Kilometres West of Imperia, Where the Cycling Path Begins

I drove the A10 motorway and exited at Imperia Ovest, then followed the Via Aurelia coastal road about five kilometres west to San Lorenzo al Mare — the beach sits at the mouth of the river, easily signposted once inside the village. From Genoa, the full drive takes around an hour and a half.

By train, regional services run along the Ligurian coast, with Diano Marina the nearest station, roughly ten minutes by taxi or a short walk from the beach. The most pleasant approach, if the weather cooperates, is the 24-kilometre Riviera dei Fiori coastal cycling path that starts here and runs east toward Ospedaletti along the old converted railway line. Bassamarea Beach San Bartolomeo al Mare Italy sits about 14 kilometres east along that same path, and Spiaggia Tre Ponti Sanremo Italy lies a further stretch beyond it toward Sanremo — both covered elsewhere in this series, and both easy additions to a day on the bike rather than separate trips by car.

The Beach: Sand and Pebble, Gradual Entry, a Restaurant Right on the Water

The beach at Bagni U Nustromu mixes fine sand with rounded pebbles, the seabed sloping gently enough that I’d recommend it without hesitation for families with younger children. Sunbeds and umbrellas are available to rent alongside free areas, and the restaurant U Nustromu serves Ligurian specialities directly overlooking the water — pasta with vongole came up consistently enough to be worth ordering specifically.

Showers, changing cabins, and restrooms cover the practical side, and the beach is wheelchair accessible, with staff available to assist visitors with mobility needs into the water if needed. Kayaks and pedal boats are available to rent for anyone wanting to explore the calmer water around the harbour mouth rather than staying close to shore.

San Lorenzo Beyond the Beach

The historic centre of San Lorenzo al Mare is worth the short walk up from the seafront — Via Roma, the main pedestrian street, is lined with characteristic covered passages called caruggi, typical of Ligurian villages, leading between small restaurants, bars, and local shops. The central square, Piazza Garibaldi, is where the town’s social life actually happens rather than on the seafront, and the view back down toward the sea from there, with the Santa Maria Maddalena church and the harbour below, is one of the better angles on the whole town’s compact geometry.

About ten minutes’ drive inland, the village of Cipressa holds Villa Biener, an open-air museum built by a Hungarian collector and her artist partner around their private villa, the gardens filled with installations and colourful ceramic and mosaic works by young international artists — a genuinely unusual stop that I’d recommend alongside rather than instead of the beach.

Bagni U Nustromu, at Via al Mare 3 in San Lorenzo al Mare, sits in the smallest municipality in Liguria by area, a 12th-century town shaped like an anchor from above, whose sailors fought for Genoa at the Battle of Meloria in 1284. The seafront Church of Santa Maria Maddalena carries a legend about the saint sheltering here on her raft voyage from the Holy Land. The beach is sand and pebble, gradual entry, with a restaurant on the water serving solid Ligurian seafood and the 24-kilometre coastal cycling path starting here and running east toward Bassamarea Beach San Bartolomeo al Mare Italy and on to Spiaggia Tre Ponti Sanremo Italy beyond. Five kilometres from Imperia, an hour and a half from Genoa.

Take the A10 to Imperia Ovest and follow the Via Aurelia west, or arrive by train. Cycle the coastal path if you’re covering this stretch from Sanremo or Imperia. Walk the caruggi of Via Roma before or after the swim, and order the pasta with vongole.