Lido di Lerici: The Beach Below a Castle Pisa and Genoa Fought Over Twice

Italy | Liguria | La Spezia | Gulf of Poets

Pisa built the first fortifications on the promontory above Lido di Lerici starting in 1152, and by 1241, after winning the Battle of Giglio, Pisan forces had properly fortified both the castle and the village below it. Genoa took the castle back in 1256, only to lose it again for decades of political chaos, before finally regaining permanent control in 1479 and completing the fortress into the polygonal shape still visible today. A medieval inscription, since lost but recorded by later chroniclers, once stood near the walled village’s entrance, a mocking Pisan taunt aimed squarely at their rivals: shut the Genoese mouth, break the Portovenere man’s heart, steal the purse from the man of Lucca. I found something genuinely satisfying about a centuries-old insult surviving in written record long after the empire that coined it had lost the ground it was standing on.

Lido di Lerici stretches out beneath that same castle today, a wide crescent of golden sand that trades the fortress’s old military tension for something considerably more relaxed, umbrella pines rustling behind rows of sunbeds rather than soldiers.

Soft Golden Sand, a Rarity on This Rocky Coast

Where most of the beaches I’ve visited on this stretch of Liguria run heavy on pebbles and gravel, Lido di Lerici offers genuinely fine, soft golden sand, comfortable enough for barefoot walking the entire length of the beach. A stone pier and natural rocky outcrops flank the sandy zone, giving swimmers who want deeper water or a warm flat rock to sunbathe on a real alternative to the main stretch. I found the water exceptionally clear, the Gulf of Poets’ natural shelter keeping conditions calm and pool-like, aquamarine near shore deepening into sapphire further out, and snorkeling along the rocky boundaries turned up genuinely active schools of sea bream among the underwater reefs.

A Beach Club Built for a Full, Unhurried Day

Rows of aligned sunbeds and wide umbrellas rent by the day or week, and classic wooden changing huts give visitors a proper home base rather than a shared cabin. I found the shaded pinewood forest at the rear of the beach genuinely useful during the hottest part of the afternoon, a real escape from direct sun that many organized lidos on this coast don’t offer. Lifeguards watch the designated swimming zones from elevated chairs throughout the season, and I’d call this one of the more genuinely reassuring beaches on this coast for families given both that supervision and the beach’s shallow, gradual entry. Given how thoroughly managed this lido is, dogs would almost certainly need explicit permission to access the beach itself, consistent with staffed Italian beach clubs generally.

A Fortress Now Home to Fossils Rather Than Soldiers

The castle above the lido, having spent centuries as a military stronghold and occasional prison, now houses a paleontology museum, and I found the shift in purpose almost comic once I’d learned the building’s actual history, walls raised to withstand cannon fire in the sixteenth century now displaying fossils to summer visitors instead. Every July, the town celebrates its patron, Sant’Erasmo, with a festival running through lights, a fair, and fireworks that draw the whole community down toward this same stretch of coast.

Getting There and Settling In

Lido di Lerici sits directly on the town’s seafront, reachable by exiting the A12 or A15 at La Spezia or Sarzana and following signposted regional roads toward Lerici, with paid parking areas a short flat walk or shuttle ride from the beach when the historic center itself proves too competitive; ATC bus lines L or S run frequently from La Spezia Centrale station directly to a stop beside the beach club entrance, and the fully pedestrianized coastal promenade connecting Lerici to San Terenzo offers a genuinely scenic walking approach for anyone based nearby. Both Beach Fiascherino 2 Lerici and San Terenzo Beach Lerici sit within easy reach for a longer day exploring this stretch of the gulf, each carrying its own distinct layer of the area’s literary and historical weight.

Standing Beneath a Fortress That Outlasted Its Own Wars

By the time I packed up on my last evening, the castle above had caught the last warm light, and I thought about how strange it is that a structure built specifically to control who entered this bay now simply watches over an ordinary beach club evening, umbrellas folding closed, the centuries-old rivalry that once defined this coastline having long since settled into nothing louder than the sound of the tide.