Tellaro is a small fishing village, perched on a cliff on the east coast of the

Gulf of La Spezia The Gulf of La Spezia (Italian: ''Golfo della Spezia'' or ''Golfo dei poeti'') is a body of water on the north-western coast of Italy and part of the northern Tyrrhenian Sea, specifically of Ligurian Sea. It measures some 4.5 (length) by 3-3.5 (wi ...

in Liguria, northern Italy. It is a '' frazione'' of the '' comune'' (municipality) of

Lerici Lerici ( lij, Lerxi, locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of La Spezia in Liguria (northern Italy), part of the Italian Riviera. It is situated on the coast of the Gulf of La Spezia, southeast of La Spezia. It is known as the place ...

. It has been rated as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy Tellaro has been the destination for many Italian and foreign artists.

Mario Soldati Mario Soldati (17 November 1906 – 19 June 1999) was an cinema of Italy, Italian writer and film director. In 1954 he won the Strega Prize for ''Lettere da Capri.'' He directed several works adapted from novels, and worked with leading Ital ...

made it his home in the last years of his life. Tellaro is one of the seaside villages that annually participate in the

Palio del Golfo Palio is the name given in Italy to an annual athletic contest, very often of a historical character, pitting the neighbourhoods of a town or the hamlets of a ''comune'' against each other. Typically, they are fought in costume and commemorate som ...

, an annual boat race held in the gulf of La Spezia.

History

*1152: Tellora and Lerici are part of the Republic of Genoa.

Culture

Among the festivals of particular interest is the underwater Christmas celebrating the birth of Jesus on Christmas night. Every year the statue of the baby Jesus emerges from the water carried by a group of divers and placed in the manger, in a setting of over 8,000 candles and celebrated by fireworks over the sea. The patron saint of Tellaro is St. George, which is celebrated on the 23rd of April. The "Festival of the Octopus", which takes place every year on the second Sunday in August, organized by the Unione Sportiva active in the Ligurian village. There are many legends about Tellaro. The most famous tells the story an attack by Saracen pirates in the Middle Ages. The village was saved by a giant octopus that warned the population by climbing up the church tower and ringing the bells.

Popular Culture

The 2021 animated film Luca was primarily based on the nearby Cinque Terre towns, however the Pixar animation team visited Tellaro in addition and drew inspiration from it for the film.

Notes and references

{{Authority control Frazioni of the Province of La Spezia Italian Riviera