Tellaro: a pearl into the sea
filled by Giulia & Romeo
Tellaro is a gem that people visit Liguria can not fail to achieve. Just 3 km from Lerici, perched on a rocky that looks coming down into the sea below, is an ancient village that has retained the charm of the past.
Tellaro is very photogenic, its small size make it be all in a postcard where colorful houses are joined in an embrace around the church of St. George, erected on a rock overlooking the sea, like a ship ready to set sail.
Looking towards the open sea you can distinguish in the distance the tip of the promontory of Portovenere with the Gothic Church of St. Peter and the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto
"A nirvana between sea and sky, between the rocks and the green mountain," wrote the writer Mario Soldati. He suggested "to turn these alleys that come out to sea and then to sit in a corner between the stones of the shore." Olives, lemons and oranges are just a backdrop, as well delineated the poet Eugenio Montale in a short poem entitled Towards Tellaro, where he imagined to look it quickly from a train window: "... domes of foliage from which oozes / a polyphony of lemons and oranges / and the veil of an evanescent froth / of a powder of the sea that / no foot of man has touched or looks, but unfortunately / the train accelerates ... “ From the small square of Tellaro, continuing on foot toward the mountains, after a small stretch, the road splits in two directions: on one hand it leads to the “Spiaggioni” reached within an hour of trail a bit steep, on the other after about ten minutes of mule it reaches Barbezzano , once a strong walled town later destroyed in 500 by a pirates ride. Despite the few remaining ruins it is nice to walk between lone streets and mossy and crumbling walls.
A legend tells that one stormy night the village of Tellaro was taken by an attack of pirates and the country was saved by the sound of the bell. But who rang the bell? Tellaresi people found a large octopus under the bell tower, which emerged from the sea and joining the rope of the bell had sounded the alarm . So it was from that day that the octopus under the bell symbolizes Tellaro village in strict adherence to the sea. And they are also derived from the octopus the most typical recipes: the octopus "alla tellarese", boiled with potatoes and seasoned with Tellaro olive oil,olives, pitted and chopped garlic and parsley, salt and pepper and lemon juice. Another version is the octopus, stuffed with bay leaves, marjoram, pepper, tomato and a splash of white wine. Among the events we highlight the impressive Christmas Eve: I the evening of December 24 the village of Tellaro is lit by 1000 torches of wax realized by the children of the country, arranged in the characteristic points. At midnight the divers emerge from the sea carrying the statue of wax of the Infant Jesu.
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