La Spezia
From WOI Encyclopedia Italia
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| Comune della Spezia | |
|---|---|
| Region | Liguria |
| Province | Province of La Spezia (SP) |
| Altitude | 0 |
| Area city proper | 51 |
| Population as of | december 31, 2004 |
| Population density | 94,206 |
| Population density metric | 1,785 |
| Timezone | CET, UTC+1 |
| Frazioni | Biassa, Campiglia, La Foce, Pitelli, San Venerio, Sarbia |
| Telephone | 0187 |
| Postal code | 19100, 19121-19126, 19131-19139 |
| Gentilic | Spezzini |
| Saint | St. Joseph |
| Day | March 19 |
| Mayor | Giorgio Pagano (since May 28, 2002) |
| Website | www.comune.sp.it |
La Spezia (Spèsa in the local dialect of Ligurian) is a city in the Liguria region of northern Italy, at the head of La Spezia Gulf, and capital city of the province of La Spezia.
It is one of the major Italian military and commercial harbours, located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea. La Spezia also hosts one of the biggest military industries of Italy, OTO Melara.
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Main sights
La Spezia is a point of departure to go to the Cinque Terre either by Train or Boat. The boat also leads you to Lerici and Portovenere before turning into the open sea towards the Cinque Terre. Both Lerici and Portovenere are reachable by public transport (15km) from the central station of La Spezia.
Churches
- Cristo Re dei Secoli (Christ the King of Centuries, cathedral)
- Santa Maria Assunta (Our Lady of the Assumption)
- Santi Giovanni e Agostino (Saints Giovanni and Agostino)
Museums
- "Ubaldo Formentini" - Civic Museum in the Castle of San Giorgio
- "Amedeo Lia" Museum
- Palazzina delle Arti and Museum of Seals
- Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (CAMeC)
- Diocesan Museum
- Ethnographic Civic Museum
- Technical Naval Museum
- National Transportation Museum
Others
- Public Gardens
- Art Nouveau-style villas
- Futurist mosaic by Prampolini inside the Post Office
- Castle of San Giorgio
Events
- San Giuseppe Patron Saint of the city, March 19th.
- Palio del Golfo 1st Sunday in August.
- Cercantico Antique fair, 1st Sunday of every month except July and August.
Notable people
- Alexia, singer
- Alessandro Petacchi, pro-cyclist
- Dario Vergassola, actor
- Giancarlo Giannini, actor
- Paolo Bertolani, poet
- Stefano Mei, athlete
- Giacinto Scelsi, composer
See also
- La Spezia-Rimini Line
- Spezia Calcio 1906
- Stadio Alberto Picco
