Located on Italy’s northern coast, the Port of La Spezia lies southeast of Genoa at the head of the Golfo della Spezia.
Port History
Many stelae in the area reveal human activity in the Bronze and Iron Ages. While the site was inhabited during the Roman era, little recorded history remains until it was sold to Genoa in 1276. When France occupied the area, the Port of La Spezia became a maritime district for the French Empire. In 1857, the military fleet was transferred from Genoa, and the city became a naval headquarters.
Port Commerce
The Harbour Authority of La Spezia was created in 1994 to coordinate and promote harbor operations, maintain common areas, and serve port customers. Located on a wide deep bay off the Liguarian Sea, the natural port is protected by mountains and a 2210-meter breakwater across the mouth of the bay.
In 2005, over 17 million tons of cargo passed through the Port of La Spezia, including 3 million tons of liquid bulk, 1.5 million tons of solid bulk, and 12.6 million tons of general cargo, and one million TEUs of containerized cargo. The Port of La Spezia offers 5.1 kilometers of docks with 14-meter draft, 575 thousand square meters of open area, and 13 thousand square meters of warehouses. It includes two container terminals, three multi-purpose terminals, two oil terminals, two terminals for cereals and one for vegetable oils. It also has a terminal for coal, two terminals for concrete, and a terminal for bulk cargo.
Cruising and Travel
The Port of Spezia is for the most part a non-tourist port, but it is a popular stop-over for travelers visiting the famous Cinque Terre, five popular villages on the railway from La Spezia. The towns line about 12 kilometers of rocky coastline where the villages are built into the rocks between the hills and the beach.
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