Tellaro, is a small seaside village with a quiet and relaxing atmosphere that boasts customs and traditions handed down for generations. Tellaro stands out in Liguria, an extraordinary Italian region, rich in beautiful places, monuments and majestic buildings and traditions, for its underwater Christmas.
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The village of Tellaro is perched on a rocky spur that emerges from the sea, at the end of the Gulf of Poets, between the beautiful towns of Lerici and Portovenere. Its landscape and its history are so evocative as to have inspired artists such as Mario Soldati, Eugenio Montale and David Herbert Lawrence who, right here, have created some of their main masterpieces.
Brief history of Borgo Tellaro
Just like Lerici and San Terenzo, the origins of Tellaro date back to the 7th century BC, when the Gulf of Poets began to be inhabited by the Etruscans. The village immediately became a very important hub for trade with Greeks and Phoenicians and, although it later became part of the Roman Empire, it never lost its strategic importance.
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During the thirteenth century, Tellaro passed from the domination of Pisa to the Genoese, and then was occupied by the Saracens in the fifteenth century. After being razed to the ground, he finally welcomed all those who fled the cities to escape the plague. As a result, everything that can be admired today in Tellaro is the result of the reconstruction that began in the seventeenth century.
Tellaro and the octopus legend
The village of Tellaro can be defined as a small work of art, which contains precious treasures such as the Oratory of Santa Maria in Selà and the Church of San Giorgio; the latter, in particular, is linked to a very interesting legend:
The Church of San Giorgio is located on the sea; the choice to build it in this location was quite strategic, because it served as a sighting point of pirate ships that infested the area in the past. A sentry, who stood guard, had the task of ringing the bells in case of danger.
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According to legend, one night the sentry fell asleep and did not notice that a pirate ship had managed to reach the shore. At that point, however, the bells began to ring, putting the Saracens on the run. The alarm was raised by a huge octopus that, clinging to the ropes of the bells, had managed to make them ring with its tentacles, saving Tellaro and his inhabitants.
The Underwater Christmas of Tellaro
To pay homage to the octopus that saved Tellaro from the Saracen attack, the inhabitants organize every year the Octopus Festival, which attracts people from all over Italy. This event, however, is not the only one to be dedicated to the evocative legend: one of the traditions of Tellaro is the Underwater Christmas, which is recommended to attend at least once in life.
In a nutshell, the statue of the Child Jesus emerges from the sea carried by divers and is deposited in a manger set up on a boat, surrounded by lights and fireworks. Specifically, the statue that emerges at midnight was donated to Tellaro by Pope John Paul II himself.
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Once the statue is laid down, the pastor raises the Bambinello to heaven and shows it to those present, and then return it to divers who take it in procession through the alleys of Tellaro to the Parish Church to attend Mass.
What to see in Tellaro
Tellaro is a very small village but, despite its small size, offers a large number of places to see and glimpses to discover. Anyone who happens to be in Tellaro, maybe during the Underwater Christmas, is recommended to visit the following places:
The Church of San Giorgio
After telling the legend of the octopus it is impossible not to visit the Church of San Giorgio, a real symbol of Tellaro. Built in the sixteenth century, probably on the remains of an ancient military control tower, it preserves an altarpiece with marble bas-reliefs of the sixteenth century. On the walls there is an inscription in Latin that refers to the legend of the giant octopus.
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The portico of the Sottoripa
Around the Church of San Giorgio there is an easy pedestrian path that allows people to admire the panorama of the Gulf of Poets walking among the rocks. This route also includes the portico of the Sottoripa, a gallery built in the fourteenth century, from which you can admire the surrounding landscape.
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La Marina
Tellaro is a seaside village, belonging to small fishermen, and the architecture reminds it in all its aspects. Along the narrow alleys overlooked by small but pretty houses you reach the Marina, where there is a small square and ancient washhouses that frame the marina.
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Do not miss the square of the Oratory of Santa Maria in Selà, built in the seventeenth century on the remains of a pre-existing military building. It is a real viewpoint overlooking the sea and the promontory of Caprione.
The Church of Stella Maris
A last, necessary stop is the Church of Stella Maris: it is located at the beginning of the village, in a position as dominant as panoramic. Built in the mid-twentieth century, it replaced the functions of the Church of San Giorgio: inside, in fact, there are the baptismal font and the statue of the Saint.
Fonte: dal web