Before moving to Liguria, I thought I understood Italian food: Lombardy has risotto, Abruzzo offers arrosticini, Tuscany gives us Chianti, Calabria heats us with ’nduja, and Sicily provides indulgent arancini. But two weeks here proved I was a novice. Liguria offers its own wealth of treats. This narrow strip of land contains both sea and mountains, with steep hills terraced for cultivation. It heavily influences what grows here – and what ends up on the plate. Olives play a defining role for Liguria, especially the famous Taggiasca. Everywhere you look, olive trees stretch across the hillsides. Local supermarkets dedicate entire aisles to olive oil. Thankfully, we haven’t had to make that difficult choice ourselves. Where we are staying, the owners produce their own oil and it’s available to us in generous quantities. It’s fruity and light, yet intensely aromatic. I’ve learned about “filtrato” and “non-filtrato”, and this one is definitely

I borghi più belli d’Italia translates to “the most beautiful villages of Italy.” It’s a certification created by an association that recognises over 350 small historic towns across the country — places that represent a quieter, hidden Italy. In Liguria, 29 towns and hamlets carry this title. Noli makes the list. Finalborgo too. And this week, we discovered another: Borgio Verezzi. The drive from Varigotti to Verezzi is a study in trust. Hairpin bends, single-lane roads, centimetres of clearance, and drivers who know every curve by heart. Villas cling to the hillsides. The road demands attention — but when you dare to look up, the view opens completely: the Mediterranean below, the Ligurian mountains rising into cloud, snow still resting on their peaks. From here, the coastline unfolds in a long sweep from Verezzi to Albenga, and just offshore, one of Liguria’s small islands appears in the distance: Isola Gallinara.

The last two days have disappeared under a heavy blanket of grey. And, apparently, this is classic of the Ligurian coast: thick fog rolls in from the Mediterranean and envelops it completely. The change in weather pushed me to think differently about how to fill the days. The first ploy was inspired by the owners. Pointing to the orange, lemon and mandarin trees that dot the property, they have been charmingly insistent that we use the local produce. I reassured them that we were doing our best: fresh ‘spremuta d’arancia’ (orange juice) every morning. But two orange juices every morning wasn’t quite going to meet the expectations. So my husband suggested we try to make our own limoncello. Fantastic I thought! Out I went to pluck the fresh citrus and see if I could make an attempt at this delightful Italian liquor. The Art of Limoncello The smell of freshly

I have always enjoyed local markets. It’s a great way to see into the local life, produce, and delicacies. Its also a great reason to head to a particular town or city at a set day and time. Checking out the regional Ligurian markets was therefore a definite must. When I looked online, there seemed to be a long list of local markets spread across the different towns in the region. I was delighted and couldn’t wait to start visiting. Varigotti: wednesday mornings; Noli: thursday mornings; Finale Ligure: monday morning; Spotorno: Tuesday morning; and the list goes on. Aside from general curiosity about what would be on show, I couldn’t wait to see what seafood would be available and any tips and tricks on how to cook it. Eager to begin the discovery, the plan was to start with Varigotti and Noli the next day. Driving down to Varigotti and

I keep thinking I’ll have time to write about the markets in Varigotti and Noli.But not yet. Sunday proved to be an interesting day. Impressed with our English Setter’s recall during the previous day’s walk, I thought it would be fine to repeat the same route. With the dog’s GPS switched on and working (yes, we have a GPS for him), the two dogs and I set out for a Sunday morning walk. The first hurdle came quickly: realising that the GPS doesn’t fully work in the Ligurian mountains. This wasn’t entirely surprising — my husband had warned me in advance not to panic if the signal dropped. Still, deep under trees and thick brush, common sense should probably have told me that technology wouldn’t be much help up here anyway. Undeterred, onwards and upwards we went. Five minutes in, with the dogs coming and going successfully and no one

The first update is that the car can make it out of the hillside roads when they’re wet. However, it now also has its first Ligurian scrape — courtesy of my husband’s driving rather than mine. Lesson learned: maybe it’s best to stay up in the mountains when it’s raining. Then again, the pizzeria we found in Finale Ligure does exceptionally good pizzas at exceptionally good prices, so perhaps it was worth it. Our first Saturday turned into a fascinating exploration. We decided to head down to Finalborgo as a pit stop on our way to do the weekly shopping in Finale Ligure. Finalborgo immediately caught our attention — you see signs all along the coast declaring it “one of the most beautiful villages in Italy.” Heading inland from Finale, you arrive at an old medieval town of castles, fortresses, cobbled alleyways, and an enchanting church. So far, it has

After a two-day drive to arrive, and with only a vague memory of the beauty of the place, any worries quickly disappeared. The views across olive-tree-terraced hills, down to the varied blues of the Mediterranean, are simply spectacular. Settling into the Hills of Varigotti We were lucky to have found a charming little cottage nestled into the hills above Varigotti. Even luckier was the presence of a small wood-fired furnace: the area is actually cold and windy in January. When night falls, or when the sun hides behind clouds, the air is humid and temperatures drop. Oddly, for me, it feels colder than Northern Europe even though the temperature has never dropped below three degrees. The big difference, however, is the sun. And the sun comes out a lot. In the first seven days we had more sun than I can remember in a long time. And when the sun