Liguria

As Andrea Grisdale continues her Ligurian series, she returns to the Cinque Terre to experience its coastline from a different perspective. After exploring its villages by train and on foot, she meets Sara in Vernazza and heads out by boat, tracing a route shaped by hidden grottoes, steep cliffs and the quiet magic of the slow season months. With fewer people on the water and space to take in the landscape, Andrea discovers a more intimate side of one of Italy’s most iconic coastlines.

Her journey then leads to Hotel Capitolo Riviera, a property built around nature rather than simply beside it. In conversation with Paolo, Andrea explores how the hotel’s philosophy is reflected in everything from its century-old camphor tree to its local staff, providers and Ligurian flavors. Designed as a park with a hotel, rather than a hotel with a park, it offers a vision of hospitality rooted in sustainability, belonging and a deep respect for place.

As the episode draws to a close, Andrea reflects on the balance that defines this part of Liguria. Here, days can be spent roaming the coastline by boat, then resting somewhere shaped by the very landscape around it. And in both experiences, she is reminded that the Riviera’s greatest luxury lies in the care taken to preserve its beauty and share it with those who come to understand it more deeply.