Palmaria: the car-free island in front of the Cinque Terre

Palmaria sits right there, facing Portovenere, separated from the mainland by a stretch of sea just two hundred metres wide. Yet almost everyone who visits the Cinque Terre doesn't notice it, or sees it only from afar as a scenic backdrop. This is its unintentional competitive advantage: being so close to one of Italy's most photographed places that it becomes invisible.

A car-free island in the Gulf of Poets

Palmaria has no roads for vehicles, only trails. Its roughly one hundred and ten permanent residents get around on foot or by boat. A loop trail crosses the island's interior and takes three to four hours, alternating holm oak and maritime pine woods with stretches overlooking the sea where the view sweeps from the promontory of Portovenere to the island of Tino and, on clear days, toward Corsica. The Grotta dei Colombi, a prehistoric cave, has yielded human remains dating back 12,000 years and features stalactites of rare beauty accessible through seasonal guided tours.

The Portoro quarry and black marble

The island is known among architects and marble workers for Portoro, a black marble veined with gold quarried exclusively on Palmaria for centuries. The quarry is still active — though at reduced volumes — and the stone ends up in prestigious buildings around the world. Walking along the eastern side, you encounter remnants of the old workings, stacked like dark slabs amid the Mediterranean scrub.

Getting there and where to eat

The boat from Portovenere takes five minutes and costs a few euros (prices vary by season). In summer there are departures every hour. The island has a small landing — Cala della Fornace — where a couple of restaurants with sea-view terraces serve typical Ligurian fare: trofie al pesto, stuffed anchovies, mixed fried fish. Prices are in line with the area, meaning not cheap, but justified by the logistical isolation. The best season runs from April to June and September to October: spring school excursions and summer weekend tourists bring some crowding, but nothing comparable to the crush at Riomaggiore or Vernazza, just beyond the promontory.