Portofino is a small Italian city located in the province of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The city crowded round its small harbor is considered to be among the most beautiful Mediterranean ports, and is a popular tourist destination. In the early 20th century, first British, then German tourist began to visit Portofino, which they reached by horse and cart from Santa Margherita Ligure. By 1950 tourism had supplanted fishing as the city's chief industry, and the waterfront was a continuous ring of waterside restaurants and cafes. Portofino is mainly a fishing port and tourist center famous for its lace industry. Close by is the monastery of La Cervara and the church of S. Giorgio, which is said to contain relics of St. George brought back from the Holy Land. Portofino is known for its radiant, turquoise waters and green landscape, has been captivating visitors for centuries.
One of the main attractions to this part of the
world is just how beautiful the coast is. The various depths, the varieties of
the sea beds where rock-strewn walls are interchanged with sandy areas. All this
makes an environment of vast richness in which many animal and plant species
live together.
Being such a beautiful coastline makes for great scuba diving. Scuba diving
exposes an underwater world that can be rarely observed in other areas. You can
see sponges, prairies of oceanica and red coral of which the sea beds of
Portofino are very rich.