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Information about La Spezia

Enlarge picture
Coat of arms of

Municipal coat of arms
Country Italy
RegionLiguria
ProvinceLa Spezia (SP)
MayorMassimo Federici
Areakm
Population
 - Total (as of december 31, 2004)
 - Density/km
Time zoneCET, UTC+1
Coordinates
GentilicSpezzini
Dialing code0187
Postal code19100, 19121-19126, 19131-19139
FrazioniBiassa, Campiglia, La Foce, Pitelli, San Venerio, Sarbia
PatronSt. Joseph
 - DayMarch 19


Location of La Spezia in Italy
Website: www.comune.sp.it
La Spezia (Spèsa in the local dialect of Ligurian) is a city in the Liguria region of northern Italy, at the head of La Spezia Gulf, and capital city of the province of La Spezia.
It is one of the major Italian military and commercial harbours, located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea. La Spezia also hosts one of the biggest military industries of Italy, OTO Melara.

History

The area of La Spezia was settled since pre-historic times. In Roman times the most important centre was Luni now located in the vicinity of Sarzana (small city near La Spezia).

Main sights

La Spezia is a point of departure for the Cinque Terre, either by train or boat. The boat also leads you to Lerici and Portovenere before turning into the open sea towards the Cinque Terre.

Both Lerici and Portovenere are reachable by public transport (15 km) from the central station of La Spezia.

Main landmarks of the city proper include:

Churches

  • Cristo Re dei Secoli ("Christ the King of Centuries", cathedral), consecrated in 1975. The project was by Adalberto Libera.
  • Abbey church of Santa Maria Assunta ("Our Lady of the Assumption", 13th century). It houses a considerable series of artworks, some of them coming from other suppressed religious institutes. They include an Incoronation of the Virgin by Andrea della Robbia, the Multiplication of Bread by Giovanni Battista Casoni and st. Bartholomew's Martyrdom by Luca Cambiaso.
  • Santi Giovanni e Agostino ("Saints John and Augustine", 16th century). It has a single nave with 18th and 19th century decorations.

Museums

  • "Ubaldo Formentini" - Civic Museum in the Castle of San Giorgio
  • "Amedeo Lia" Museum
  • Palazzina delle Arti and Museum of Seals
  • Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (CAMeC)
  • Diocesan Museum
  • Ethnographic Civic Museum
  • Technical Naval Museum
  • National Transportation Museum
Enlarge picture
Church of Santa Maria Assunta.
Enlarge picture
View from the sea.
Enlarge picture
Gulf of La Spezia

Others

  • Castle of San Giorgio, recently restored. Probably originated from a watchtower, a first castle is known to have been built by Nicolò Fieschi in 1262. In 1273 the Genoese destroyed it, and a new fortification, along with a new line of walls, was erected by the podesteria of La Spezia from 1371. Annexed to this edifice, the Republic of Genoa added a new castle starting from 1607.
  • Public Gardens
  • Art Nouveau-style villas
  • Futurist mosaic by Prampolini inside the Post Office

Events

  • San Giuseppe, feast of the Patron Saint of the city, held on March 19.
  • Palio del Golfo, on first Sunday in August.
  • Cercantico, an antique fair, 1st Sunday of every month except July and August.

Notable people

See also

External links




 •  • [ e]
Liguria · Comuni of the Province of La Spezia
AmegliaArcolaBeverinoBolanoBonassolaBorghetto di VaraBrugnatoCalice al CornoviglioCarroCarrodanoCastelnuovo MagraDeiva MarinaFolloFramuraLa SpeziaLericiLevantoMaissanaMonterosso al MareOrtonovoPignonePortovenereRicc del Golfo di SpeziaRiomaggioreRocchetta di VaraSanto Stefano di MagraSarzanaSesta GodanoVarese LigureVernazzaVezzano Ligure Zignago
Anthem
Il Canto degli Italiani
(also known as Fratelli d'Italia)


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Italy

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Politics and government of
Italy

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Regione Liguria


Map highlighting the location of Liguria in Italy

Capital Genoa (Genova)
President Claudio Burlando
(DS-Union)
Provinces 4
Comuni 235
Area 5,420 km
 - Ranked 18th (1.8 %)
Population (2006 est.
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In Italy, a province (in Italian: provincia) is an administrative division of intermediate level between municipality (comune) and region (regione).
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Province of La Spezia

Nation Italy
Region Liguria
Capital La Spezia
Area 881 km
Population 215,137
Density 244
Comuni 32
Vehicle Registration SP
Postal Code
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December 31 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

It is the final day of the Gregorian year. The day following is January 1 of the next year.
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Central European Time (CET) is one of the names of the time zone that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in most European and some North African countries.

Its time offset is UTC+1. During daylight saving time CEST is used instead (UTC+2).
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geographic coordinate system enables every location on the earth to be specified by the three coordinates of a spherical coordinate system aligned with the spin axis of the Earth.
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A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a people or the inhabitants of a place. In English, the name of a people's language is often the same as this word, e.g., the "French" (language or people).
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Here are a list of area codes in Italy. All numbers here begin with the country code (00)39. They are administered under Telecom Italia :

Zone 1

  • 010 - Genoa
  • 011 - Province of Torino (Turin)
  • 0131 - Province of Alessandria
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A frazione, in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other subdivisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere. The word is cognate to English fraction.
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Joseph "of the House of David" (heb.יוֹסֵף also Saint Joseph, Joseph the Betrothed, Joseph of Nazareth, and Joseph the Worker
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March 19 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.
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Gallo-Italian (or Northern Italian); Italo-Dalmatian (which includes Standard Italian); and Southern Romance. Sicilian is sometimes classified as Extreme Southern Italian.
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Ligurian may mean one of several things:
  • Pertaining to the ancient Ligures
  • Pertaining to modern Liguria
  • The Romance Ligurian language
  • The extinct non-Romance Ligurian language spoken by the ancient Ligures
  • The Ligurian Sea
  • A Northern Italian

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Regione Liguria


Map highlighting the location of Liguria in Italy

Capital Genoa (Genova)
President Claudio Burlando
(DS-Union)
Provinces 4
Comuni 235
Area 5,420 km
 - Ranked 18th (1.8 %)
Population (2006 est.
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Anthem
Il Canto degli Italiani
(also known as Fratelli d'Italia)


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Province of La Spezia

Nation Italy
Region Liguria
Capital La Spezia
Area 881 km
Population 215,137
Density 244
Comuni 32
Vehicle Registration SP
Postal Code
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Comune di Genoa

Coat of arms

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Country Italy
Region Toscana
Province Pisa (PI)
Mayor Paolo Fontanelli
(since May 25, 2003)

Area km
Population
 - Total (as of December 31, 2005)
 - Density /km

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The Ligurian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Italian Riviera (Liguria and Tuscany) and the islands of Corsica and Elba. The sea is probably named after the ancient Ligures people.

The sea borders the countries Italy, France, and Monaco.
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The defense industry, also called the military industry, is comprised of government and commercial industry involved in research, development, production, and service of military equipment and facilities.
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Oto Melara is an Italian defence company with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. It was founded in 1905 as Vickers Terni. During World War I, Vickers Terni produced many weapons with calibre 40 mm and upwards.
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Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea.
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Luni is a frazione of the comune (municipality) of Ortonovo, province of La Spezia, in the Liguria region of northern Italy. It gives its name to Lunigiana, a region spanning eastern Liguria and northern Tuscany (province of Massa and Carrara).
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State Party  Italy
Type Cultural
Criteria ii, iv, v
Reference 826
Region Europe and North America

Inscription History
Inscription 1997  (21st Session)
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Country Italy
Region Liguria
Province Province of La Spezia (SP)
Mayor Emanuele Fresco (since May 28, 2002)

Area km
Population
 - Total (as of december 31, 2004)
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Country Italy
Region Liguria
Province Province of La Spezia (SP)
Mayor Salvatore Matteo Calcagnini (since 14 June 2004)

Area km
Population
 - Total (as of 2004-12-04)
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