Geography of Santa Margherita Ligure

A Painting of Santa Margherita's coastline from 1933

Coastline Around Paraggi

Santa Margherita is located near the northern end of a large peninsula, with the northern corner being in Rapallo and the Southern End being Portofino. At the Northern end of the Commune or in reality just outside of it is Punta Pagana a small cliff which juts out slightly into the Ocean. Part of the Cliff makes up the border between Rapallo and Santa Margherita. The cliff is named after the Genoese doge, Federico da Pagana. Atop the cliff is a small building called Villa Pagana as well as Punta Pagana Castle (Italian: Castello di Punta Pagana)[6] South of Punta Pagana now entirely within Santa Margherita's borders the coasts of the bay of Tigullio run west towards the town itself through the harbour. After the harbour it continues south and stops curving west. Just before the harbour are a number of small beaches with small areas of water open for swimming. South of the harbour there are far more beaches with more open water dedicated to swimmers. Beaches include Bagni Sirena, Spiaggia Minaglina and Spiaggia Regina Elena.[7][8][9] The Coast goes further directly south outside of Santa Margherita Proper and now directly following Strade Provinciale 227 di Portofino, a road which runs down to Portofino. This street leads to Punta Pedale, in Pedale.[10] From there the coastline of the commune continues going straight south until it reaches a little inlet around Paraggi where it reaches the border with Portofino. It is here where the coast wraps around Villa Bonomi.[11][1][2]

The Castello di Punta Pagana

The Castle located on Punta Pagana was built between 1625 and 1631 and was built by the republic of Genoa for defensive purposes. The Castle is owned by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and is in good condition but is not open for visiting. The Castle was placed on Punta Pagana to protect San Michele di Pagana and much of Tigullio Bay. The Castle never suffered from any attacks.[12][13][14][15]

Punta Pedale is a small cliff and exclave of land in Pedale, as the name suggests the cliff is in the locality of Pedale.[16][10] On and around the cliff there's a beach. Punta Pedale has multiple buildings located atop it and its surroundings and has become a tourist attraction.[17]

Villa Bonomi or castello Paraggi is a castle built on Punta Paraggi. Sources differ on when it was built however it is widely believed to have had construction begin around 1612. The castle stands in a dominant position on a small promontory that closes the bay of Paraggi.

The Commune given its mountainous terrain consists of many rivers. The northernmost stream is a small brook which runs from the north of the town further north into the mountains around San Lorenzo. It splits up into multiple brooks which are sourced around the localities of Pero, and Dolcina Alta on the Commune border with Camogli. There are also some tributaries of that stream which bring water from Monte Delle Boche and the hamlet of Regione Busseo to areas of San Lorenzo before joining the main brook.[1]

Another Stream runs underground underneath the city centre flowing out into the harbour. It runs up towards the mountains resurfacing around the cemetery and following the road up to the local dump before continuing further north as is begins climbing. Its source is around Regio Busseo but one tributary not far downstream from Reggio Busseo obtains its water from San Siro. Further down stream another tributary brings water in from Monte Croci de Nozarego and another slightly further south also receives its water from nearby although it flows closer to Cigliegiola. Further downstream a larger and longer brook flows into it, it is sourced around the dead end of the road Via Costasecca near San Siro.

Near the southern end of the town a small brook flows out into the sea from the southernmost areas of the harbour. It runs underground near its mouth however resurfaces slightly before leaving the town where it splits into 2. The main brook receives water from Nozarego and its corresponding mountains and also passes straight through "La Pista" park. The other brook runs further north getting sourced from similar mountains but flows near Merella and Cigliegiola.[1]

Between Paraggi and Santa Margherita proper there's a very small and temporary brook which only supplies water from Gave into the Mediterranean sea. Just south of that is a similarly small river which flows between San Gioacchino and Paraggi.

Further South there's the Torrente Morta which runs directly between Monte Pollone and Monte Croci di Nozarego. It also obtains some water from the area around Reggio Busseo and has a total of 14 tributaries. At the most elevated part of the stream which runs from Monte Pollonethere are 2 different tributaries also from around the mountain and one more which brings water from Reggio Busseo. Further east there's the Fosso dei Tuvi which has multiple triburaies of its own. It closely follows the path of the Torrente Morta prior to flowing into it and also gets much of its water from Mount Pollone although from the opposite side of the mountain. The 2 streams meet just after they both flow on either side of Cappelletta di Sant'Anna. Other tributaries exist further south, the flow from Mulini, Sotto Il Crodo and San Gioacchino, the latter of which flows on the opposite side of the hamlet to the other stream which flows straight into the sea.[18][19][20]

In the municipal territory of Santa Margherita Ligure there is a site of Community interest, proposed by the Natura 2000 network of Liguria, for its particular natural and geological interest. The site is located between the seabed of the municipalities of Camogli, Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure, where there is a particular habitat formed by Posidonia oceanica meadows, coral formations and semi-dark caves. Animal species include the fish Epinephelus marginatus, Gobius luteus, Sciaena umbra, Thalassoma pavo; the gorgonians Paramuricea clavata and Eunicella verrucosa; the poriferous species Spongia agaricina and Spongia officinalis; the mollusc Spondylus gaederopus and the red coral Corallium rubrum.[21]

Among the peaks of the territory are Monte Portofino (610 m), Monte delle Bocche (506 m), Monte Pollone (469 m), Monte Croci di Nozarego (391 m) and Monte Brano (312 m). Although there are many smaller peaks.

Monte Portofino
Monte Portofin
View from the summit of Monte Portofino
Highest point
Elevation	616 m (2,021 ft)
Prominence	334 m (1,096 ft)
Coordinates	44.3267618°N 9.1688903°E / 44.3267618; 9.1688903
Naming
Native name	Monte Portofin Error {{native name checker}}: parameter value is malformed (help)
English translation	Mount Portofino
Geography
Monte Portofino
Parent range	Apennines
Climbing
Easiest route	Hike

Monte Portofino and all the surrounding area viewed from Zoagli

Monte Portofino is the tallest mountain in the commune and is also one of the tallest mountains in the Tigullio area. The Summit is actually located a few metres outside the commune border in the commune of Camogli, not the commune of Portofino.[22][23] The name may derive from Portofino as a result of Portofino being a very old and very famous settlement and simultaneously historical municipal boundaries were different and partly up for interpretation. The peak is elevated an estimated 610–616 metres above sea level with a prominence of 334 metres[24] and the locality of Semaforo Veccio is located there.[25][26] 3 different pathways lead away from the mountain.[22] From the summit there is a small path which on both directions, quickly diverges into 2 after passing the summit. Unlike other mountains in the area, there is no bypass of the summit.[22] The path which runs through runs from the diversion on the east side of the mountain to some picnic tables near the locality of Paradiso in Camogli at another junction between 2 other paths.[27][28] At those picnic tables is the locality of Sella Porcile.[29][30][31] The path can also be listed however as having its eastern side ending when it reaches another one which is the same one which runs south before meeting another one which leads to the junction at Sella Porcile.[32][33][34] Additionally on the western side is another path which runs directly to a viewpoint of Camogli, San Rocco and San Fruttoso.[35] The path through the mountain's summit splits into 2 separate paths, one runs to Gaixella near the roughly following the Santa Margherita-Camogli border up north.[36] While the other runs east also roughly following the comune border down towards Pian Lungo.[37] A the summit there are 3 picnic sites,[38][39][40] a 2 guideposts,[41][42] Semaforo Veccio[25] and a radio mast.[43] To the north of the summit there's a radio tower.[44][45] It is believed by some that Monte Portofino was once a volcano, it is also home to many caves in it's vicinity.[46][47]

Monte Bocche is the second tallest mountain in the commune and the tallest summit within the commune, although it too is located very near the border between Santa Margherita and Camoglialthough also quite near to the Portofino border. The mountain is located on a small track called La Gabbia which briefly west of the mountain goes into Camogli. The path splits off of a larger one specifically to serve the mountain's summit. On the western end La Gabbia meets the larger track in a hamlet called Castelluccio where there are some picnic tables. On the east La Gabbia meets the larger track in a locality called Bocche, the mountain is named after Bocche. There's a viewpoint directly on the mountain and another on the larger track. La Gabbia meets with a third track just east of meeting the larger one. There there's a small road spur which leads to another viewpoint. One more viewpoint is located on the track which bypasses the summit. The peak is elevated 510 metres above sea level with 41 metres prominence.

Monte Pollone is the 3rd tallest mountain in Sant Margherita. It is the source of the Torrente Morta and the Fosso de Tuvi rivers. Monte Pollone is located just within the border of Santa Margherita on a small path which spurs off of a track called Mulino, named after the nearby settlement where it leads to. The Main track bypasses the summit and where the smaller one meets Mulino is at both ends a junction between multiple tracks, some of which run into the commune of Portofino. Monte Pollone is 469 metres above sea level with 15 metres of prominence.Monte Pollone is also served by a few hiking routes.

The Frazione were settlements large enough to be given statuses since 1864.

• Paraggi was a small village of fishermen and millers. It is located along the "Costa dei Delfini", halfway between Santa Margherita and Portofino. It is about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from Santa Margherita Ligure, reachable by bus or by boat.
• Nozarego is a natural terrace over the Bay of Tigullio. Here there is the church of Santa Maria Assunta with the cobbled square in typical ligurian. From Nozarego also leave several trails in the Park of Portofino.
• San Lorenzo della Costa is located on the slopes of the mountain, to the north, along the Aurelia road that leads to Genoa. There is a Flemish triptych in the local 13th-century church