A picturesque Italian coastal town has been named the most beautiful in the world.
Camogli, around 20 miles from Genoa in the north west of Italy, took the top spot in Architectural Digest’s ranking of the world’s most beautiful coastal cities.
The town was ranked above Cape Town, Rio de Janiero and Hong Kong as one of the places which invite travellers to ‘discover their unique, storied allure’.
Situated on the Ligurian Riviera, average temperatures in the town reach 27C in the summer months.
It is known as one of the most photographed towns in Italy for its colourful landscape, while the harbourfront is packed with restaurants and shops.
Every year in early May, the Sagra del pesce festival is held to celebrate local fish products.
First arranged in 1952, the festival’s main attraction is a 13-foot diameter frying pan which cooks three tonnes of fresh fish in a single day.
Camogli is also one of the best Ligurian towns to watch the sunset, as the winding coastline turns towards the horizon.
Its location means it is only a 20-minute train journey from Genoa, making it ideal for a day trip as well as a longer stay.
Alternatively, there is a ferry service into harbour which echoes Camogli’s long relationship with the Ligurian Sea.
The town has a rich maritime history as a fishing village and trading hub dating back to ancient times.
Its name literally means the ‘house of wives’ which comes from the fact that for centuries, the men of Camogli were away fishing at sea, leaving mostly women behind in the town.
In the late 19th century, its fleet numbered hundreds of ships, earning it the title ‘city of a thousand white sails’.
Today, it is famous for its pastel-coloured houses packed tightly along the harbour and decorated using traditional marcapiano paintwork.
The striking multi-coloured façade can be seen and pictured from the nearby San Rocco trail in the Portofino regional park, and is famous from postcards and brochures.
Marcapiano is a decorative technique used for indicating different floors of a building and the residents who live inside, as well as to add character to a property.
But not all in Camogli is what meets the eye.
Windows, doors and even balconies or flower boxes have been painted onto homes since the 17th century.
They added an illusion or beauty and wealth without having to purchase expensive materials such as marble.
These decorations also served to differentiate between the occupants of a building.
A humble family living on one floor may have had little external decoration, while another floor owned by a wealthy landlord could be lavishly decorated to show their status.
There were also more practical uses for this type of decoration.
As fisherman and seafarers, residents of Camogli used the bright colours to be able to see their homes and villages from the sea.
Different colours identified villages, with specific houses used as way-markers and tools for plotting routes.
