Tellaro is one of the prettiest villages on the Ligurian coast, a tight cluster of pastel houses tumbling down a rocky promontory into the Gulf of La Spezia. There are no cars — you park above and walk down steep steps through narrow caruggi to a tiny piazza overlooking the sea.
The village sits about 4 km south of Lerici and is officially one of Italy's "borghi più belli" (most beautiful villages). The church of San Giorgio perches right at the water's edge, and legend says an octopus once rang its bells to warn of a pirate attack. Swimming is off the rocks below the village, and the water is remarkably clear.
D.H. Lawrence lived here in the 1910s, and the place has attracted writers and artists ever since — though it remains far quieter than the Cinque Terre to the north.