Levanto

This guide to Levanto's beach in Cinque Terre opens with wetsuited surfers paddling into winter swell while every other town on this coast shuts down for the season. It traces how the first surfers arrived in the 1980s to a town built on anchovies and lemon terraces, and how locals reacted to boards showing up where nets used to dry. You'll learn how the same winds that once filled Genoa's merchant ships turn this open bay into a reliable swell magnet on the Italian Riviera. Watch from the shingle to see how the curve of sand breaks into distinct sections along its length.