Liguria with its herbs hugging the sea cliffs, with its bays full of fish, with its ancient olive groves, grapevines, and orchards found in every village.
Featuring vivid photography by Laura Jane Coulson alongside essays by Andy Baraghani, Corrado Corti, Gilda Bruno, and Luca Cesari, the book explores key ingredients, people, and histories which make this rugged coastline so irresistible.

An introduction by Ruth Rogers shares impressions gathered over decades of walking Liguria’s seaside paths, and two guest recipes from Fanny Singer and Max Rocha show how admirers from afar might incorporate Ligurian cuisine into their kitchens.

Presenting 24 classic dishes inspired by the kitchens of Belmond’s hotels in Portofino: Splendido, set in the hills overlooking the bay, and Splendido Mare, down in the piazzetta. We invite you into a magical, transformative land; as Gilda writes, ‘In truth, no one knows Portofino like the sea. Its tides and roaring belly were the only witnesses to the village’s metamorphosis into the most evocative manifestation of Italy’s idealised lifestyle, nonchalant elegance, and sun-drenched, soothing leisure: la dolce vita’.