The Levantine Riviera

An early 20th-century travelogue of the Ligurian coast, Riviera di Levante offers a survey of Santa Margherita, Rapallo, and Portofino, capturing everyday life, architecture, and artisanal traditions.

A silent 35mm film produced by Ambrosio. It opens with a sweeping view of the Gulf of Santa Margherita, then tours towns in the Tigullio area: Santa Margherita with its hotels and villas, Rapallo and its castle, San Michele di Pagana, and Portofino, still a working-class village with laundry on façades. Scenes include locals, passers-by, children, fishermen, horse-drawn carriages, and notably, women making bobbin lace in Portofino.