Geograpy & Climate
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for

its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and food.

Liguria borders France to the west, Piedmont to the north, and Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany to the east. It lies on the Ligurian Sea. Liguria is a

narrow strip of land, enclosed between the sea and the Alps and the Apennines mountains, it is a winding arched extension from Ventimiglia to La Spezia and is one of the smallest regions in Italy. Its surface area is 5,416.03 square Kilometres, corresponding to 1.18% of the whole national surface area, with the following subdivision: 3524.08 kilometres mountain (65% of the total) and 891.95 square kilometres hill (35% of the total).

Its shape is that of a thin strip of land, from 7 to 35 km wide (respectively above Voltri and in the high mountain area around Imperia), on average

about 240 km long, lying in a semicircle around the Ligurian Sea and with convexity facing north; comprised between the sea and the watershed

line of the Maritime Alps and the northern Apennines, which at some points it crosses (for example in the Savona and Genoa mountains).

Some mountains rise above 2000 m.; the watershed line runs at an average altitude of about 1000 metres.

The continental shelf, which is very narrow, goes down almost immediately to considerable marine depths. The coastline is 315 km long. Except

for the Portovenere and Portofino promontories, it is generally not very jagged, and is often high and compact. At the mouths of the biggest

watercourses there are small beaches, but there are no deep bays and natural harbours except for those of Genoa and La Spezia.

The hydrographic system is made up of the short watercourses of a torrential kind. In the coastal part the most important are the Roja (in its lower

course), the Nervia, and the Magra. On the inland side we find some tributaries of the Po: the two branches of the Bormida, the Scrivia and the Trebbia; there is not much water in these rivers, though the quantity increases greatly in rainy periods.

The ring of hills, lying immediately beyond the coast, together with the beneficial influence of the sea, account for the mild climate the whole year round (with average winter temperatures of 7°-10° and summer temperatures of 23°-24°) which makes for a pleasant stay even in the heart of winter.

Rainfall can be very abundant at times; mountains very close to the coast create an orographic effect, so Genoa can see up to 2000 mm of rain in a year; other areas instead show the normal values of the Mediterranean area (500-800 mm). Despite the high population density, woods cover half of the total area. Liguria's Natural Reserves cover 12% of the entire Region, i.e. around 60,000 hectares of land, and they are made up of one National Reserve, six large parks, two smaller parks and three nature reserves [sources: Wikipedia].

Wines
At a first glance, the steep slopes of the Liguria coast does not seem very hospitable to most agriculture, including vines. Yet about one hundred different varieties of grapes are cultivated in this small strip of mountainous land sandwiched between Piedmont and the Mediterranean, bordered by France to the north and Tuscany to the south.

The proximity to two major Italian wine producing regions influences some of the wine production of the Liguria region. In the Riviera di Ponente area or "western Liguria", the wines are made mostly of a single type of grape, in a fashion similar to the Piedmont tradition, while in eastern Liguria, in the areas of Lunigiana and Cinqueterre, the wines are mostly produced by blending several grape types, as is the tradition in neighboring Tuscany.

While the majority of wines produced in Piedmont and Tuscany are full-bodied red, Liguria specializes and excels in white wines that complement the delicate and zesty local cuisine which features a variety of seafood, mushrooms, aromatic herbs, walnuts, pastas and baked goods.

Given the limited quantity of wine produced, only a few Liguria wines have achieved fame outside this region and are often difficult to find and pricey. The visitor to the region would be well advised to venture off the main roads and taste as many local wines paired with freshly created regional dishes as possible As we already said and would like to state again, the delicate, yet flavorful cuisine of Liguria and its wines complement each other in a very superb and luscious combination of flavors and nuances [source: Wine Country].

"Liguria." Wikipedia (accessed 10/10/2009)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liguria

Wine Country. "Liguria: Breathtaking Seaside Foothills"  (accessed 10/07/2009)
http://winecountry.it/regions/liguria/index.html