In the land of the Seaweed Man: a Cinque Terre tale

0 0

By Giuseppe S. 5 terre 4 April 2019

…once upon a time, in Liguria, a drunk sailor..

Once upon a time, a very powerful king…

Once upon a time a beautiful princess..

Or even better “Once upon a time a drunk sailor man”

This is how Tales of Liguria begin: no princesses nor kings, rather common men, wine and, most of all, the sea!

… the Seaweed man tale is traditionally tied to Cinque Terre as it is the perfect means to describe the Riviera Ligure, with its deep blue sea full of life, where Mediterranean fish and other fascinating creatures live.

Calvino writings

In one of his “Italian Tales”, Italo Calvino writes about a lazy and party sailor, Baciccin Tribordo, hired by the king to find the princess who had been kidnapped by a bewitched octopus.

After a series of ups and downs, through magic and fate, the sailor finally managed to set the princess free. The remaining crew members though, as envious as they could be for the reward the sailor was entitled to obtain, threw him out of the boat, in the sea.

The captain of the boat, claiming he was the princess savior, was about to marry her but, all of a sudden, Baciccin Tribordo, all covered with seaweed, walked into the ceremony to unmask the fake savior and become the princess legitimate husband.

Plan your visit to Cinque Terre, where magic meets reality: take a boat tour towards Canneto Beach and, while on board, look down.. you might see wonders!

Cinque Terre tales

The background of Calvino’s tale is a small kingdom made by castles in front of the sea, beaches full of life, giant octopus guarding superb princesses.

Seaweed man is traditionally tied to Cinque Terre as it is the perfect means to describe the Riviera Ligure, with its deep blue sea full of life, where Mediterranean fish and other fascinating creatures live.

Calvino also tells about the small golden sand island and the man, perfectly portraied by a local sailor always busy with fishermen nets and boats, only touching ground to enjoy a glass of good wine.

Are all these tales romance or do they describe the truth?

What if the king in the tale was the King of the Vernazza Castle? What is the golden sand island was “Canneto Beach” only reachable by boat?

There’s only one way to find out.

Plan your visit to Cinque Terre, and look for the seaweed man or the king of the castle.

Plan your visit to Cinque Terre, where magic meets reality: take a boat tour towards Canneto Beach and, while on board, look down.. you might see wonders!