Gulf of Poets nightlife: fishing "Alla Lampara"

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By Giuseppe S. 5 terre 31 July 2019

Fisherman Beppe follows one rule before he decides to go fishing throught the night aboard his “Rici” boat: “never with the full moon”.
Beppe uses the “Alla lampara” (with fish light attractor) fishing technique, just like his father and his grandfather used to do, because he knows that anchovies are only attracted by the light attractor mounted on the boat bow. Any other lights, even the moonlight, will compromise the fish hunt.
If you ever pass by the Gulf of Poets and ask Beppe if you can go fishing “Alla lampara” with him, he will certainly reply “Sure, as long as we’re not under full moon”.

Sea bread

“Alla lampara” is a very old fishing technique, used mainly to catch anchovies. The name comes from the “lamp” mounted on top of the boat bow, the only light source in the dark that will attract anchovies on the surface, where the fishing net will do the job.
In Cinque Terre there’s a common belief that the best days for fishing “alla lampara” are June 24th to 29th, when anchovies arrive from south to the Gulf of Poets. The fish hunt has to be very successful to satisfy the very high demand for anchovies, also called as “Sea bread”.
Demand for anchovies of Monterosso come from all over Europe, and Beppe knows it very well, so much that he decided to work on an apparently unusual project..

Beppe and Rici

Beppe knows the Gulf like the palm of his hands. He knows what the best days to go fishing are, he knows how to manage a boat and the crew, he knows hot to clean and store anchovies.
Beppe knows that the sea at night is beautiful, when the only noise you hear is the undertow on the rocks, the only light is starlight: wouldn’t it be a shame not to share this?
Beppe has founded a small company aimed at promoting the fishing-tourism: during your stay through Cinque Terre make sure to book a tour with Beppe and his crew onboard of Rici, to experience fishing “Alla Lampara”.
Either you help the crew sailing the nets or simply enjoy the sea at night, what really matters is not to miss this “out of time” experience. As long as we’re not under the full moon, obviously..