The small village of Portovenere is set at one of the end of the so-called "Poets' Gulf" here we are exactly on the top of the cape and the view is breath-taking and of sure inspiration not only for poets. But there is a specific reason for the name of this gulf.
Actually several celebrated poets came–and sometimes died–here.
Percy Bysshe Shelley lived in the nearby village of San Terenzo, and died when his boat was hit by a storm on his way home from Livorno.
Exactly down from this point, here in Portovenere, there is a grotto dedicated to Lord Byron, who used sitting by the sea to meditate, but also to swim. He was an excellent swimmer, it seems.
Dante and Petrarch spoke of the natural beauty of the gulf as well.