| La Spezia | |
| Official Name: | Comune della Spezia |
| Coordinates: | 44.1°N 58°W |
| Region: | Liguria |
| Province: | La Spezia (SP) |
| Frazioni: | Biassa, Cadimare, Campiglia, Fabiano Alto/Coregna, Isola di Felettino, Marinasco/Sarbia, Marola, Pitelli, San Venerio/Carozzo |
| Mayor Party: | centre-right |
| Mayor: | Pierluigi Peracchini |
| Area Total Km2: | 51 |
| Population Footnotes: | ,[1] "La Spezia 2019" |
| Population Total: | 93288 |
| Population As Of: | 31 December 2019 |
| Population Demonym: | Spezzini |
| Elevation M: | 10 |
| Saint: | St. Joseph |
| Day: | 19 March |
| Postal Code: | 19100, 19121–19126, 19131–19139 |
| Area Code: | 0187 |
La Spezia (or,[2] [3] [4] pronounced as /it/; A Spèza, in the local) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy.
La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria region, after Genoa. Located roughly midway between Genoa and Pisa, on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and a major Italian Navy base. A popular seaside resort, it is also a significant railway junction, and is notable for its museums, for the Palio del Golfo rowing race, and for railway and boat links with the Cinque Terre.
La Spezia and its province have been settled since prehistoric times. In Roman times the most important centre was Luni, not far from Sarzana.[5] As the capital of the short-lived Niccolò Fieschi Signoria in the period between 1256 and 1273, La Spezia was inevitably linked with Genoese vicissitudes. After the fall of the Republic of Genoa, an independent state until 1797, La Spezia grew, developed and changed, though along lines similar to Liguria's capital Genoa. This Ligurian influence can still be seen in the urban layout as well as in the types of buildings and decorations. This is notable in the carrugio, the narrow street that divides the Old Town into two. It is called Via del Prione, taking its name from the pietrone or large stone, in local dialect prione, where public announcements were once read out.[6]
La Spezia developed substantially after 1861 when the great naval arsenal there was commissioned by the Royal government.[7] In September 1943, after the Italian capitulation to the Allies, it was the departure port for the Italian Navy when it was ordered to steam into British hands at Malta.[8] The Germans arrived too late to stop the departure of the fleet. During the war Italian troopships also left from La Spezia, including the Kaiser Franz Josef, a trans-Atlantic liner launched in Trieste in 1911 for the Austrian Lloyd company, which Italy had confiscated in 1919. It was sunk in La Spezia harbour in 1944.
After the liberation, La Spezia became the point of departure for survivors from Nazi concentration camps. From the summer of 1945 to the spring of 1948 more than 23,000 Jewish displaced persons managed to leave Italy clandestinely for the Palestine Mandate. After lengthy vicissitudes, the ships Fede, Fenice, and Komemiut managed to evacuate everyone from the Golfo di La Spezia, to the extent that on Israeli maps, La Spezia is called Shaʿar Zion, in Hebrew "Gateway to Zion".[9]
La Spezia has a borderline humid subtropical (Cfa) and Mediterranean climate (Csa). The city enjoys hot summers, chilly damp winters and very changeable and rainy autumns and springs. The average temperatures of the coldest month (January) are 4C minimum and 11C maximum. In the hottest month (July) they are 20C minimum and 29C maximum. Average annual precipitation is 1314mm, more than twice that in London. Snow is extremely uncommon. Heavy snowfalls are exceptional events: only in 1985 was a snowfall of more than 50cm (20inches) recorded. Another big snowfall occurred during the night of 18 December 2009, with approximately 25cm (10inches) of snow and temperatures as low as in the following nights.
In winter nights, if the sky is clear, temperatures may fall below zero, usually reaching about -2C-4C. Conversely, in summer, especially during sunny days, the temperature can easily exceed 30C, and sometimes it reaches 35C. Furthermore, the sensation of heat in summer is increased by the high humidity.
Because of its topography, the city is not exposed to winds from the north, which lap western Liguria, but to those from the southeast. These may bring heavy rain and they can reach 80km/h, in rare cases causing the blocking of the port. The only northern wind reaching the city is the north-eastern Grecale, common during incursions of Arctic air, when the cold air flowing over the warmer Tyrrhenian sea triggers the formation of low pressures, draining the colder and heavier air trapped in the Po Valley, behind the Apennine Mountains.
See also: List of mayors of La Spezia.
Today, La Spezia is the chief Italian naval base and arsenal, and the base for a navy navigation school. It is also a commercial port, with shipyards and industries producing machinery, metal products, and refined petroleum.
See main article: Trolleybuses in La Spezia.
La Spezia's public transportation services are managed by ATC La Spezia, which owns urban, suburban and interurban bus routes; as well as the local trolleybus network and other services within the city.
The main railway stations in the city are La Spezia Centrale railway station, Migliarina railway station, and Ca' di Boschetti.
Since 2002, a university named G. Marconi has had its headquarters in La Spezia.
The Distretto Ligure delle Tecnologie Marine (DLTM) is a research hub in La Spezia, Italy, focused on blue economy. It's a partnership of more than 20 entities including Fincantieri, Leonardo S.p.A., Intermarine, Rina Service, Consorzio Tecnomar, Autorità portuale, CNR, Camera di Commercio and University of Genoa[11] and one of the five of innovation and research hub in Liguria. [12]
Both the "G. Marconi" pole and the DLTM are hosted in the old building of the Bruno Falcomatà hospital since December 2019.[13]
In 2020, the local football club, Spezia Calcio, was promoted to the Serie A for the first time in their history.[14]
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy.
La Spezia is twinned with:
Vallejo, USA