Europe's Jewish population was particularly effected during the Second World War with the establishment of Hitler's racial laws followed by the mass herding of Jews into ghettos, concentration and finally extermination camps. Many of the survivors headed for Holy Land, then under the British Mandate of Palestine. In 1945-1946, the Gulf of La Spezia of southern Liguria, especially the city of La Spezia, was overwhelmed by incoming clandestine Jews on route to Palestine. In that city's port the ships Faith and Phoenix were secretly furnished; maximum stealth was needed to hide these operations from the British, who were blocking the immigration. Also the Italian authorities initially opposed the exodus; only the local Ligurian population supported the Jews. When 1,014 survivors from the extermination camps, already on board the Faith, were refused permission to set sail on April 6, 1946, they proclaimed a hunger strike. Already worn from previous vicissitudes, the Jews put themselves under one final trial from April 7-10. Alarmed by the dramatic events, a group of British, Italian and Jewish personalities intervened, and convinced the survivors to suspend their hunger strike; finally, after lengthy negotiations, the Faith was allowed to set sail on May 8. By that summer La Spezia and its Gulf had achieved great fame, so much so that in Israel it came to be known as the "Port of Zion". Holocaust survivors from all over Europe flocked there in the hope of taking off for Palestine: at neighboring Portovenere the ship Exodus set sail in May of 1947, only to be directed to Marseilles where it underwent an ordeal similar to that of the Faith. The story of this drama was recounted in the award-winning film "Exodus" of 1960, starring Paul Newman.

While the actual Jewish population of La Spezia has recent origins, that of neighboring Lerici is much more ancient, a stable congregation established here in the 16th century. The former Jewish ghetto is still easily recognizable, found in the oldest part of the city near the Castle. At the junction of Piazza Mottino and Via del Ghetto is the arch that held the gate that enclosed the small Jewish quarter at night. And recently, ancient Torah rolls were found in a hidden space of a wall of Via del Ghetto, dating back who knows how many centuries.

Lerici has hosted many illustrious literary visitors and residents, including Percy Shelley, George Byron, Henry James, and David Lawrence. The intellectuals loved the tranquillity of the region, the mild climate and above all the stupendous beauty of the countryside, the hills and sea; Lawrence in fact was excited to have found this "tiny bay, almost enclosed by rocks and wrapped in olive trees that descend to the valley". The Gulf of La Spezia is nicknamed the "Gulf of Poets" after its illustrious former residents; along with Portovenere (and Cinque Terre) across the Gulf, Lerici is one of the most frequented destinations in the region.

For lovers of trekking the zone has much to offer: one can leave Lerici direct on foot and follow one of the myriad trails through the Montemarcello-Magra Park. Head up from here to the village of Serra, continuing to Ameglia and Montemarcello, whose heights afford wonderful views of the Gulf of Poets as well as the Magra River Valley inland. Here there is the 12th century Monastery of Santa Croce, which hosted Dante during his travels: follow his tracks along the coast, passing through the delightful fishing village of Tellaro before returning to Lerici. Completing this entire loop in a day would make for a fairly rigorous walk; one may always shorten the day by starting or ending their walk in any of the villages enroute, as they are (more or less) accessible by car, or by hiking shorter, non-loop itineraries.