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Cervara Abbey

A 1361 seaside abbey between Portofino and Santa Margherita with the Riviera’s only Renaissance garden on the water.

  • Santa Margherita Ligure
  • Church
Plan your visitBuy tickets
Where
Santa Margherita Ligure
Best for
Seafront Renaissance garden
Allow
1 hr 15 min
Best time
Spring or early autumn, on the morning tour
Tickets
From €15
Checked February 2026

The Abbey of San Girolamo della Cervara was founded in 1361 on the shore between Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino, and passed to the Benedictines of Monte Cassino in the early 1400s.

Its walls were fortified against Barbary pirates, and in 1525 Francis I of France was held in the tower for a week after his defeat at Pavia. Today the reason to come is the garden: the only monumental Italian Renaissance garden on the Riviera that opens straight onto the sea, with clipped boxwood parterres, a seventeenth-century marble fountain, citrus trees and wisteria. The abbey is privately owned, so a visit is a guided tour rather than a walk-in ticket.

Five things worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

  1. The Renaissance seafront garden

    Clipped boxwood cones and a seventeenth-century marble fountain with a cherub.Facing the sea

  2. The tower room of Francis IFrancis I of France, 1525

    The room where the defeated French king was held after Pavia, marked with a plaque.In the tower

  3. The cloister

    A sixteenth-century cloister with two levels of vaulted arcades.At the center of the abbey

  4. The church of San Girolamo

    A Latin-cross church with a slightly inclined apse meant to suggest Christ's bowed head.Within the abbey

  5. The herb garden

    Rosemary, sage, mint and potted citrus, as in a monastic medicinal garden.In the garden

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Tickets
From €15
Booking
Book ahead
Time needed
1 hr 15 min
Best time
Spring or early autumn, on the morning tour
Getting there
On the seafront road between Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino. From Santa Margherita take the Portofino bus to the Cervara stop and climb the short lane, or walk the waterfront path. There is no visitor parking, so plan on foot or public transport.

Visits are guided, on set Sundays of the month from spring to autumn (first and third Sunday). Reduced €12 for FAI and Touring Club members and over-65s; free under 14 (two per paying adult). Booking is required. Last updated February 2026. Prices change, so check the official site before you go.

Book the first slot and wear flat shoes: the garden is best in morning light, and the tour ends on the terrace above the Portofino marine reserve. Have lunch in Santa Margherita rather than crowded Portofino.

Official website
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Before you book

How long should you spend at Cervara Abbey?

About an hour and a quarter. That is a guided tour of the garden, the cloister and the church.

Do you need to book Cervara Abbey?

Yes. The abbey is privately owned and visited by guided tour rather than a walk-in ticket, so book ahead.

Is Cervara Abbey worth visiting?

Yes, above all for the garden. It is the only monumental Renaissance garden on the Riviera that opens straight onto the sea.

More to see nearby

Same city first, then the nearest across the region.

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