The city of La Spezia comes under the authority of the APT Cinque Terre e Golfo dei Poeti. The territory is divided into 5 distinct portions; the city, the Gulf of La Spezia, Cinque Terre e Riviera, the Val di Magra and the Val di Vara.

La Spezia is home to Italy's largest naval presence. It was little more than a backwater before Cavour transferred the Piemontese fleet during the unification of the country (that's Piemonte without any coast!). The Naval Museum was also transferred, this time from Genova, and is the first point of call for getting under the skin of the city. It hosts an amazing collection of ship figureheads.