Spezia Playbook: Your Unrivalled Experience With the Little Eagles in Serie C

La Spezia is not on every traveller’s list. Wedged between Genoa and Pisa, between Liguria and Tuscany, tucked in at the top of the Gulf of Poets, it tends to lose visitors to its famous neighbours — Cinque Terre a few kilometres west, or Portofino to the north.

But if you are here for football, you are in the right place. Spezia Calcio spent the better part of a century navigating the lower reaches of Italian football before finally breaking through to Serie A in 2020.

They spent three seasons in the top flight and are now back down in Serie C, but the passion at the Stadio Alberto Picco has never dimmed and the city still takes its football very seriously.

Here is everything you need to know. 

Where To Stay

La Spezia is compact and easy to navigate on foot, which means almost anywhere in the city centre puts you close to the action. The area around La Spezia Centrale is the most practical base — the main train station is the city’s transport hub and sits roughly 15 minutes on foot from the Picco. Most hotels, B&Bs and apartments cluster here or along the parallel streets heading towards the seafront. 

If you prefer to wake up with a sea view, the area along the Passeggiata Morin — the city’s elegant waterfront promenade — has some excellent options and keeps you within easy walking distance of the centre. It is quieter and more scenic than the station quarter, and a morning coffee looking out over the Gulf is a good way to start a matchday. 

Where To Eat

Ligurian food does not shout because it doesn’t need to. The flavours are precise, rooted in what the sea and the hills produce, and La Spezia has a handful of places that do the local tradition genuine justice. 

La Pia is the locals’ choice, straightforward, honest, worth seeking out. It’s perfect for pizza and farinata al trancio. Farinata is a thin, unleavened chickpea pancake, baked in a wood-fired oven and sold by the slice at bakeries across the city. It costs almost nothing, fills you up properly, and is about as Ligurian as it gets. 

If you want something near the water, Dai Pescatori is a no-frills fish spot right on the seafront — and here you will eat well for very little, which is exactly what you want before a Saturday afternoon kick-off. 

Tucked into the old town, Osteria All’Inferno dal 1905 is La Spezia’s oldest eatery — a former coal cellar set underground, with brick vaults and a warm, no-frills atmosphere. Run by the same family for generations, it serves generous portions of true Spezzino tradition: stuffed mussels, fried anchovies, and mesciua, the local chickpea-farro-bean soup. It sits in the heart of the historic centre, roughly a 20-minute walk from the Stadio Alberto Picco. 

Where To Drink

The pre-match ritual in La Spezia has its own geography. Know where to go and you will find yourself in the middle of it. The first stop for any visiting fan should be Bar Toscano — the ultra heartland on matchday. The crowd builds steadily from a couple of hours before kick-off and the atmosphere is as close as the city gets to a proper English-style pre-match pub session. 

In the alleys of the old centre, Tre Canti has its own distinct character. It is a small bar with a big identity.

After the final whistle, the place to be is Paolino’s Pub on Piazza del Mercato. The square fills up post-match and the atmosphere is warm, regardless of the result. 

Don’t Forget

Tickets can be bought through Spezia Calcio’s official website or at authorised points of sale around the city.

The Curva Ferrovia is where the real atmosphere lives. Away fans are housed in part of the Curva Piscina, accessed via a dedicated tunnel on Via dei Pioppi.

Merchandise — The club shop is near the stadium on Viale Fieschi. Spezia’s black-and-white colours echo the kit of Pro Vercelli, adopted in the club’s early years as a tribute to one of the great teams of Italian football’s pioneering era. 

While you’re there — The promenade is lively in the evening, calm in the morning and gives a proper sense of the city’s naval and maritime character, while Porto Mirabello sits just east of the city centre and is worth a stroll. It is modern, with yachts and a pleasant promenade looking out towards the hills. 

For a view over the whole city, the old city walls — Parco delle Mura — offer a scenic walk and a perspective that many visitors miss entirely. In the heart of the old town, Castello San Giorgio is a restored medieval fortress that now houses an archaeological museum. The views from the ramparts alone justify the climb. 

Did You Know? 

Spezia’s famous Curva Ferrovia takes its name from the old railway line to the military arsenal that used to run directly behind the stand. The tracks are long gone — replaced by what is now a cycle path — but the name stuck. 

Getting There 

La Spezia is well connected by rail. From Genoa it is about an hour by regional train and from Pisa it is closer to 45 minutes. The national rail network stops at La Spezia Centrale, from where the stadium is a 15-minute walk through the city centre along Viale Fieschi. 

Need Another Football Fix? 

The Ligurian Riviera has more to offer if you want to extend your trip. Genoa is an hour to the north and is home to both Genoa CFC and Sampdoria. It is one of the great football cities in Italy. Pisa are back in Serie B.