La Spezia (town)

Port in northwest Italy and chief Italian naval base on the Gulf of La Spezia, 80 km/50 mi southeast of Genoa, on the Riviera di Levante; population (2001) 91,400. Industries include shipbuilding, engineering, oil-refining, and the manufacture of electrical goods and textiles.

The port was first mentioned in records in 1224. The town developed in the mid-19th century and became an important naval dockyard, replacing Genoa, in 1865. The Military Arsenal was built in 1869, making the city a strategic military location.