Although the ancient origins of the village date back up to the sixth century BC, the first dating back to Porto Venere historical Claudius Ptolemy (150 AD) and the Maritime Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus Pius, 161 AD
The name of the village (Portus Veneris) derived from a temple dedicated to the goddess Venus, located exactly at the place where now stands the Church of San Pietro. The name was probably due to the fact that, according to tradition, the goddess was born from the foam of the sea, abundant just below that cliff. Or, we like to believe, because Porto Venere was a beautiful and romantic even then.
The original village (castrum vetus), inhabited by ancient fishermen, was situated in the current square Spallanzani and is now entirely disappeared. From a fishing village, Porto Venere naval base became the Byzantine fleet, but was attacked and destroyed by the Lombards in 643 AD The few Roman remains, consisting of some walls unearthed under the square Spallanzani, refer to the assortment Christian monastic period of the monks of St. Columba, with the ancient Church of St. Peter's Diocese of Luni.
All documents are dated 1113 witnessed the construction of the first castle, built in 1130 is the church of San Lorenzo in 1139 and the new village. Of 1161 are the walls that enclose both villages, old and new, and finally in 1162, which is formally sanctioned the transfer of the two churches under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Genoa, confirming that the complete control over the town of Genoa. In the fifteenth century, with the onslaught of Aragon, is not the dualism between the two villages, the old village is destroyed and leaves free space that can still be observed between the new village and the church of San Pietro
