Gloucester, Massachusetts, sits 40 miles north of Boston on the rocky peninsula of Cape Ann, the lesser-known, laidback cousin of Cape Cod. A working fishing town and America’s oldest seaport, Gloucester celebrates the 400th anniversary of its settlement by English colonists this year. The city’s dramatic coastline features beaches strewn with granite boulders and fishing boats passing from the sea and back to the docks again where they unload some 50 million pounds of seafood – including lobster, bluefin tuna, halibut and sea bass – each year.
First settled as a fishing outpost by 14 men from England’s Dorchester Company who were later joined by Pilgrims from Plymouth Colony, Gloucester eventually attracted Portuguese and Italian fishing families searching for new opportunities in the 1800s. Their influence is still evident in the city’s Italian and Portuguese restaurants and bakeries, and fresh seafood features heavily on the menu.
