alluring adj.: sirenic
[In Greek mythology, the sirens were three bird-women who, through their beautiful singing, lured mariners to destruction on the rocks and cliffs surrounding their island. Today, the word often suggests something that is alluring, but dangerous if heeded; just as frequently, it refers to something simply alluring.]
The A12 to La Spezia, swirling into tunnels, soaring over bridges, resembles a white-knuckle funfair ride. A tour de force by some Leonardo of motorway design, it burrows along the Ligurian coast with tantalising glimpses of impossibly-perched villages and azure water inlets whose sirenic string of exit signs reads like a travel brochure: Camogli, Portofino, Rapallo, Sestri Levante. (Ray Kershaw, “You and Italy: The Road Movie,” Independent [London],
5/31/2003.
