MORE ABOUT THE SURROUNDING AREA
AND A BIT OF HISTORY:
A MAN MADE LANDSCAPE: The
surrounding landscape has been hewn out of the cliffs
and hills by man since pre Etruscan times. The steep
terraces sloping down to the sea are held up by over
7000 km of dry stone walling, cleverly built without
any kind of cement. They are cultivated as vineyards
that reach down almost to the shore s of the Mediterranean
it’s self.
Cinque Terre is recognised by UNESCO
“Mankind’s World Heritage” and is
today a national park and protected marine area with
the aim of protecting this great cultural heritage for
future generations.
ALONG THE PATHS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN
BUSH: Without doubt, the best way to discover,
to try and understand and enjoy Cinque Terre is to visit
it on foot. Along its path ways and centuries old flights
of steps, which up to a short while ago were the only
communication routes between the five villages, you
succumb to the magic of this landscape and its panoramas
suspended between sky and sea.
The terraced vineyards alternate with
olive groves and where man has
abandoned the soil, the Mediterranean bush has taken
over again, with round euphorbia bushes, broom, white
and pink cystus and the agaves that dot the landscape
infusing it with the heady, spicy perfume of this eternal
flower.
The most famous path of the Cinque
Terre is the “Via dell’Amore”, connecting
Manarola to Riomaggiore and partially cut out of the
steep cliffs overlooking the sea.
THE ROCKY SEA OF THE CINQUE
TERRE: The inhabitants of these places have
agricultural origins and lived on the hills. They came
down to the coast, once the Saracens had finished invading,
when the sea became safe and populated the villages
at the mouths of the rivers along the shore.
Cinque Terras landscape is harsh and
wild and even the coast reflects this nature. High cliffs
reaching down into the cobalt blue depths of the sea
hide minute shingle beaches at Riomaggiore and Vernazza
or tiny “ports” like at Manarola, for pulling
up the boats when the sea is rough. Here, in summer,
sunbathers mix with fishermen.
Between Vernazza and Corniglia there
is the romantic beach of Guvano, that can only be reached
by foot or by boat. A larger sandy beach, with sun lounges
and umbrellas for hire, can be found at Monterosso al
Mare.
THE VILLAGES: In
medieval times, the name “terra” (land)
meant village. From this origin comes the name Cinque
Terre (five villages).
Having rounded Punta Mesco, coming
from Genoa, the first village is Monterosso al Mare,
the only one with a large beach and promenade connecting
its historical centre to the new Fegina quarter.
Vernazza, located at the mouth of
a river, is naturally protected from the threat of the
sea by a rocky promontory and it has always been the
only safe landing point in Cinque Terre.
Corniglia, the only village not on
the sea, but nestling on a hill surrounded
by vineyards, has its own sweetly countrified appeal.
Manarola and Riomaggiore, clinging
to the rock face, with their houses piled up in a multi-coloured
mosaic overlooking the sea, are the most typical and
unspoilt villages of the five.
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