The Cinque Terre National Park in Liguria Italy
You don’t visit the Cinque Terre National Park in Italy (Five Lands) in August, you don’t travel by car and you don’t visit them in a hurry. When beauty becomes intense in its finest form, when the essence of a land is perceived through an infinite series of low stone walls that have stolen fertile strips of land for cultivation from nature, when Montale's poetry becomes palpable between vegetation that is almost complete in its entirety, that throws itself headlong into the sea, or else, less often, slowly degrades towards the foreshore, one has to stop to listen.
Ligurian coast in the Cinque Terre protected marine area
A car, or any motorized means of transport becomes superfluous and the madness in August contrasts too strongly with the spirituality that prevails along this stretch of land, confined by an uncontaminated sea and rugged mountains that design the habitat of the vines. To understand these five, beautiful villages and their rugged and wild territory, but at the same time refined and soft, it is better to trust your own legs and follow the numerous trails that weave along this part of Levante Riviera in the northern Italian region of Liguria.
Monterosso al Mare
For those who arrive from the north, this village is the ‘door’ to the Cinque Terre. Split into two – the older part with its characteristic atmosphere and the more modern part, the Fegina which is more adapted to sea tourism – Monterosso is the ideal town to begin to discover the territory. Walking along narrow roads of the old town, a worthy stop is at the church of San Giovanni Battista, dating from the 1200s, with its black and white stripped façade, it has a spectacular marble rose window and a very interesting pointed arch portal. Also noteworthy are the bell tower and the inside, which has five naves.
Not to miss in addition to the literary park dedicated to Eugenio Montale (a great italian poet who won the Nobel prize in 1975), is the 17th century church of San Francesco which holds many prestigious paintings, and also the castle. Near the village, the promontory of Mesco offers one of the most beautiful panoramas of the park. The retreat of Santa Maddalena, immersed in the landscape and the Santuario della Madonna di Soviore bring a spiritual dimension to the area.
Vernazza, one of the Cinque Terre Villages
Vernazza
Vernazza, a multicolored spectacle that dives into the sea from a vertiginous promontory, is probably the most spectacular village of the Cinque Terre. It is the only village to possess a small touristic port. The beauty of the village, in addition to its Genoese towers, resides in the townscape of the medieval era, which sees an incoherent placement of houses attached one to each other, until together they form a charming composition of pastel tones. The village is dominated by the church of Santa Margherita d’Antiochia, clearly of medieval origin, but with additions from the 17th century. As one climbs the steep staircase between the houses clinging onto mountainside, one joins the trail that connects Vernazza to Corniglia.
Corniglia
A step for every day of the year, this is the distance that links Corniglia to the sea. A long staircase brings this village, suspended in mid-air, to the sea, a characteristic more of the mountains than of the sea. The church of San Pietro is beautiful, three naves of pure Ligurian gothic, embellished with a rose window of Carrara marble. Nearby, not to be missed is an excursion to the pebble beach of Guvano and to the Hill of the Tre Croci, with its splendid view of the Mediterranean coast.
Manarola
A tiny pier contracts against a spur of dark rock overhanging the sea. It's Manarola, famous for its steep steps, for its narrow lanes paved in stone worn by centuries of walking, for its typical fishing boats moored when the sea is stormy and it infringes on the black rock that characterizes the village. Between the narrow multicolored roads, the most important building in Manarola is certainly the 14th Century church of San Lorenzo, which is built in Ligurian gothic-style. Its rose window, which adorns the façade, is beautiful and many treasured paintings are inside.
The bell tower is also worth noting, built from an ancient watch tower and the ruins of the fortifications that protected Manarola from attacks from the sea. It is from these remains of the past that the famous “Via dell’Amore” (Road of Love) starts, an evocative pedestrian walkway, that runs along half the coast, overhanging the sea, to Riomaggiore. An hour's excursion, although less romantic but very interesting all the same, takes you to the village of Volastra, with its houses built in concentric semicircles and to the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora della Salute, constructed completely in stone and of clear Romanesque design.
Riomaggiore, a view from the sea
Riomaggiore
Home of the Cinque Terre National Park, Riomaggiore is an ancient village with houses built closely next to each other, that create an evocative play of light and shadows, on one side the blue hues of the sea and, on the other, the sparkling greens of the mountains. The small town provides notable artistic views which can be found in the form of murals that retrace the way of life of these lands, in the 14th century church of San Giovanni Battista, in the oratory of Santa Maria Assunta, of Sant’Antonio Abate and of San Rocco.
Near to Riomaggiore, Torre Guardiola is the nominated place for naturalistic observations following a trail immersed in Mediterranean bush. The protected marine area looking onto Capo Montenero, is ideal for bird watching, whilst the rack-railway, an indispensable instrument for working in vineyards on the terraces, offers the possibility of reaching, in a novel way, the Santuary of Nostra Signora di Montenero.
Tourist Information
- Official Cinque Terre Park website (english version): www.parconazionale5terre.it