Porto Venere, Cinque Terre and the islands of Tino, Tinetto and Palmaria

Eugenio Montale is the poet who most praised the landscape and unique features of Cinque Terre, a 20-km strip of coastline where villages are “barricaded between the cliffs and the sea”. The cultural landscape of the Ligurian east coast stands out for the restless beauty of its natural scenery forged by human toil over the course of many centuries, which gave rise to intimately connected instances of architecture, local togetherness and traditions that converged into a truly outstanding landscape design. The name was coined by a XV century dignitary from Genoa. Indeed the main centres on the Ligurian east coast between Punta Mesco and Punta Montenero were – and still are – five. Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. The strip of Ligurian coast known as Cinque Terre is a continuum of rocky walls towering over the sea and the home of wide lithological variety, which results in a wide chromatic spectrum and sometimes bizarre shapes; the most common rock here is sandstone, often side by side with mudstone, lime and serpentinite. In several walls traces of polychrome shale may be admired. the deep valleys, at the end of which the maritime villages were founded, suddenly jut into the sea, whose erosive force is the main threat to the preservation of this area. Native flora varies depending on altitude and soil composition; coastal rocks are ideal for Mediterranean shrubland, mainly tree heath, broom and mastic. Above 500 m a.s.l. the landscape offers holm oak and pine forests and chestnut groves. The most farmed species are grapes – especially around and above Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore – citrus – especially in Monterosso – and olive trees. The farmed plots differ in terms of micro-climate and often times orchards and gardens are protected by walls protecting them from strong, cold winds.

Men inhabited this area since the Neolithic age; afterwards, small rural settlements developed on vantage points, in scenic spots strategically located around religious grounds or shrines. Over the centuries these shrines remained as spiritual landmarks for the communities living in these maritime villages, so much that each of them has its own Marian shrine connected to the coastal centres with steep paths. The Via dei Santuari joins the five Marian shrines located in Cinque Terre and provides a marvellous opportunity to explore the landscape of this part of Liguria, taking a stroll among the terraced slopes. In the middle ages (XI-XIII century), Liguria was divided into three districts and the marca Obertenga included Cinque Terre. In the XIII century several coastal villages started developing, which remained under the rule of the Republic of Genoa until modern age.

The maritime villages all have all a similar structure and were founded in the natural cove formed by a stream mouth ending into the sea; the bay was perfect as a landing place and, in the case of Vernazza, the main square was built close to the port. The urban layout consisted of dwellings built in rows along the streets that ran parallel to the contour lines of the coast, while steep stairways worked as vertical connections. The urban and architectural morphology of Cinque Terre is based on tower houses, tall dwellings with red, yellow, pink and orange painted façades; the pigments were once obtained from coloured earth ground and mixed with limewater. Today these houses are a distinctive element in the imagery of Cinque Terre.

Monterosso al Mare

Located on a sandy coast by a rather wide cove. The earliest documents about its origin date back little after the year 1000. In the XI century it passed under the rule of a noble family, the Fieschi. In the XII it passed under the rulers of Lagneto until Genoa set its sights on it. The Promontory of San Cristoforo, located between the old town and the more recent settlement, still displays the remains of the castle and the defensive system and, overlooking the sea, the XVI century Torre Aurora built under Genoese rule. The old centre of the village, set in the valley between the streams Buranco and Morione has a pristine medieval look, while the new settlement, called Fegina stands out for a beautiful beach. In the -old- town is where the Church of San Giovanni Battista (XIII century) is situated, with its spectacular dichromatic façade with alternate white marble and dark green serpentine bands. The church is a superb example of Ligurian Gothic; the bell tower is a strong building originally part of the village defensive system. The convent and the capuchin church of San Francesco (XVII century), enjoys a marvellous position on the hill of San Cristoforo; it still displays works from famous artists, including mannerist Bernardo Castello and the master of Genoese baroque, Bernardo Strozzi. As far as food and wine go, the local excellences include anchovies, lemons and wine, including the famous sweet straw wine Sciacchetrà.

Vernazza

Vernazza boasts a glorious and bustling maritime position throughout the middle ages; indeed it was an important naval base and a fortified port protecting the land from Saracen raids. It was always a faithful ally of Genoa and as a testimony of it, it was granted the privilege of having one representative seat at the Republican assembly. The monumental value of its buildings testifies to the past mercantile wealth and its strategic role as a maritime power. The square that gives on to the port there is the  Church of Santa Margherita di Antiochia. The church, mentioned for the first time in a document dating back to 1318, displays Ligurian Gothic style in its original parts; the octagonal bell tower ends with a dome. Santa Margherita di Antiochia is the saint protector of Vernazza, and every 20 July she is honoured with a village festival. In Vernazza tourists can still find several traces of a once mighty defensive system: the remains of the walls, the Belfry, and Castello Doria featuring a circular lookout tower on the rocky outcrop providing an exceptionally wide view on the Levante riviera.

Corniglia

A hamlet of Vernazza, Corniglia is perched on the top of a dramatic cliff, about 100 m above sea level, while the slopes around the village are covered in terraced vineyards and olive groves. Corniglia is the only one among the Cinque Terre to be positioned at such height that it does not have access to the sea. A long brick stairway – called  ‘Lardarina’ – connects it to the sea. The Church of San Pietro is a Ligurian Gothic jewel; the façade is brought tout by a white Carrara marble ornate rose window, while inside it still displays remarkable specimens of sacred art. The Belvedere of Corniglia offers an exceptional panoramic view: a terrace overlooking the sea to let the stare wander over the Tyrrhenian sea and, on very clear day, spot Corsica. The remains of old Genoese forts still dot the cliffs giving on to the sea.

Manarola

A hamlet of Riomaggiore, Manarola charms with the chromatic variety of its tower-homes that seem to rise from sea-swept cliffs and wind down into a maze of alleys, ups and downs. Its existence has been in documents since the XIII century. A Fieschi feud, it moved under Genoese rule in 1273 when Niccolò Fieschi, the master of the village and the Ligurian east coast, was defeated in battle. The square houses the Church of San Lorenzo or Church of Natività di Maria Vergine (1338) with a Gothic façade, the marble rose window, the pointed-arched portal and the baroque interiors. In the past its bell tower was also a lookout tower. Oil and wine are the village’s traditional products; its strong agricultural vocation is still found in the very name, an evolution of the big watermill wheels or – magna Roea, ‘big wheel’- which was recently restored by Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre.

Riomaggiore

The village is situated on the steep ridge of two slopes descending towards the sea. The Turcotti and later the Fieschi were the masters of Riomaggiore, which became Genoese land in 1276 with all its Levante territory. At the top of the Cerricò hill there are the ruins of a XIII century castle, later expanded under Genoese rule. The most remarkable monument in Riomaggiore is the Church of San Giovanni Battista, dating back to 1340 and located in the hight part of the village; its façade is an example or XIX-century neo-Gothic architecture, though the rose window is original from the XIV century, as well as the Gothic side portals. The painter Telemaco Signorini a member of the Macchiaoli school, portrayed the village in some famous landscapes and daily life scenes.

During Roman times Porto Venere was a naval station – Portus Veneris – along the maritime route towards Spain and in the XII in fell under Genoese influence because of its strategic position. Under the protection of the mighty Republic, Porto Venere became a fortified citadel. After the XVI century Porto Venere ceased to be the impregnable outpost it once was because of the rise of long-range firearms; nevertheless the village did not stop thriving thanks to the sea, trade and agriculture. The Church of San Pietro is situated where allegedly a Roman temple of Venus (VI century B.C.) and later a paleo-Christian temple used to be; it lies right on the rocky ridge facing the islands Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto and it symbolises the identity of this place. The church was damaged several times but it still preserves it Ligurian Gothic look. From the wharf of Porto Venere one can admire the colourful, tall tower-houses, arranged along the sea as a sort of barrier, or fortress. Castello Doria, built by Genoa in 1161 and later expanded in the XVI century, towers proudly over the village.

The Porto Venere promontory, the islands Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto and a a large protected sea form the Parco Naturale Regionale di Porto Venere. The Park Authority has the goal of safeguarding the natural features and the biodiversity of the area. Among the most significant endangered flora and fauna species: the Lily of Porto Venere, a plant native of the promontory and the islands, which stands out for its violet flowers that grow on the cliffs; the leaf-toed gecko, the smallest European gecko, a very rare species found in the islands Tino and Tinetto; the phenomenon called karst especially found on the island of Palmaria with sinkholes, caves and underground wells. The landscape of the islands in the Porto Venere archipelago mostly features natural and wildlife characteristics.

Apparently it is the only island in Liguria that is still permanently inhabited; it is the most famous among beach-goers, attracted by the shores set among white cliffs and green slopes. On the island there are several caves where traces of human settlements from the palaeolithic were found; among them the most important is Grotta dei Colombi, facing the sea. It was inhabited during the ice age. The very name of the island may derive from the term “balma” or “barma”, that is “grotto”. For a long time the island was an extraction centre and many quarries opened to mine the precious Portoro, a yellow-veined black marble. Right in front of fort Umberto I, at Punta delle Scola, there is Torre Scola, the remains of a XVII century building currently used as a lighthouse. The fauna at Palmaria include many species of birds nesting on the cliffs, while the vegetation is mostly Mediterranean scrubland, even though on the northern shore the weather is cooler and the vegetation is taller and woody.

Isola del Tino looks like an enormous triangular rock, almost entirely covered by thick holm oak and stone pine vegetation. The little island is military ground and therefore access is forbidden except on 13 September during the festival of the patron saint of the Gulf of Spezia, San Venerio. The saint was a monk who lived in Isola del Tino between the VI and VII century and is considered the patron saint of lighthouses showing the way to sailors. The island still displays the ruins of a XI century Benedictine monastery, the seat of a powerful monastic community that deeply and durably influenced on the population and settling patterns of the surrounding territory, with the exceptional, yet restructured, cloister. In the site archaeologists unearthed architectural remains and late Roman artefacts, probably the endowment of a villa. The military lighthouse stands out from the top of the island.

The smallest of the archipelago islands. Wild and harsh, it stands out from the water for only 17 metres; it was selected by a community of hermit monks in the VI century A.D. as the ground for their monastery.

Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore appear as a continuum of charming coves, picturesque villages on steep cliffs, surrounded by traditional terraces vineyards and olive groves perched on the steep rocks. Terraces are the product of a century-old commitment by the local population, who doggedly managed to conquer every inch of fertile soil by building dry walls that fit on rocky slopes and create narrow strips of farmland, the so-called ciàn. Since its medieval origin, the maritime vocation of Cinque Terre has gone together with the agricultural vocation: terraces ‘flourished’ along the cost and around small rural settlements, in which “sloping houses” were perched on the rocks, with the lower floors devoted to farming and the upper floors used for living and accessible from another, higher entrance. The building technique used to build terraces was developed during the high Middle Ages through the slow perfection of an empirical methodology that created over time some unwritten rules, which nevertheless have become the reference models for the art of dry wall building. It is interesting to detect little differences in the building technique, which varies from one area to another, even though the model is the same. Sandstone is the most widely used material to build dry walls. Sandstone is dug from rocky walls, from the Mesco quarry or from coastal deposits; it is then crushed into medium and small blocks roughly cut into square shapes. Containment walls are “dry built”, that is mortar-free, even though on some slopes around Vernazza and Monterosso, mortar is used to keep stones together. The terrace is supported by a wall at ground level, resting on a foundation layer made of larger blocks and rising up to approximately two or three metres all around the slope side; inside the terrace is filled with soil, while a layer of gravel by the inner lining of the wall ensure water drainage. Thus walls can contain the soil and create narrow strips of farmland, level for horticulture and sloping for vineyards and olive groves, depending on the type of soil and the degree of sloping of the side. Dry walls require constant maintenance. Sometimes the head of the wall is flush with the soil, sometimes it stands out up to one meter from soil level, in order to protect the produce from wind.

Over the centuries terraces were laid following the shape of the land, thus forming a whole network of connection pathways, rainwater channels and service stairways. It is interesting to analyse the connection paths that crossed the entire Cinque Terre landscape, and are still to a certain extent a significant part of it. Besides the ways that developed up the slopes connecting the area to the mainland with stairways and paved roads, there were also other tracks that moved along the coastline at varying heights. From a landscape and history standpoint, the most important is called Via dei Santuari, at mid height, which still connects the five places of Marian worship of the five main centres of Cinque Terre. These sanctuaries boast ancient origins and a long ex voto tradition; each of the villages of Cinque Terre is bound by deep devotion to the local sanctuary, which is usually located at a higher level that the coastal settlement and can be reached on ancient paths – all suitably mapped and included in the Cinque Terre scenic network. Nostra Signora di Soviore, above Monterosso al Mare, at 464 m a.s.l., was founded as a church and became a sanctuary in 1700.  Nostra Signora di Reggio (Vernazza) is still displays an image of the Virgin, which the legend attributes to Saint Luke in reporting XIV century Genoese documents; other stories have it that the Madonna di Reggio arrived from the sea with some crusaders. Nostra Signora delle Grazie e San Bernardino (Corniglia) a XX century landmark built on the foundation of a XV century place of worship. Nostra Signora della Salute (Manarola), dating back to the XIII century, the outer part of it is still in the original Romanesque style. Nostra Signora di Montenero (Riomaggiore), believed to date back to 1335, it underwent repairs and refurbishment in the XIX century and has a breathtaking view. Another famous path is Via dell’Amore, a panoramic itinerary stretching from Riomaggiore to Manarola at a height of approximately 30 m a.s.l., a wonderful chance to immerse yourself in a truly unique landscape. This approximately 1-km track was dug in the Twenties as part of the railway gallery expansion project, in order two connect two magazines where the dynamite needed for the drilling operations was stored. The name via dell’amore was coined by journalist and writer Paolo Monelli.

During his Italian tour (from 1816 to 1823) English poet George Byron visited Rome, Venice, Ravenna, Pisa and Genoa. Already a known poet, the scandals in which he was involved in his Country had shrouded him with a romantic, almost legendary, aura. In his relentless pursuit of new passions, he lived for some time on the east coast of Liguria and remained under its spell eversince. In the vicinity of Porto Venere, right after San Pietro point, a rocky cave still bears the poet’s name as the libertine poet was believed to go there to meditate. The Porto Venere promontory and archipelago are the westernmost tip of Golfo della Spezia, which became a major military port under Napoleon, who considered it the “most beautiful port in the world”; subsequently, Cavour ordered the large Arsenale della Spezia to be built there. At the beginning of the XX century the gulf of Spezia was nicknamed Golfo dei Poeti, because its breathtaking beauty cast its spell on countless artists and men of literature, including David Herbert Lawrence, George Sand, Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, Swiss painter Arnold Böcklin, scientist Paolo Mantegazza, poets Gabriele D’Annunzio and Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, and writer/director Mario Soldati.

 Sciacchetrà is the most famous wine produced in Cinque Terre. This very intense,aromatic straw wine is made with bosco, vermentino and albarola grapes farmed in the local terraces and dried, or withered, in ventilated rooms for several months to increase the sugary content. Once bottled, it must be left to finish for at least two years. Grapes are arranged on specific grills hanging from ceilings; indeed most private homes still display this particular contraption. Regarded as a prized product, it used to be drank as a tonic or during celebrations. The origin of its name, Sciacchetrà, may be Greek; in order to be at its best the vines must be kept very low to prevent the wind from damaging the grapes. Grape farming is a centuries-old tradition and all communities took part in it. An event worth witnessing is grape harvesting in Cinque Terre, taking place in September in particularly challenging conditions: grapes are still harvested manually since the small terraced plots do not allow machinery to manoeuvre easily; thus today, as in the past, people collect ripe grapes with their bare hands and place them in large baskets called cuffe, which are later carried on the shoulders to the collection point, where they are loaded on monorail grape harvest trains. The trains travel back and forth to collect the cuffe and stand as the only modern innovation to somehow relieve of some of their hard toil the local farmers of this harsh yet extraordinary land. Moreover, the trains are used all year round to carry material and equipment needed for all farming activities taking place here.

If all dry-walled terraces were to be arranged in a line, then their total length would exceed 7,000 kilometres; the only other human feat to equal such remarkable size is the Great Chinese Wall! Terraces start at sea level, sometimes a few meters above the shore, and cover the coastline up to a height of approximately 500 m above sea level; they stretch over an area measuring approximately 2,000 hectares. Finally, Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre is 4,300 hectare wide: it is the smallest park in Italy but also the most densely inhabited with 5,000 people living in the five villages.

Eugenio Montale is considered the leading modern Italian poet. The tie between Montale and Cinque Terre is due to the summer stays and the time the poet as a young man would spend with his family in Monterosso. Enchanted by the wild and harsh landscape, his memories of sun-drenched afternoons and nightly meditations in the small village near Spezia were immortalised in his famous verses. In his collection Ossi di Seppia (1925) some of his best poems are inspired by these places, including Meriggiare pallido e assorto and Punta del Mesco.

Saint Venerius (Porto Venere or Palmaria, 560 – Tino, 630)

Venerius was the son of a fishing family. He chose monastic life and promoted an austere, spiritual conduct among the cenobite community, consistently with the Benedictine rule. He finally settled in the island of Tino to pray and contemplate surrounded by a selected circle of brothers. Saint Venerius life is clouded in mystery; he is often described as the miraculous saviour and protector of sailors and shipwrecked people; apparently he introduced some technology improvements to the way boats were built, lit fires to guide sailors at night and his door was always open for the people of the sea. When he passed away in Tino he was already bound for sainthood and the monks built the local monastery in his honour. The recipient of fervent devotion from the locals, his relics were moved to Reggio Emilia in 830 to protect them from Saracen raids. He is the saint patron of Golfo della Spezia.

►   “Da qui i vigneti illumintati dall’occhio benefico del sole e dilettissimi a Bacco si affacciano su Monte Rosso e sui gioghi di Corniglia, ovunque celebrati per il dolce vino”.

Francesco Petrarca

“Paesaggio roccioso e austero, asilo di pescatori e di contadini viventi a frusto a frusto su un lembo di spiaggia che in certi tratti va sempre più assottigliandosi, nuda  e solenne cornice di una delle più primitive d’Italia. Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, nidi di falchi e di gabbiani, Manarola e Riomaggiore sono, procedendo da ponente a levante, i nomi di pochi paesi o frazioni di paesi così asserragliati fra le rupi e il mare.”

Eugenio Montale, Fuori di casa (1969)

“Una fiancata di nude rupi, ritte su acque così trasparenti e profonde che paiono un compatto vetro ora verde smeraldo, ora così turchino da sembrare nero. S’inseguono senza interruzione tra sporgenze e rientranze, secche come rostri, d’unsasso vivo come di metallo; […] Qui è roccia pura: arenaria o granito, dolomia, serpentina verde, porfido rosso e persino basalto nero […]. In questo tragico paesaggio si sono annidati gli uomini. Ogni gente è come l’ha fatta e rimodellata e sviluppata la natura della plaga in cui vive. E qui si legge una storia che non fu scritta ma scalpellata nella costa. […] Venendo qui si capisce chi furono i Liguri storici, una delle razze più tenaci, ostinate, caparbie – e quelli delle Cinque Terre forse tra i più testardi d’ogni altro […] inflessibili come i loro scogli”.

Ettore Cozzani, Le mie Cinque Terre (1976)

Traditional farming terraces on the Mediterranean coast is a millennia-old practice that enables to draw analogies between far-away places with different identities. The Amalfi Coast is listed as a World Heritage Site (1997) for the landscape value of this whole area. As it happened in Cinque Terre, the landscape image of the coast around Amalfi is unsurpassed, as it was forged by human toil over the course of almost ten centuries. Since the High Middle Ages the farming terraces system for grape and citrus cultivation has spread on the steep limestone slopes towering over the sea and changed the natural landscape creating a new environmental ecosystem in which nature and human activities were inseparably bound in a mutual embrace. The farming terrace technique has a very high cultural value as it is the product of ancient knowledge breaking down into several different phases, which prove deep understanding of the climate and hydrology of the soil to produce a system that fits perfectly with the environment and looks marvellous as well. Just like in Cinque Terre, Costiera Amalfitana also stands as an exceptional and material testimony of ancient skills and the stubborn determination of the local population in turning harsh and difficult landscapes into wonderful and bountiful gardens overlooking the waves of the Mediterranean Sea.

Cinque Terre e il golfo dei poeti, Touring, Milano, 2013

Cinque Terre, testi di O. Levati, De Agostini, Novara, 1992

Cinque Terre e Golfo dei Poeti: tra mare e cielo, vigneti e colori: da Levanto a Portovenere, la val di Magra e la val di Vara, TCI, Slow Food Italia, Touring, Assago, 2013

La cultura dei terrazzamenti per la salvaguardia del paesaggio, Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi, Raito di Vietri sul Mare, 14-15 maggio, 2004, N.E. 2010

Liguria, a cura di E. Bernardini, De Agostini, Novara, 1991

Manuale per la costruzione dei muri a secco. Linee guida per la manutenzione dei terrazzamenti delle Cinque Terre, Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre

Porto Venere, Cinque Terre e isole Palmaria, Tino, Tinetto, SAGEP, 2008

Portovenere e le Cinque Terre, Kina, Milano, 1982

Vini e vigneti delle Cinque Terre, a cura di P.E. Faggioni, Stringa, Genova, 1984

Weekend alle Cinque Terre, Giunti, Firenze, 2008

L. Bonati, Guida ai sentieri di Porto Venere e isola Palmaria, Edizioni Cinque Terre, 2015

L. Bonati, Guida ai sentieri delle Cinque Terre, Edizioni Cinque Terre, 2015

S. Etter, Fra gli scogli di Porto Venere, Giacché, 2006

M. Ferrari, Mare verticale: dalle Cinque Terre a Bocca di Magra, Laterza, Roma, 2014

M.G. Mariotti, Guida Completa delle Cinque Terre, Porto Venere e Levanto, Servizi Editoriali di Genova, 2008

S.F. Musso, G. Franco, Guida agli interventi di recupero dell’edilizia diffusa nel Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre, Marsilio, Venezia, 2006

F. Quilici, L. Tamagnini, Cinque Terre. Tra Portovenere e Levanto, Photoaltlante, 2008

F. Rolla, Il viaggio di Lazzaro Spallanzani a Porto Venere e alle Alpi Apuane nell’estate del 1783, Edizioni Cinque Terre, 2015

I. Simeone, Cinque Terre e Golfo dei poeti, Istituto geografico De Agostini, Novara, 2005

M. Soldati, Regione regina, Laterza, Roma, 1987

C. Unger, Cinque terre. Vigneti con vista mare, Pacini, 2013

whc.unesco.org/en/list/826

www.unesco.beniculturali.it

www.parconazionale5terre.it

www.parconaturaleportovenere.it/

www.comune.portovenere.sp.it

www.comunemonterosso5terre.it/hh/index.php

www.comune.vernazza.sp.it/

www.comune.riomaggiore.sp.it

Eugenio Montale is the poet who most praised the landscape and unique features of Cinque Terre, where villages are “barricaded between the cliffs and the sea”. The cultural landscape of the Ligurian east coast stands out for the restless beauty of its natural scenery forged by human toil over the course of many centuries, which gave rise to intimately connected instances of architecture, local togetherness and traditions that converged into a truly outstanding landscape design. The strip of Ligurian coast known as Cinque Terre is a continuum of rocky walls towering over the sea and the home of wide lithological variety, which results in a wide chromatic spectrum and sometimes bizarre shapes. the deep valleys, at the end of which the maritime villages were founded, suddenly jut into the sea, whose erosive force is the main threat to the preservation of this area. Native flora varies depending on altitude and soil composition; coastal rocks are ideal for Mediterranean shrubland, mainly heath, broom and mastic. Above 500 m a.s.l. the landscape offers holm oak and pine forests and chestnut groves. The most farmed species are grapes – especially around and above Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore – citrus and olive trees. The farmed plots differ depending on micro-climate and often times orchards and gardens are protected by walls protecting them from strong, cold winds.

Men inhabited this area since the Neolithic age; afterwards, small rural settlements developed on vantage points, in scenic spots strategically located around religious grounds where shrines were built in Christian times. Over the centuries these shrines remained as spiritual landmarks for the communities living in these maritime villages, so much that each of them has its own Marianshrine connected to the coastal centres with steep paths. Today the Via dei Santuari joins the Shrines located in Cinque Terre and provides a marvellous opportunity to explore the landscape of this part of Liguria, taking a stroll among the terraced slopes. In the middle ages (XI-XIII century), Liguria was divided into three districts and the marca Obertenga included Cinque Terre. In the XIII century several coastal villages started developing, which remained under the rule of the Republic of Genoa until modern age.

The maritime villages of Vernazza, Menarola and Riomaggiore all share a similar layout. They were all founded in the natural cove formed by a stream ending into the sea. The urban layout consisted of dwellings built in rows along the streets that ran parallel to the contour lines of the coast, while steep stairways worked, and are still in use, as vertical connections. The urban and architectural typology of Cinque Terre is based on tower houses, tall dwellings with red, yellow, pink and orange painted façades. Today these houses are a distinctive element in the imagery of Cinque Terre.

Monterosso al Mare

Located on a sandy coast by a rather wide cove. The earliest documents about its origin date back little after the year 1000. In the XI century it passed under the rule of a noble family, the Fieschi. In the XII it passed under the rulers of Lagneto until Genoa set its sights on it. The Promontory of San Cristoforo, located between the old town and the more recent settlement, still displays the remains of the castle citadel and the defensive system and, overlooking the sea, the XVI century Torre Aurora built by the Genoese. The old centre of the village has a pristine medieval look, while the new settlement, called Fegina stands out for a beautiful beach.  In the -old- town is where the Church of San Giovanni Battista (XIII century), is situated, with its spectacular dichromatic façade with alternate white marble and dark green bands. The church is a superb example of Ligurian Gothic, while the belltower is a strong building originally part of the village defensive system. The convent and the capuchin church of San Francesco (XVII century), enjoys a marvellous position on the hill of San Cristoforo, it still displays works from famous artists, including Genoa-born Bernardo Castello and Bernardo Strozzi. As far as food and wine go, the local excellences include anchovies, lemons and wine, including the famous sweet straw wine Sciacchetrà.

Vernazza

Vernazza boasts a glorious and bustling  maritime position throughout the middle ages; indeed it was an important naval base and a fortified port protecting the land from Saracen raids. It was always a faithful ally of Genoa and as a testimony of it, it was granted the privilege of having one representative seat at the Republican assembly. The square that gives on to the port there is the Church of Santa Margherita di Antiochia, mentioned for the first time in a document dating back to 1318 The church displays Ligurian Gothic style in its original parts; the octagonal belltower ends with a dome. In Vernazza tourists can still find several traces of a once mighty defensive system: the remains of the walls, the Belfry, and Castello Doria featuring a circular lookout tower on the rocky outcrop providing an exceptionally wide view on the Levante riviera.

Corniglia

A hamlet of Vernazza, Corniglia is perched on the top of a dramatic cliff, about 100 m above sea level, while the slopes around the village are covered in terraced vineyards and olive groves. Corniglia is the only one among the Cinque Terre to be positioned at such height that it does not have access to the sea. A long brick stairway – called  ‘Lardarina’ – connects it to the sea. The centre hosts the parish church of San Pietro, built in the XIV century and still displaying clear templar symbols. The Church of San Pietro is a Ligurian Gothic jewel; the façade is brought tout by a white Carrara marble ornate rose window, while inside it still displays precious specimens of sacred art. The Belvedere of Corniglia offers an exceptional panoramic view: a terrace overlooking the sea to let the stare wander over the Tyrrhenian sea and, on very clear day, spot Corsica. The remains of old Genoese forts still dot the cliffs giving on to the sea. The Belvedere of Corniglia offers an exceptional panoramic view: a terrace overlooking the sea to let the stare wander over the Tyrrhenian sea and, on very clear day, spot Corsica.

Manarola

A hamlet of Riomaggiore, Manarola charms with the chromatic variety of its tower-homes that seem to rise from sea-swept cliffs and wind down into a maze of alleys, ups and downs. Its existence has been in documents since the XIII century. A Fieschi feud, it moved under Genoese rule in 1273 when Niccolò Fieschi, the master of the village and all the Ligurian east coast, was defeated in battle. The square houses the Church of San Lorenzo  or Church of Natività di Maria Vergine (1338) with a Gothic façade, the marble rose window, the pointed-arched portal and the baroque interiors. In the past its belltower was also a lookout tower. Oil and wine are the village’s traditional products; its strong agricultural vocation is still found in the very name, an evolution of the big watermill wheels or – magna Roea, ‘big wheel’- which was recently restored by Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre.

Riomaggiore

The village is situated on the steep ridge of two slopes descending towards the sea. The Turcotti and later the Fieschi were the masters of Riomaggiore, which became Genoese land in 1276 when Nicolò Fieschi surrendered all his Levante territory to the Republic of Genoa. At the top of the Cerricò hill there are the ruins of a XIII century castle, later expanded under Genoese rule. The most remarkable monument in Riomaggiore is the Church of San Giovanni Battista, dating back to 1340 and located in the high part of the village; its façade is an example or XIX-century neo-Gothic architecture, though the rose window is original from the XIV century, as well as the Gothic side portals. The macchiaioli painter Telemaco Signorini portrayed the village in some famous landscapes and daily life scenes.

During Roman times Porto Venere was a naval station – Portus Veneris – along the maritime route towards Spain and in the XII in fell under Genoese influence because of its strategic position. Under the protection of the mighty Republic, Porto Venere became a fortified citadel. After the XVI century Porto Venere ceased to be the impregnable outpost is once was because of the rise of long-range firearms; nevertheless the village did not stop thriving thanks to the sea, trade and agriculture. The Church of San Pietro is situated where allegedly a Roman temple of Venus used to be; it lies right on the rocky ridge and symbolises the identity of this place. From the calata of Porto Venere one can admire the colourful houses forming a fortress-village, while Castello Doria, built under Genoa rule in 1161 and later expanded in the XVI century proudly towers over the village.

The Porto Venere promontory, the islands Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto, a large protected sea and the Parco Naturale Regionale di Porto Venere, with the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terreform the UNESCO heritage site. The Park Authority has the goal of safeguarding the natural features and the biodiversity of the area. Among the most significant endangered flora and fauna species: the Lily of Porto Venere, a plant native of the promontory and the islands, which stands out for its violet flowers that grow on the cliffs; the leaf-toed gecko, the smallest European gecko, a very rare species found in the islands Tino and Tinetto; the phenomenon called kerst especially found on the island of Palmaria with sinkholes, caves and underground wells. The landscape of the islands in the Porto Venere archipelago mostly features natural and wildlife characteristics.

It is the most anthropic island in Liguria; it is the most famous among beach-goers, attracted by the shores set among white cliffs and green slopes. On the island there are several caves where traces of human settlements from the palaeolithic were found; among them the most important is Grotta dei Colombi, facing the sea. It was inhabited during the ice age. For a long time the island was an extraction centre and many quarries opened to mine the precious Portoro, a yellow-veined black marble. Right in front of fort Umberto I, at Punta delle Scola, there is Torre Scola, the remains of a XVII century building currently used as a lighthouse. The fauna at Parlaria include many species of birds nesting on the cliffs, while the vegetation is mostly Mediterranean scrubland, even though on the northern shore the weather is cooler and the vegetation is taller and woody.

Isola del Tino looks like an enormous triangular rock, almost entirely covered by thick holm oak and stone pine vegetation. The little island is military ground and therefore access is forbidden except on 13 September during the festival of the patron saint of the Gulf of Spezia, San Venerio. The saint was a monk who lived in Isola del Tino between the VI and VII century and is considered the patron saint of lighthouses showing the way to sailors. The island still displays the ruins of a XI century Benedictine monastery, the old seat of a powerful monastic community that deeply and durably influenced on the population and settling patterns of the surrounding territory, with the exceptional, yet restructured, cloister. On the site archaeologists unearthed architectural remains and artefacts of late Roman time, probably the endowment of a villa. The military lighthouse stands out from the top of the island.

The smallest of the archipelago islands. Wild and harsh, it stands out from the water for only 17 metres; it was selected by a community of hermit monks in the VI century A.D. as the ground for their monastery.

During his Italian tour (from 1816 to 1823) English poet George Byron visited Rome, Venice, Ravenna, Pisa and Genoa. Already a known poet, the scandals in which he was involved in his Country had shrouded him with a romantic, almost legendary, aura. In his relentless pursuit of new passions, he lived for some time on the east coast of Liguria and remained under its spell eversince. In the vicinity of Porto Venere, right after San Pietro point, a rocky cave still bears the poet’s name. The Porto Venere promontory and archipelago are the westernmost tip of Golfo della Spezia, which became a major military port under Napoleon, who considered it the “most beautiful port in the world”; subsequently, Cavour ordered the large Arsenale della Spezia to be built there. At the beginning of the XX century the gulf of Spezia was nicknamed Golfo dei Poeti, because its breathtaking beauty cast its spell on countless artists and men of literature.

Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore appear as a continuum of charming coves, picturesque villages on steep cliffs, surrounded by traditional terraces vineyards and olive groves perched on the steep rocks. Terraces are the product of a century-old commitment by the local population, who doggedly managed to conquer every inch of fertile soil by building dry stone walls built using local stone and material, which fit on rocky slopes and create narrow strips of farmland, the so-called ciàn. Since its medieval origin, the maritime vocation of Cinque Terre has gone together with the agricultural vocation: terraces ‘flourished’ along the cost and around small rural settlements, in which “sloping houses” were perched on the rocks, with the lower floors devoted to farming and the upper floors used for living and accessible from another, higher entrance. Over the centuries terraces were laid following the shape of the land, thus forming a whole network of connection pathways, rainwater channels and service stairways.

It is interesting to analyse the connection paths that crossed the entire Cinque Terre landscape, and are still to a certain extent a part of it. Besides the ways that developed vertically from coastal villages to the terraced slopes, mid-slope hamlets or centres beyond the main ridge, connecting the area to the mainland with stairways and paved roads, there were also other tracks that wound along the coastline horizontally at varying heights. Originally these were mule tracks and paths. From a landscape and history standpoint, the most important is called Via dei Santuari, at mid height, which still connects the five places of Marian worship of the five main centres of Cinque Terre. . Every sanctuary is connected to tales of miraculous events or episodes in the life of saints and for centuries they have attracted worshippers and pilgrims. One famous path is Via dell’Amore, a panoramic itinerary stretching from Riomaggiore to Manarola at a height of approximately 30 m a.s.l., a wonderful chance to immerse yourself in a truly unique landscape.

 Sciacchetrà is the most famous wine produced in Cinque Terre. This very intense,aromatic straw wine is made with bosco, vermentino and albarola grapes farmed in the local terraces and dried, or withered, in ventilated rooms for several months in order to increase the sugary content. Once bottled, it must be left to finish for at least two years. Grapes are arranged on specific grills hanging from ceilings; indeed most private homes still display this particular contraption. Regarded as a prized product, it used to be drank as a tonic or during celebrations. The origin of its name, Sciacchetrà, may be Greek; in order to be at its best the vines must be kept very low to prevent the wind from damaging the grapes. Grape farming is a centuries-old tradition and all communities took part in it. An event worth witnessing is grape harvesting in Cinque Terre, taking place in September in particularly challenging conditions: grapes are still harvested manually since the small terraced plots do not allow machinery to manoeuvre easily; thus today, as in the past, people collect ripe grapes with their bare hands and place them in large baskets called cuffe, which are later carried on the shoulders to the collection point, where they are loaded on monorail grape harvest trains. The trains travel back and forth to collect the cuffe and stand as the only modern innovation to somehow relieve of some of their hard toil the local farmers of this harsh yet extraordinary land. Moreover, the trains are used all year round to carry material and equipment needed for all farming activities taking place here.

If all dry-walled terraces were to be arranged in a line, then their total length would exceed 7,000 kilometres; the only other human feat to equal such remarkable size is the Great Chinese Wall! Terraces start at sea level, sometimes a few meters above the shore, and cover the coastline up to a height of approximately 500 m above sea level; they stretch over an area measuring approximately 2,000 hectares. Finally, Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre is 4,300 hectare wide: it is the smallest park in Italy but also the most densely inhabited with 5,000 people living in the five villages.

Eugenio Montale is considered the leading modern Italian poet. The tie between Montale and Cinque Terre is due to the summer stays and the time the poet as a young man would spend in Monterosso. Enchanted by the wild and harsh landscape, his memories of sun-drenched afternoons and nightly meditations in the small village near Spezia were immortalised in his famous verses. In his collection Ossi di Seppia (1925) some of his best poems are inspired by these places, including Meriggiare pallido e assorto and Punta del Mesco.

Saint Venerius (Porto Venere or Palmaria, 560 – Tino, 630)

Venerius was the son of a fishing family. He chose monastic life and promoted an austere, spiritual conduct. He finally settled in the island of Tino with a selected circle of brothers. Saint Venerius life is clouded in mystery; he is often described as the miraculous saviour and protector of sailors and shipwrecked people; apparently he introduced some technology improvements to the way boats were built, lit fires to guide sailors at night and his door was always open for the people of the sea. When he passed away in Tino he was already bound for sainthood and the monks built the local monastery in his honour. The recipient of fervent devotion from the locals, his relics were moved to Reggio Emilia in 830 to protect them from Saracen raids. He is the saint patron of Golfo della Spezia.

Traditional farming terraces on the Mediterranean coast is a millennia-old practice that enables to draw analogies between far-away places with different identities. The Amalfi Coast is listed as a World Heritage Site (1997) for the landscape value of this whole area. As it happened in Cinque Terre, the landscape image of the coast around Amalfi is unsurpassed, as it was forged by human toil over the course of almost ten centuries. Since the High Middle Ages the farming terraces system for grape and citrus cultivation has spread on the steep limestone slopes towering over the sea and changed the natural landscape creating a new environmental ecosystem in which nature and human activities were inseparably bound in a mutual embrace. The farming terrace technique has a very high cultural value as it is the product of ancient knowledge breaking down into several different phases, which prove deep understanding of the climate and hydrology of the soil to produce a system that fits perfectly with the environment and looks marvellous as well. Just like in Cinque Terre, Costiera Amalfitana also stands as an exceptional and material testimony of ancient skills and the stubborn determination of the local population in turning harsh and difficult landscapes into wonderful and bountiful gardens overlooking the waves of the Mediterranean Sea.

Anthropic, noun, from Greek ànthropos, ‘man’; relating to human presence, referring to man.

Lithology, noun, from Greek lìthos, ‘stone’; regarding rocks and stones of which a given area or environment is made.

Marian, noun, devoted to Virgin Mary.

Dichromatic, adjective, characterised by having two colours.

Cliff, noun, rocky formation towering over the sea.

Carrugio, noun, small, winding alley, mainly on a slope, typically found in Liguria.

Macchiaiolo, noun, artist belonging to a pictorial school developed in Tuscany in the mid XIX century. Macchiaioli stood out for the colour ‘spots’ and the contrasting chiaroscuro (lights and shadows), which gave extreme emotional power to their paintings.

Mule track, noun, a mountain, unpaved, dirt track, used by local communities to carry goods on foot or using animals.

Outpost, noun, military centre, removed from the bulk of the army, usually located closer or in a more strategic position in order to intercept enemy forces along its likely routes of approach.

Calata, noun, in general the action of lowering objects with a top-down movement. Wharf, place in ports where goods are loaded on and unloaded from vessels and boats are lowered into the water.

Artefact, noun, object of daily use in the home.

Anthropised, an environment whose natural features have been modified by the toil of human communities.