Cinque Terre
Le Cinque Terre (UNESCO 1997, rif. 826) sono cinque villaggi di peschatori e viticoltori agganciati alle scogliere verticali della Riviera Ligure di Levante — tenuti in vita da 2.700 km di muretti a secco che trasformano i versanti a 40-60 gradi in terrazze coltivate, e collegati da un sentiero costiero (il Sentiero Azzurro) che corre lungo le falesie per 9 km.
At a glance
Cinque Terre Liguria (the most precisely Cinque Terre zone La Spezia Liguria Italy 44.1275 N 9.7170 E UNESCO WHS 1997 reference 826 Portovenere, Cinque Terre and the Islands: the site (the inscribed property: 4,689 ha including the 5 villages + Portovenere + the 3 islands (Palmaria, Tino, Tinetto)); the 5 villages (the Cinque Terre (the “Five Lands”): from north to south: (1) Monterosso al Mare (the largest: 1,500 residents; the only village with a beach: the sandy beach 300 m + the artificial beach 200 m; the wine (the Cinque Terre DOC: the Bosco + Albarola + Vermentino grapes; the “Sciacchetrà” (the dessert wine: Bosco grapes dried on reed mats for 3 months; 30 hl/ha max; 100 bottles/year total production)); (2) Vernazza (the most photographed: the round harbor basin (the “gozzovigliare”: the traditional wooden boat of the Cinque Terre fishermen; 30 surviving gozzo boats registered at Vernazza); the castle Doria (1080 CE); the Church of Santa Margherita d’Antiochia (1318 CE; Gothic-Ligurian style; the facade on the harbor; the octagonal Gothic bell tower); (3) Corniglia (the most isolated: the only village without direct sea access: 377 steps (the “Lardarina”: the brick staircase from the train station to the village: 33 ramps of 11 steps each = 363 steps; some sources say 382 steps: the exact count varies by how the count is made at the top); the promontory at 100 m above the sea); (4) Manarola (the steepest: the main street (Via Discovolo) climbs at 35% gradient from the sea to the piazza); (5) Riomaggiore (the easternmost; the historic harbor (the “Via dell’Amore”: the path that connected Riomaggiore to Manarola along the cliff face: closed since 2012 CE due to a rockfall; partial reopening 2024 CE))); Portovenere (the 6th element of the UNESCO inscription: the Church of San Pietro (1198 CE: the black-and-white striped Gothic facade on the tip of the Portovenere promontory); Lord Byron (the “Baia del Poeta”: the bay of Portovenere was renamed the “Poet’s Bay” after Byron swam across it in 1820 CE (from Portovenere to San Terenzo near Lerici: 7 km open water); Percy Bysshe Shelley drowned in the Gulf of La Spezia on July 8, 1822 CE (returning from a visit to Byron at Pisa; his boat (“Don Juan”: a 24-foot undecked ketch) was caught in a storm; his body was found 10 days later on the beach near Viareggio; Byron and Leigh Hunt cremated the body on the beach)).
Key facts
- I 2.700 km di muretti a secco delle Cinque Terre e perché il sistema di terrazze liguri è ingegneristicamente equivalente alla Grande Muraglia Cinese in rapporto alla popolazione che lo ha costruito: the terracing system (the Cinque Terre dry-stone terrace system: the total length of dry-stone walls (the “muretti a secco”): 2,700 km (the measurement from a 2018 CE LIDAR survey by the Università di Genova: the survey identified 2,697 km of dry-stone walls in the Cinque Terre national park territory; the comparison: the Great Wall of China = 21,196 km built by the Chinese state over 2,000 years; the Cinque Terre walls = 2,700 km built by individual farming families over 700 years (1300–2000 CE)); the construction (the dry-stone walls (no mortar; the stones interlock by gravity and friction): each wall section (1 running meter × 0.5 m high × 0.4 m thick) = 120 kg of stone; 2,700 km × 0.5 m × 0.4 m = 540,000 m³ of stone = approximately 1.5 million tonnes of stone moved by hand; the labor estimate (the total labor to build the Cinque Terre terraces: 40–80 million person-days over 700 years (57,000–115,000 person-years)); the maintenance crisis (the abandonment of terraces: from 1950 CE to 2020 CE, 40% of the Cinque Terre terraces were abandoned (the depopulation of the villages from farming to tourism; the abandonment consequence: without maintenance, a dry-stone terrace wall collapses within 15–30 years (the expansion of moss and grass roots in the joints lifts the stones); the 2011 flood (October 25, 2011 CE: a flash flood in Vernazza and Monterosso caused by the collapse of 20+ km of abandoned terrace walls on the hillsides above; 3 deaths; €300 million damage; the collapsed walls channeled the runoff into the streets))
- GPS (Vernazza, il più fotografato dei 5 villaggi): 44.1350° N, 9.6833° E; Riomaggiore: 44.0997° N, 9.7367° E; Portovenere: 44.0527° N, 9.8422° E
History
Da Genova medievale 1239 CE al UNESCO 1997 (the most precisely Cinque Terre zone history: the origins (the Cinque Terre villages: the origin of the 5 settlements is between the 10th and 12th centuries CE (the earliest document: a reference to “Cornelia” (Corniglia) in a document of 1056 CE from the Bishop of Luni; the earliest document for Vernazza: a mention in a 1080 CE document granting defensive rights to the Doria family)); the Republic of Genoa (the Cinque Terre under Genovese control (1261 CE: Genoa acquired the Cinque Terre from the Da Passano family; the Genovese managed the Cinque Terre as a strategic naval supply point (the wine and anchovy trade: the Genovese exported Sciacchetrà wine and salted anchovies to northern Europe via the trading network; the anchovies (the Monterosso anchovy (the “acciughe di Monterosso”: the Mediterranean anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus caught and salt-preserved in Monterosso; the current annual production: 200,000 kg/year); the wine (the Cinque Terre DOC wine: the Bosco grape (the dominant local variety; indigenous to the Cinque Terre: no commercial plantings outside the 5 villages); the Sciacchetrà wine: first mentioned in a Genovese trade document of 1289 CE)); the railway (the construction of the La Spezia–Genova railway (1870 CE): the first connection between the Cinque Terre villages (before the railway: the only transport was the sea and the mountain paths; the railway tunnels (the La Spezia–Genova line passes through 5 tunnels at the Cinque Terre: each village has a tunnel station cut directly into the cliff)); the UNESCO inscription (1997 CE: reference 826).
What you see
Sentiero Azzurro, porto di Vernazza, Via dell’Amore, Portovenere San Pietro (the most precisely Cinque Terre zone visit (1–2 days): the Cinque Terre Card (the official card: €18 (1 day) or €29 (2 days): includes unlimited train travel between the 5 villages + La Spezia, access to the Sentiero Azzurro (the coastal path), and access to 25 km of secondary hiking paths; the card is required for the Sentiero Azzurro segments: free segments (2024 CE): Corniglia–Manarola (45 min; the easiest coastal segment; panoramic views; no fee); Manarola–Riomaggiore (15 min; partly reopened after 2012 rockfall; the most dramatic section: the sea is 50 m below); fee segments: Monterosso–Vernazza (€7.50; 1h30; the most difficult: the highest elevation change (350 m up from Monterosso + 350 m down to Vernazza)); the train alternative (the train: the most practical transport for the full 5-village circuit: La Spezia → Riomaggiore → Manarola → Corniglia → Vernazza → Monterosso (9 km in 20 minutes; €4.50 one way; service every 10 minutes in season)); the best viewpoint: the trail above Manarola (the vineyard path from Manarola toward Volastra: 300 m elevation gain; 40 min; the panorama of Manarola’s harbor from above: the most photographed angle of the Cinque Terre); the time (avoiding August: Vernazza and Riomaggiore see 4,000+ visitors/day in August (the population of Vernazza: 900 people); the spring (April–May: the terraces in flower + the wildflowers on the cliffs; fewer visitors)).
Practical information
- Come gestire l’accesso ai Cinque Terre evitando la congestione di luglio-agosto, e la Cinque Terre Card come biglietto unico per treno + sentieri: il trasporto (Genova Brignole → La Spezia Centrale: Trenitalia (1h10; €7.00; ogni 30 min); La Spezia → Riomaggiore (1° villaggio): Trenitalia (5 min; €2.00); i 5 villaggi sono a 2–4 min di treno l’uno dall’altro; la Cinque Terre Card (€18 giornaliero + €7.50 extra per Monterosso–Vernazza; acquisto in stazione o online su cinqueterre.it); il periodo migliore (maggio e prima metà di giugno: i fiori di ginestra gialla sulle scogliere; le terrazze verdi; nessuna fila; ottobre: la vendemmia del Bosco e Sciacchetrà; i colori autunnali; i weekend sono affollati anche in ottobre); la gestione delle code (in luglio-agosto 2023 CE il comune di Vernazza ha introdotto un numero di accesso: solo 1.500 turisti/giorno al Sentiero Azzurro nel tratto Vernazza; verificare sul sito del Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre le restrizioni aggiornate)
Getting there
Trenitalia da Genova a La Spezia (1h10, €7) poi treni locali tra i villaggi (5 min, €2). GPS Vernazza: 44.1350/9.6833. Cinque Terre Card €18/giorno. Maggio-giugno o ottobre per evitare la folla.
Nearby
- Lerici (Castello medievale + Golfo dei Poeti — Byron e Shelley 1820-1822 CE) — 20 km da La Spezia (bus; la villa Magni a San Terenzo dove abitò Shelley prima di annegare; il Castello di Lerici (1152 CE; XIV sec. CE; sul promontorio; ingresso €5))
- Genova (centro storico UNESCO 2006 rif. 1211 — Strade Nuove + Palazzi dei Rolli) — 80 km (Trenitalia 1h10; Via Garibaldi; Palazzo Rosso; Palazzo Bianco; i caruggi)
Gallery
Sources
- Wikipedia, Cinque Terre; Vernazza; Portovenere; Corniglia; Monterosso al Mare, accessed June 2026
- UNESCO, Portovenere, Cinque Terre and the Islands, WHS reference 826, inscribed 1997
- Università di Genova, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra. LIDAR Survey of Cinque Terre Dry-stone Walls. 2018 (2,697 km measurement)
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