The Cinque Terre are a stretch of the Ligurian Riviera di Levante coastline, reachable from Villa Argentina by ferry or in a few minutes by train, in which five small villages, or as they were once called, “terre” (lands), are found: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.
Trails hanging over the sea
The coastal environment is typically Mediterranean, but the Ligurian Apennine mountains plunge steeply to the sea, creating a unique landscape. The best way to discover the Cinque Terre is to walk along the trails connecting the five villages, immersed in the fragrant Mediterranean scrub vegetation. The most famous trail is the Via dell’Amore (Path of Love), which connects Manarola to Riomaggiore, cutting through the rock and winding along the cliff face. Arriving from Moneglia, the first Cinque Terre village you encounter is Monterosso al Mare, a small seaside resort with a wide sandy beach and a beautiful promenade.
The next village is Vernazza, nestled in a bay, followed by its hamlet Corniglia, the village with rustic charm and the only one of the five built on a hilltop. The last two villages you encounter are Manarola and Riomaggiore, perhaps the most typical of the Cinque Terre: the houses descend towards the sea and crowd against one another with their very colorful facades, creating a dazzling mosaic.
The Cinque Terre National Park
The villages are part, together with a portion of the hinterland and the protected marine area, of the Cinque Terre National Park. The park is the first in Italy to have been created to protect a landscape—created, moreover, by humans, who knew how to settle in the area by enhancing and making the natural environment even more evocative.
The panoramic views, the sea, and the hillside trails are not, however, the only beauties of this UNESCO World Heritage area: the churches in the typical Ligurian Gothic style, the tower houses, the maze of carruggi lanes, the rich, and light cuisine also make excursions to the Cinque Terre truly unforgettable.
And after so much walking among art, history, and nature… in the evening we will be waiting for you all for dinner at Villa Argentina!
