Cinque Terre

5 (Cinque) Terre

 

 

Today, from the port of Livorno, Italy, I took a full-day excursion to the picturesque Cinque Terre, an immensely beautiful set of 5 villages linked together on the Northern Italian Riviera.  Known as traffic-free, lowbrow, sea hugging fishing and (mostly former) winemaking areas, they are a remote group of five communities who banded together during the middles ages to protect themselves from pirates.

 

Because they have remained isolated from the rest of Europe and Italy (tourism is in its infancy here) each village holds its distinct heritage and dialect, unchanged for centuries.  Geographically, they are located a on the Northern Italian Riviera, a few minutes apart by boat or rail, or they can be hiked.  Many residents use the train as their sole means of transportation among villages and to larger cities as gasoline is expensive and by train, the route is direct and the towns are only 5 minutes apart. 

 

All five towns are connected by good hiking trails in the National Marine Park that protects wildlife and maintains beaches, breakwaters, trails, walkways, and docks.  Some speed demons are even known to hike all five in less than two hours, but I hear that 5 hours allows for a more reasonable pace.  I saw several couples with walking sticks/(cross country skis) in the towns, a signal they are serious trail hikers.  At this printing, the trail is not accessible in its entirety due to residual damage from October 2011 flood (and “politics”).  A train or boat ride is required to connect some towns. 

 

 

The towns are (from East to West): 1. Riomaggiore IMHO, the most beautiful from the sea), 2. Manarola, 3. (The completely hilltop) Corniglia (smallest with population of 250 and inaccessible by water due to lack of harbor), 4. Varnazza, and 5. Monterosso (largest with 1500 residents).

 

We began our outing with a 1.5-hour bus ride from Livorno to La Spezia followed by a walking tour of the nearby charming village of Portovenere (Port of Venus), considered the gateway to the Cinque Terre.  Next, (11:00) we boarded a ferry and enjoyed spectacular scenery as we cruised along the entire Cinque Terre.  The weather was perfect, the sun brilliant, breezes pleasant, as we glided along, feasting on the picturesque sites.  I was fortunate to secure a prime viewing spot up front and starboard. 

 

  
 

 

 

 
 
 
 

People boarded and disembarked at each harbor.

 

Our tour guide Andrea, passionate and knowledgeable, told us all about the history of Livorno, La Spezia, Levanto and other places; shipbuilding in the region; Carrera marble (we passed the mountains en route) ; regional wines, local cuisine (birthplace of pesto and focaccia and famous for anchovies) and beverages, and even a few words in Italian.

 

Our first stop was a visit to Vernazza, with the only natural harbor among the 5 towns and known as the Jewel of the Cinque Terre.  I really enjoyed soaking in the local flavor and watching passerby as a sipped a strong cup of cappuccino in a local harbor front piazza café.  I had heard these villages are fiercely committed to preserving their traditions, architecture, heritage and overall look rather than succumb to the lure of commercialism that has rendered many places the status of “any town Europe”  Hopefully, it will be a long time before Mc Donald’s and Prada invade!!

 

Next, we visited the largest village, Monterosso, which most closely resembles a (small-scale) resort complete with beach and kayak rentals.  We took a brief guided tour that included Piazza Garibaldi, Church of St John the Baptist, and Oratory of the Dead, then, I explored the village’s narrow passage-ways and nooks and crannies, on my own.  Here, I discovered as in many southern European cities, it is common to encounter cobblestone streets, narrow walkways, pastel colored buildings, residents lingering over a drink in a café, and clothes lines displaying colorful laundry.

 

 

I truly enjoyed this excursion that exceeded my expectations.  It offered rich history, beautiful scenery, and interesting commentary on a variety of subjects.  I was especially impressed that our logistically complex tour (bus, to walking tour, to free-time, to ferry-ride,  to walking tour, to free-time,  to ferry ride, to walking tour, to free-time, to a walk to train station, to train ride to Levanto, to bus back to the ship—all in ten hours) was so smoothly implemented and free of problems.

 

I will certainly add hiking the 5 (Cinque) Terre to my bucket list

Here is Rick Steves' blog post about Cinque Terre:
http://blog.ricksteves.com/?p=11264