The Five Lands

The Cinque Terre (Five Lands) is—or, in this context, are—five villages founded in the early medieval period on a mountainous section of the Ligurian coast of Italy: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Long isolated from the rest of Italy, they retain a distinctive identity and form the core of Italy's newest national park, Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre, established to preserve both its natural and cultural resources. The Cinque Terre is sometimes considered to be part of the Italian Riviera, but while it is in close proximity, it has a very different—and, to my tastes, far more interesting—feel.

The villages of the Cinque Terre owe their existence to fertile soil supporting agriculture (grapes, olives, lemons, and figs) and to the bounty of the sea (anchovies, squid, and mussels); they owe their isolation to the mountainous terrain. Historically, they were linked to one another by trails and otherwise accessible only by sea. The railroad didn't reach the Cinque Terre until after 1870 but now forms the other major link between the villages; there is a highway high above the towns, but even now few residents have much use for cars.

Monterosso is the oldest of the five villages, and was our home base during our week in the Cinque Terre. It is, geographically, almost two villages, comprising the original medieval village (Centro Storico, which we referred to offhandedly as "old town") and the newer section (Fegina officially, "new town" to us); the house we rented in Fegina was one of the last built, in the 1950s. The two halves of Monterosso are separated by a ridge of volcanic rock, through which a tunnel has been bored to accommodate pedestrians and official vehicles such as police cars and ambulances; civilian vehicles have to backtrack several miles uphill to cross from Centro Storico to Fegina or vice versa. Fortunately Monterosso, like the rest of the Cinque Terre (and as befits a medieval town), is very pedestrian-friendly (albeit steep).

On to a few photos of these picture-postcard towns:

Monterosso al Mare

[Centro Storico, or old Monterosso.]

[Fegina, or new Monterosso, as seen from old town. "Our" house is halfway up the hill, directly above the rock at photo center.]

[Fegina beach as seen from the house.]

[Upper portion of Fegina, again as seen from the house.]

[Sailing club harbour, below house but out of sight from there.]

[View from Monterosso toward Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore at dusk.]

Vernazza

[From the sea.]

[Vernazza's harbour.]

[Church of Santa Margherita.]

Corniglia

[From the train station. The footpath up, part of which appears at right, is supposedly "385 steps (and nearly as many switchbacks)". I climbed, but didn't count.]

[From the sea.]

[View over town.]

Manarola

[From Corniglia, through a haze.]

[From the sea.]

Riomaggiore

[From the sea.]

[Rio's harbour.]