Contact
Address
Via Discovolo snc - c/o Stazione Manarola 19017 Riomaggiore (SP), Italy
GPS: 44.128819142134, 9.7141046547968
The Cinque Terre National Park is located on the Mediterranean Sea in the Italian region of Liguria, halfway between the cities of Pisa and Genoa. It is the smallest national park in the country, created in 1999 and covering just 40 km². Nevertheless, the Cinque Terre has a myriad of different landscapes. They include a marine protected area as well as 5 picturesque coastal villages with a total of only 5,000 inhabitants: Corniglia (the smallest), Monteresso al Mare (the liveliest), Vernazza (the most typical), Manarola (one of the oldest) and Riomaggiore (the most populated).
With its strong historical and cultural heritage, the Cinque Terre National Park is nevertheless a remarkable natural site that is one of the most beautiful landscapes on the Italian Riviera. Its villages with medieval architecture are part of the coast of La Spezia, which extends from Porto Venere to Punta Mesco. They were built on the steep coast of the Ligurian Sea from the 7th century onwards to escape the barbarian invasions (in particular those from the Germanic people of the Visigoths after the fall of the Roman Empire). Then came the Saracen pirates and the Barbary corsairs, who posed a constant threat to the inhabitants of the region between the 9th and 18th centuries, despite the advent of the maritime republics of Genoa and Pisa. These events did not prevent the Cinque Terre territory from prospering and taking advantage of its wonderful environment.
While cars are forbidden, since 1870 a railway has linked the colourful villages and small fishing ports of the Cinque Terre National Park, which today is an ecological paradise for pedestrians and hikers. A terraced vineyard, where most of the agricultural work is still done by hand, seems to be suspended in time. Clearly, the Cinque Terre terroir belongs to the category of the most spectacular wine landscapes in the world. The cultivation of saffron, citrus fruits and olive trees complete the singularity of this territory with its poetic features. Walking along the many coastal and inland paths of the Cinque Terre National Park, the visitor will enjoy a wide variety of landscapes: steep cliffs and hillsides, terraced cultivation supported by dry stone walls in a complex relief, steep rocks overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, coves or small beaches in a divine setting and panoramic views of the colourful villages of the Cinque Terre.