Cinque Terre

The Cinque Terre appear in documents from the 11th century. Monterosso and Vernazza were settled first, and the other villages grew up later within the territory of the Republic of Genoa; Riomaggiore dates from the early 13th century, and Manarola's church of San Lorenzo from 1338. Like the rest of the Ligurian coast, the villages suffered frequent pirate raids, first Saracen and then Turkish, and in the 16th century their people strengthened old forts and built new defensive towers against Turkish attacks; Vernazza's Doria Castle had been built as a lookout tower in the 15th century.

Over the centuries the inhabitants cut terraces into the steep slopes right up to the cliffs, growing grapes and olives, and their wine was known far beyond the coast — Boccaccio mentions the vernaccia of Corniglia in the Decameron. From the 17th to the 19th centuries the area declined, recovering when an arsenal was built at La Spezia and the railway arrived from Genoa. The railway also took people away, and traditional farming declined. Bombing and fighting in the Second World War caused extensive damage.

Tourism grew from the 1970s, and the brightly painted fishermen's houses were conceived as an attraction in the late 1970s. UNESCO listed the Cinque Terre, with Porto Venere and its islands, as a World Heritage Site in 1997; a protected marine area followed in 1998 and the national park in 1999. Abandoned terraces worried conservationists, and on 25 October 2011 torrential rain brought floods and mudslides that killed nine people. The Via dell'Amore, closed by a rockslide in 2012, reopened in 2024–25 after major engineering work.

The villages are Ligurian to the core, each with its own dialect name — Rimazzô for Riomaggiore, Vernassa for Vernazza — and a strong sense of separate identity despite the shared label. Daily life still follows the fishing and farming year, and every village celebrates its patron saint between late May and August with a mix of religious ceremony and popular festivity; Manarola's feast of San Lorenzo falls on 10 August. Vernazza stages a pirates' attack in midsummer, recalling the town's defence against a Saracen raid.

Since 1961 the hill above Manarola has carried a Nativity scene of lights each Christmas, said to be the largest in the world. The landscape has drawn writers for centuries: Dante compared the coast's cliffs to the slopes of Purgatory, the Nobel laureate Eugenio Montale described Monterosso in his poetry, and Gabriele D'Annunzio praised Sciacchetrà. Telemaco Signorini of the Macchiaioli painted Riomaggiore. More recently the villages inspired the fictional Portorosso in Pixar's Luca.

The terraces themselves are the great collective work: dry-stone walls built by hand over centuries, with the heavy stones carried up on men's shoulders and women's heads. Their upkeep matters for more than looks, since abandoned terraces have been linked to the landslides that threaten paths and villages. The park asks visitors to stay on marked paths and wear proper footwear, and walking the Blue Trail requires a pass.

About 5,000 people live permanently in the national park, which at roughly 4,300 acres is the smallest in Italy and the most densely inhabited. The villages are tiny: Manarola has about 350 residents and Corniglia about 150. Administratively, Monterosso, Vernazza and Riomaggiore are municipalities in the province of La Spezia, while Corniglia belongs to Vernazza and Manarola to Riomaggiore.

Tourism dominates the economy, with millions of visitors a year. Alongside it, the old activities continue: Monterosso's fishermen still go out for the anchovy run with lamps at night, traditionally around the feast of St Peter on 29 June, and salt part of the catch; and the terraces are still worked for olives, lemons and the grapes of the Cinque Terre DOC, which the cooperative between Manarola and Volastra makes into wine.

The pressure of crowds is the central issue. In summer the trains and narrow streets are packed, while terraces have been abandoned for decades, raising the risk of landslides. The area appeared on the World Monuments Watch in 2000 and 2002, and a management plan followed. Life is quieter from late autumn to spring, when the mild climate still draws walkers.

Seafood is plentiful, and Monterosso's anchovies are the local speciality, with Protected Designation of Origin status from the European Union. They are fished at night with lamps and preserved in salt, a practice recognised by Slow Food, and are also served fresh, simply dressed with lemon, olive oil and crusty bread.

As across Liguria, pesto — basil, garlic, salt, olive oil, pine nuts and pecorino — is the signature sauce, and focaccia is the everyday bread. Farinata, a savoury, crunchy pancake made from chickpea flour, is sold in bakeries and pizzerias. Corniglia is particularly known for a gelato made with local honey, and lemon trees grow all over Monterosso.

Two wines come from the terraces, both made from Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino grapes: the dry white Cinque Terre, a DOC since 1973, with a straw-yellow colour and a delicate aroma; and Sciacchetrà, a sweet wine that D'Annunzio praised. Grappa, made from the pomace left after winemaking, and limoncino, a sweet, creamy lemon liqueur served chilled after meals, round off the table.