The Cinque Terre area is a popular tourist destination. Over the centuries, people have built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the Ligurian Sea. Paths, trains, and boats connect the villages as cars can only reach them with great difficulty from the outside via narrow and precarious mountain roads.
History
Cinque Terre is mentioned in documents dating to the 11th century. Monterosso and Vernazza were settled first and the other villages grew later, whilst within the territory of the Republic of Genoa. In the 16th century, the inhabitants reinforced existing forts and built new defensive towers to protect the population from attacks by the Turks. Cinque Terre experienced an economic decline from the 17th to 19th centuries,[citation needed] recovering when an arsenal was built in La Spezia and it gained a railway link to Genoa.
Bombing and fighting during World War II caused extensive damage to the Cinque Terre.
The railway led to migration from the area and a decline in traditional industries until the growth of tourism from the 1970s onward brought some prosperity.
The predominant crops in the area have been grapes and olives. Some fishermen were based in Monterosso, but the area's gaily painted fishermen's cottages were conceived in the late 1970s as a tourist attraction.
Because of its exceptional cultural and ecological assets, UNESCO added Cinque Terre to its list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.[2]
On 25 October 2011, torrential rain caused floods and mudslides in Cinque Terre. Nine people were killed and villages were severely damaged, particularly Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare.[3]
The heavy rainfall event was favoured by the crisis of the traditional and less remunerative cultivation of terraced landscapes which sixty years before started a progressive decline and reduction of maintenance. It was partially balanced by the vegetation that spontaneously developed on abandoned terraces, a role underlined by a part of the existing scientific literature.[4]
Transport and tourism
Personnel control the intense flow of tourists on the platforms of the La Spezia Centrale railway station during the public holiday of May Day
Access to Cinque Terre by car is limited. A road to Vernazza is very narrow and ends 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) before the town. Trains run from La Spezia to all five towns within Cinque Terre, as well as to major regional and national destinations.[5] The Cinque Terre railway stations are located on the Genoa-Pisa line. Most long-distance trains do not stop at all five Cinque Terre towns, making it necessary to transfer from La Spezia onto regional trains. Some intercity trains also stop at Monterosso Station.
A scheduled passenger ferry runs between Levanto and La Spezia, stopping at all of the main villages except Corniglia, which does not have a landing point, as it is not located on the coast.[6] Boats also connect to Genoa's Old Harbour, Lerici, and Porto Venere.
Paths
Many walking trails run throughout the park[7] and are named according to the SVA numbering system, however, it is common to hear trails referred to by their previous numbers, causing confusion to visitors.[citation needed]
The most popular path is known as the Sentiero Azzurro ("Azure Trail"), used to connect the five villages. Due to the unstable environment, landslides frequently cause portions of the trails to be closed. The Sentiero Azzurro section from Riomaggiore to Manarola called the Via dell'Amore ("Love Walk") has been closed since fall 2019 and is expected to reopen in 2024.[8] It is still possible to walk between these villages, although the trail is both steeper and longer than the closed path along the waterfront.
Culture
Literature
Limoni The little path that winds down along the slope plunges through cane-tufts and opens suddenly into the orchard among the moss-green trunks of the lemon trees. [...] [9]
The 2021 Disney/Pixar film Luca was set in the fictional town of Portorosso, on the Italian Riviera, placed west of Corniglia on a fictional map. Portorosso was inspired by and modeled after Cinque Terre.[14]
Videogames
The 2016 videogame Hitman featured the fictional town of Sapienza, which was inspired by Vernazza and other towns on the Ligurian shoreline.[15]
Given its location on the Mediterranean, seafood is plentiful in the local cuisine. Anchovies of Monterosso are a local speciality designated with a Protected Designation of Origin status from the European Union. The mountainsides of the Cinque Terre are heavily terraced and are used to cultivate grapes and olives. This area, and the region of Liguria, as a whole, is known for pesto, a sauce made from basil leaves, garlic, salt, olive oil, pine nuts, and pecorino cheese. Focaccia is a particularly common locally baked bread product. Farinata, a typical snack found in bakeries and pizzerias, is a savoury and crunchy pancake made from a base of chick pea flour. The town of Corniglia is particularly popular for a gelato made from local honey (miele di Corniglia).[16]
The grapes of the Cinque Terre are used to produce two locally made wines. The eponymous Cinque Terre and the Sciachetrà are both made using Bosco, Albarola, and Vermentino grapes. Both wines are produced by the Cooperative Agricoltura di Cinque Terre, located between Manarola and Volastra. Other DOC producers are Forlini-Capellini, Walter de Batté, Buranco, Arrigoni.
In addition to wines, other popular local drinks include grappa, a brandy made with the pomace left from winemaking, and limoncino, a sweet, creamy liqueur made from lemons. It is served chilled after meals and often used in the preparation of desserts.[17]
Preservation
In 1998, the Italian Ministry for the Environment set up the Cinque Terre protected natural marine area to protect the natural environment and to promote socio-economic development compatible with the natural landscape of the area. Today, millions of visitors visit it every year.[18] In 1999 the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre was created to conserve the ecological balance, protect the landscape, and safeguard the anthropological values of the location.[19] Nevertheless, dwindling interest in cultivation and maintenance of the terrace walls posed a long-term threat to the site, which was for this reason included in the 2000 and 2002 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund.[20] The organization secured grants from American Express to support a study of the conservation of Cinque Terre. Following the study, a site management plan was created.
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