Cinque Terre Tourist Consortium Monterosso al Mare

Five miles of rocky coast in eastern Liguria, two promontories lie at each extremity, thousands of kilometres of dry walling, cultivated into vineyards, five southerly villages castled up on spurs of stone or disposed in clusters of very small inlets. These are the co-ordinates of the Cinque Terre (Five lands).
Recognized finally as a National Park in 1999 and UNESCO protected territory since 1997 as a system of naturalistic environmental interest. This zone is characterized by the presence of precipitous slopes which have been cultivated into vineyards by means of fatiguing system of terracing the only evidence of transformation operated by the laborious human activity on the territory.
The suggestive type of coastal projections on the sea with sheer cliffs that often overtake the verticality alternated with bays, winding paths and enchanting small beaches between cliffs with a profound back drop, a rich variety of ichthyic (fishing) all of which make this district an authentic natural "opera of art".

Geologically, the landscape was created by a series of folds which were formed when the rocks were pushed, raised and pressed together in the Tertiary period. Millions of years of erosion have slowly given shape to countless small peninsulas and bays between the two extreme promontories: 'Punta Cavo of Montenero' and 'Punta Mesco'.

Here, five villages Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore make up the renowned Cinque Terre.

We know, from archaeological findings, that man has inhabited this stretch of coastline from very early times. Jewellery and decorated shells are some of the traces left behind by prehistoric man.

Over the years, the people have succeeded in imposing their will on this difficult landscape through terrace cultivation consisting of narrow strips of land on the hillside or sheer cliffs called "fasce". Man has had to build countless short dry walls "muretti" and steps to support the steep strips of land. From a research carried out by naturalists it seems that, over thousands of years, the inhabitants of the Cinque Terre have carried out an enormous task in constructing and repairing these famous short dry walls "muretti". So much so that the two-metre-high, eleven thousand kilometre long network of dry walls is comparable to the Great Wall of China.

Perhaps it is the hard work that the farmers have been carrying out for hundreds of years together with the air made salty by the sea spray on stormy days that have made the grapes so sweet and the olives and lemons so tasty.

The ancient "Etruscan Road" was brought back into use by the Romans, bringing both trade and commerce to the Cinque Terre. It was abandoned again during the rule of the Republic of Genoa. Perhaps the area has preserved all its natural and untouched beauty because the road was abandoned again.

Even today, it is not easy to reach the five villages, arriving either by train or along the winding roads. However, these access difficulties are the surest guarantee for the preservation of this characteristic and unique landscape.