The World Heritage Sites of the UNESCO covers a wide variety of areas worth protecting. Their authenticity and uniqueness highlight what’s special about a region, a country or a people. Numerous historic and architectural sights aside, this list also features many essential natural and scenic beauties. The cultural landscape of Porto Venere and Cinque Terre with the islands Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto in Liguria carries a special role as it impressively shows how man can engage with nature without damaging or even destroying it.
Cinque Terre
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One of the country’s grandest and most colourful nature parks stretches along a steeply shelving coastal strip of the Italian Riviera. Cinque Terre, which translates to “Five Lands”, is located northwest of La Spezia between Punta di Montenero and Punta Mesco. It carries its name with good reason, as you get to visit five stunning, picturesque villages from northwest to southeast: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. All of them are enclosed in small, sloping re-entrants opening up towards the sea, thereby interrupting the park’s gentle mountain range.
The Cinque Terre villages display their idyllic and peaceful side as there are only around 7,000 inhabitants throughout the entire region. More often than not you’ll meet more tourists than locals, particularly in spring and autumn. Since there are hardly any beaches – only Monterosso al Mare has a tiny strip of sand – you’ll mainly see hikers and day travellers. The train ride from village to village with its tunnels leading directly past the sea is probably the biggest attraction. Best leave the car at home – the steep, winding and poorly developed roads prove to be challenging even for locals.
The villages of Cinque Terre
Your truly magical train journey, which we cannot recommend enough, carries you from village to village. Instead of travelling the entire route, you should step off at every stop for at least a brief walk. Look forward to the following highlights in the populated Cinque Terre areas:
- Monterosso al Mare: The only village with a small strip of beach invites you to have a quick swim in the Tyrrhenian Sea on hot days. Narrow alleys lead you to the historic village centre with its picturesque buildings. If you have some time at hand, we recommend looking inside the churches San Giovanni Battista and San Francesco or enjoying a walk through the literature park Eugenio Montale.
- Vernazza: This friendly village is situated around a small but nice port that was already used in Roman times. Among the impressive sights are the Gothic church Santa Margherita d’Antiochia stretching across two levels and the imposing fortress Castello Doria with its look-out tower.
- Corniglia: 365 steps connect Corniglia to the beach approx. 100 m below. The village managed to retain its medieval charm. Agriculture is the predominant industry here – a genuine sea of vines welcomes you from afar.
- Manarola: Built on a black rock, Manarola virtually shines with its multicoloured contrasts. The colourful houses make the rock look even darker. Don’t miss out on the excellent olive oil – if you’re looking for a souvenir, we recommend a bottle of Sciachetrà wine.
- Riomaggiore: The last of the five Cinque Terre villages features a large nature park with many beautiful walkways. Riomaggiore itself is a small, picturesque fishing village with high and narrow houses creating a fascinating play of colours and shades along the narrow alleys.
Hiking trails in Cinque Terre
You can also explore the nature park and its villages on foot. The hiking trail from Monterosso al Mare to Riomaggiore takes about 4.5 hours. As it can be extremely crowded, particularly in spring and autumn, you now have to purchase a full-day hiking pass for € 7.50. The glorious scenery and the wide panoramic view, however, ensure that you get more than your money’s worth. Additionally, there are several multi-stage routes and longer tours around this trail, which are closed occasionally. Best enquire locally whether your favourite path is currently open. The hike through the macchia and pine tree forests between Monterosso and Levanto is particularly amazing. If you prefer a more athletic pace, we recommend the challenging tour from Riomaggiore to Porto Venere with sections of difficult rock terrain and drawn-out vineyards.
Porto Venere
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This leads us to the second part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Porto Venere, situated southeast of Cinque Terre on a land tongue, saw several severe attacks and devastations during the first millennium AD. Its incorporation into the Republic of Genoa in the 12th century lead to the construction of fortifications. Castello Doria still overlooks the town. It is one of Porto Venere’s most important sights, together with the Gothic church San Pietro, which has pre-Christian roots, and the originally Roman church San Lorenzo.
The islands
Porto Venere also includes three islands off the coast. They, too, are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, yet not all of them are open to the public. Palmaria, the largest of the three islands, only has 50 inhabitants. It features a few houses, some restaurants and swimming facilities with historic buildings serving as a backdrop. The two grottos, however, are astonishing highlights. Grotta Azzurra impresses with its scenic beauty, while Grotta dei Colombi is famous for its discoveries of prehistoric animal skeletons and remnants of human graves. You can also visit Tinetto briefly as long as you abide by the strict rules of the regional park. Tino was declared military area and may only be entered on the Feast of Saint Venerius on September 13th.
The scenic beauty of this broadly stretching UNESCO World Heritage Site between the five Cinque Terre villages and the land tongue Porto Venere with its three islands invites you to go on highly diverse trips, delightful hikes through the glorious nature and unhurried walks through old villages. Find these and many other attractive destinations all over Italy on ZAINOO!