Manarola
In the Northwest of Italy, in a long and narrow shoreline covered with mountains, rocks and colored houses, we find one of the world’s wonders – Cinque Terre! This region belongs to the oriental coast of Liguria, more precisely to Riviera di Levante.
As the name indicates they’re five independent villages, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.
We arrived by train, Via La Spezia, because it was easier and faster than driving to one of these places. We started in Riomaggiore and we walked around each one of these Nature preciousness’s, consecrated as World Heritage of UNESCO since 1997.
These five wonderful and elegant places are literally planted on top of vertiginous cliffs facing the sea, being connected just by an ancient path, Sentiero Azzuro, or Blue Path. This connection offers a beautiful view over the coast and the terraced vineyards, allowing also access to some isolated beaches. However, walking its totality takes around 5 hours and as we only spent one day in Cinque Terre, we chose to make the connection between each one by train, it is a quicker method, but surely not as much fun and bold as walking the ups and downs and enjoying the landscape in its fullness.
Riomaggiore Station
One day is enough to make the entire visit, however you can opt to stay a night in one of the towns and enjoy more of the five of them, and if you go in the summer, also enjoy the beaches.
There is just one place that you must necessarily walk, Via dell’Amore, the connection between Riomaggiore and Manarola. It takes around 15 minutes and as the name says, it is the most romantic path in all the Sentiero Azzurro, it conquered its name for being the meeting spot for the lovers of the two places. As to its romanticism I can only speak of which other people tell, because for the bad of my sins, this way was closed for maintenance. But if you have the chance to walk it, take it!
Street Food in Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre is part of a different perspective, I can’t really say there are places of interest to visit, or mandatory visit ones, the success of this region as not to do with that, but all its structure, the colored little houses, the terrace construction, all the gorgeous landscape over the coast, with the water as background and the horizon in every spot.
It is a typical region, magical, different, out of another world, another reality. Ultimately it is another paradise in Italy – increasingly my country of choice.
Text Cíntia Oliveira | Photos: Flavors & Senses