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The ideal
place for a perfect tuscany villa holiday - a beautifully
restored historic farmhouse, set in the
unspoilt countryside of
Lunigiana |
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Vernazza and the Cinque Terre
Coastline
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Where & What is the Cinque
Terre?
It is a rugged and stunningly
beautiful piece of Italian coastline in the region of
Liguria, just North of La Spezia in Lunigiana.
It consists of five ancient villages (five lands),
clinging to cliffs beneath coastal mountains, and overlooking
a sea of incredible clarity and marine diversity.
It has five miles
of rocky coastline, vast areas of terraced vineyards, and 100s of miles
of dry stone wall terracing.
Cinque Terre is untouched by modern
times and is preserved for all of us to enjoy since it became
a UNESCO National
Heritage Site
in 1997.
Click Photos-Albums-Slideshows
for more photographs.
It remained
unknown to the outside
world until the railway line between La Spezia and Genoa was
built approximately 100 years ago. The local trains call
at all five villages. |
Getting There
Tourist access is by train and on foot. There's a labyrinth
of footpaths - easy and hard
- making it a walkers delight.
The five villages of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza
and Monterosso
each have their own individual character, but all are ancient,
beautiful, spectacular and steeped in history. See Google Map
.
There are many small hotels, guesthouses and
restaurants so your visit can be as long or as short as you
please.
Exploration using a mixture of train and footpaths is a
joy, enhanced by the railtrack running largely in
tunnels.
There is also a passenger ferry ruunnig along
the coast which visits Lerici, La Spezia, Portovenere
and all five Cinque Terre villages except Corniglia. |
A Closer Look at Vernazza
| |
Monterosso
Staue & Coastline |
Things to See and Do
History and culture abound, with a wealth
of churches, historic buildings, famous sculptures & paintings etc.
from the stone age, through the
bronze age, to modern times.
A landscape that inspired Dante and Michelangelo, and in
more recent times, Byron and Shelley,
is not to be missed.
There
are hotels and restaurants to suit all tastes and pockets,
with local wines and local food specailities adding to the
occasion.
Grapes and olives are grown in profusion on the
mountain terraces here, resulting in two famous local
wines and some of the best Pestos in Italy.
Focaccia, a locally baked bread, and farinata, a
crunchy pancake made from chick-pea flour, should also be
sampled.
Walking in the Cinque Terre
is truly spectacular and there are paths to suit all
levels of ability. To view a hiking video available click
Hiking
the Cinque Terre. For more
walking inforation got to our section on Walking in Cinque
Terre.
The Cinque Terre also has a wealth of
beaches of all shapes and sizes - from small sandy beaches
hidden in rocky coves to commercialised beaches with sunbeds,
sunshades and a variety of watersports.
Snorkelling reveals the amazing clarity of
this part of the mediterranean sea, along with its rich
variety of marine
life. |
For more detailed information about all aspects of the
cinque terre, its facilities and its history, click cinque
terre.org
.
Finally as a foretaste of the wonders of the Cinque Terre, you are
invited to view a variety of U-Tube
Videos. There are lots to choose from - interesting, beautiful,
stunning and even terrifying (don't try the cliff
jumping). |
