Travel Photos Cinque Terre, Italy

Cinque Terre (five villages) is located on the northwest corer of Italy's 'boot' in the province of Ligura, which forms an arc with one side facing the Tyrrhenian Sea and the other backing up against the Apennine Mountains. Better known as the Italian Riviera, LIgura is a continuous line of rugged cliffs dotted with long beaches and lovely pocket coves. The capitol of this district, Genoa, divides Ligura into two parts: the Riviera di Ponente to the west with its famous beaches such as San Remo, and the Riviera di Levante to the east, where the Cinque Terre are located. Unlike San Remo and its touristy counterparts, the five villages of Cinque Terre (Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore) remain working villages where grapes, olives, lemons and basil are harvested from steep terraced hillsides, braced up by over 7000 kilometers (4200 miles) of stone walls built without any kind of cement. Although La Spezia is not one of the Cinque Terre villages, I include it here because, with limited accommodations available in the villages themselves, many, if not most, of the tourists visiting Cinque Terre stay in nearby La Spezia and avail themselves of the round-the-clock trains or daytime ferries that conveniently deliver them to Cinque Terre.


CINQUE TERRE, ITALY
Cinque Terre (five villages) is located on the northwest corer of Italy's 'boot' in the province of Ligura, which forms an arc with one side facing the Tyrrhenian Sea and the other backing up against the Apennine Mountains. Better known as the Italian Riviera, LIgura is a continuous line of rugged cliffs dotted with long beaches and lovely pocket coves. The capitol of this district, Genoa, divides Ligura into two parts: the Riviera di Ponente to the west with its famous beaches such as San Remo, and the Riviera di Levante to the east, where the Cinque Terre are located. Unlike San Remo and its touristy counterparts, the five villages of Cinque Terre (Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore) remain working villages where grapes, olives, lemons and basil are harvested from steep terraced hillsides, braced up by over 7000 kilometers (4200 miles) of stone walls built without any kind of cement. Although La Spezia is not one of the Cinque Terre villages, I include it here because, with limited accommodations available in the villages themselves, many, if not most, of the tourists visiting Cinque Terre stay in nearby La Spezia and avail themselves of the round-the-clock trains or daytime ferries that conveniently deliver them to Cinque Terre.
LA SPEZIA

The main street in La Spezia where all the hotels ad shops are located, midway between the ferry dock and the railroad station	La Spezia shop owners chat in the early morning hours	Street scene in La Spezia, with houses terraced up the sides of the foothills of the Apennines in the distance

Garabaldi Square in the center of La Spezia	An outdoor market in the center of La Spezia	Typical street scene - more colors here than in Tuscany
MONTEROSSO AL MARE, CINQUE TERRE

Monterosso's long sandy beach, the only one in Cinque Terre, with its colorful umbrellas, is just steps from the train station	More colorful umbrellas along Monterosso's beach	Street that runs parallel to Monterosso's beach

Street that runs parallel to Monterosso's beach	Winding my way up Monterosso's hilly streets	Monterosso houses

Monterosso's Luogo Sacro Church	Monterosso's Luogo Sacro Church	Monterosso houses

Monterosso street scene	Monterosso houses	Monterosso street scene

Monterosso street scene	Monterosso street scene	Monterosso street scene

Monterosso house	Colorful umbrellas along Monterosso's long beach	Colorful umbrellas along Monterosso's long beach

Monterosso's long, sandy beach	Colorful umbrellas along Monterosso's long beach	The promenade above Monterosso's beach

Colorful umbrellas along Monterosso's long beach	Colorful umbrellas along Monterosso's long beach	Monterosso's beach with promenade above

Colorful umbrellas along Monterosso's long beach	Colorful umbrellas along Monterosso's long beach	The promenade above Monterosso's beach

Path around the point, leading to the second part of Monterosso	Path around the point, leading to the second part of Monterosso	Path around the point, leading to the second part of Monterosso

Main part of Monterosso as seen from the point	Rounding the point, with its ferry boat dock below	View of the second half of Monterosso from the point

The railway station at Monterosso	Monterosso houses terraced up the mountainside	Looking back at Monterosso from the path
WALKING PATH BETWEEN MONTEROSSO AND VERNAZZA

Walking path between Monterosso Al Mare & Vernazza	Walking path between Monterosso Al Mare & Vernazza	Vineyard terraces and stone walls along the path

Walking path between Monterosso Al Mare & Vernazza	Walking path between Monterosso Al Mare & Vernazza	Walking path between Monterosso Al Mare & Vernazza

Vineyards are terraced from mountaintop to sea	An offering of local wares along the path	Juicy blue and green grapes, almost ready for harvesting

Walking path between Monterosso Al Mare & Vernazza	First glimpse of Vernazza from the walking path between Monterosso Al Mare and Vernazza	Walking path between Monterosso Al Mare & Vernazza

Heading down into Vernazza	Heading down into Vernazza beneath vineyard terraces	Heading down into Vernazza beneath vineyard terraces
VERNAZZA, CINQUE TERRE

Vernazza from the walking trail above town	Vernazza from the walking trail above town	Railroad tracks and boats coming into Vernazza

Vernazza's harbor from the walking path above town	Coming into town from the walking path	The main square at Vernazza's pretty little harbor

Vernazza houses	The main square at Vernazza's pretty little harbor	Vernazza shop

The main square at Vernazza's pretty little harbor	Vernazza's pretty little harbor and beach	Vernazza's pretty little harbor and beach

Boats at Vernazza's pretty little harbor	Vernazza's pretty little harbor and beach	Boats at Vernazza's pretty little harbor

Vernazza's pretty little harbor and beach	Vernazza's pretty little harbor and beach	Sunning on the rocks at Vernazza's harbor

Sunning on the rocks at Vernazza's harbor	Sunning on the rocks at Vernazza's harbor	Vernazza street scene

Vernazza shop and chapel on the main street	Children's playground in the center of town, with rail station in background	Heading out of town on the walking path, looking back at Vernazza
WALKING PATH BETWEEN VERNAZZA AND CORNIGLIA

Walking path between Vernazza and Corniglia	Walking path between Vernazza and Corniglia	Walking path between Vernazza and Corniglia

A lone bar on the walking path, midway between Vernazza and Corniglia	First glimpse of Corniglia from the walking path, with Manarola in the far distance	Tiny little San Bernardo, located high on a mountain midway between Vernazza and Corniglia and accessible only on foot
CORNIGLIA, CINQUE TERRE

Coming into Corniglia on the walking path	Corniglia sits regally on a hilltop, high above the sea	Corniglia's main square, see from above on the walking path

Corniglia's main square	Local women gather in the square in the late afternoon	Corniglia's Saint Peter's Church

Corniglia's Saint Peter's Church	Houses in the square surrounding Saint Peter's Church	Heading down to Corniglia's rail station and beach
RIOMAGGIORE, CINQUE TERRE

Riomaggiore's harbor, with the fishing boats pulled up onto the main street	Riomaggiore's harbor, with the fishing boats pulled up unto the main street	Riomaggiore's harbor, with the fishing boats pulled up unto the main street

Riomaggiore houses, perched atop volcanic rock	Majestic Riomaggiore and its harbor	Majestic Riomaggiore and its harbor

Riomaggiore street scene	Riomaggiore street scene	Riomaggiore street scene

Boats tied up in the Riomaggiore harbor	Rounding the rocks to Riomaggiore's tiny shingle beach	Riomaggiore's tiny shingle beach, with railroad tunnel behind

Riomaggiore houses	Riomaggiore houses	Riomaggiore castle high atop the town

View of Riomaggiore valley from the castle	View of Riomaggiore valley from the castle	View of Riomaggiore valley from the castle
WALKING THE VIA DELL' AMORE (PATH OF LOVE) BETWEEN RIOMAGGIORE AND MANAROLA

Walking the Via dell' Amore (Path of Love) between Riomaggiore and Manarola	Walking the Via dell' Amore (Path of Love) between Riomaggiore and Manarola	Walking the Via dell' Amore (Path of Love) between Riomaggiore and Manarola

Tunnel through the mountain on the Via dell' Amore	Thousands of couples write their name on padlocks, attach them to the guard rail, and throw the keys into the sea, symbolizing love forever and the source of the name "Via del' Amore"	Tunnel through the mountain on the Via dell' Amore
MANAROLA, CINQUE TERRE

Manarola in the distance, seen here from a cafe along the Via dell' Amore	Square overlooking the main street in Manarola	The main street in Manarola,, with fishing boats 'parked' along its sides

Street scene in Manarola	Street scene in Manarola	Street scene in Manarola

Shops in Manarola	Shops an Manarola	Shops an Manarola

Manarola and its harbor	Manarola and its harbor	Manarola and its harbor

Sunbathers on the rocks surrounding Manarola's harbor	Fishing boats at Manarola's harbor	Sunbathers nd boats at Manarola's harbor

Fishing boats at Manarola's harbor	The tunnel from the main town to the railroad station, located below town at the water's edge	Manarola's rail station, with the town seen high above in the background
WALKING PATH BETWEEN MANAROLA AND CORNIGLIA

Walking path between Manarola and Corniglia	Walking path between Manarola and Corniglia	Walking path between Manarola and Corniglia