Italy: Cinque Terre
Fantastic: view of Vernazza.
7000 kilometers of stone walls support the terrace slopes. Every morning, when Signora Aurora walks into the vineyards, she first looks past the little Madonna of Montenero. Although she has to climb a few steep steps more, but who has the straight paths in mind in the Cinque Terre. She calls this "saying hello to the Madonna," and little rituals are part of her everyday life. Earlier, when she was young, the vineyards had to be ordered alone with her two sisters. Who would have thought at the time that the wine terraces would become world-famous cultural heritage? Franco Bonanini, President of the Cinque Terre National Park, can no longer hear the enthusiastic exclamations about the beauty of this Italian coastal region. Of course, the five patches of earth Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso were built between sea and sky. Granted, in the clear light, the whole thing looks pretty overwhelming: silvery olive groves, fragrant gardens with lemon trees and vine terraces. Under the steep slopes, the sea sparkles, and sometimes it rushes under the roofs of the houses. But all this beauty was preceded by hard work of many generations.
A thousand years ago, the inhabitants of the higher situated hamlets of Montenero, San Bernardino, Reggio and Soviore, descended to the coast. Previously, pirates had made life on the coast impossible. Today, on some Sunday evenings after the onslaught of tourists, it looks like a pirate attack.
Every move has its time: Aurora harvesting on her vineyard.
As President of the National Park, Franco Bonanini has already reached an important goal: entry is required on the entire coastal path, three euros for the ten kilometer long hiking trail. His next plan: Starting this year, visitors will lease abandoned vineyards; For a period of twenty years, non-locals can order parcels of 3000 square meters each. The lease is free, the wine intended for your own table. The only condition: the vineyard must be ordered or the work to be financed. Because if the terraces are not constantly maintained, the dry stone walls collapse, and the catastrophe will be unstoppable.
Riomaggiore: a maze of tall houses, steep stairs and winding streets, with small shops in between.
The macchia sprawls on many terraces. Of course, Aurora also goes back to Riomaggiore on foot. And accompanied by them, the Cinque Terre seems to be riddled with two completely opposite, rarely intersecting lines: the horizontal paths of idleness, along stony paths but along the sea, with breathtaking views as far as Corsica and the island of Gorgona. This connecting line between the villages is actually only used by the tourists. And then there are the vertical lines that lead to the vineyards and the hamlets with the old sanctuaries. In the past, oil and wine, fish and potatoes were transported along these routes. Here, the original life has been preserved, determined by the vintage in September and the olive harvest in November. After the feast of the Madonna of San Bernardino in mid-September, the harvest begins in the Cinque Terre.
The terraces are only three to five meters wide, supported by dry stone walls. Stringed together, they would be nearly 7000 kilometers long. The plump Regina grapes grow in the second row. In the past people sold the wine and drank only water themselves. Cheerful faces. Festive mood. It is as if the earth finally gave back all the effort of the whole year. Resting in the Piazzetta of Muro: each group of houses has its own name - Muro, Seroa, Foce or Valletino - which is related to the state of the sun or the peculiarities of the landscape. The origin of the name is part of the collective memory. In the past, it is said, twenty families lived here, and every evening cards were played on the piazzetta, over which a vine was grown at that time. Perhaps this is the real fascination of the Cinque Terre: Terraces, vineyards, squares become an interior where people meet and where only the sea and the sky are real boundaries.
Travel Info Cinque Terre
Phone: Area code for Italy: 0039, area code 0187, which is always dialed.
Best travel time: September, then in the Cinque Terre is still beach weather, and the beaches are emptier. Also in December there are very sunny days, but then book accommodation with heating!
Getting there: By train: via Munich and Genoa to Monterosso. From there continue with the local train. By car: Munich-Innsbruck-Brenner, on the motorway via Verona-Parma-La Spezia-Genoa, exit Brugnato-Borghetto Vara.
On road: Driving in the Cinque Terre is winding and tiring, parking is limited and expensive.Driving by car is only recommended for longer stays. Next petrol station: Levanto or La Spezia. The local trains go every hour. In all villages there are electric buses to the hamlets outside the village area. Taxis only in Monterosso. The National Park offers package tickets: e.g. a day ticket for the coastal path, as many train journeys as possible including electric bus. Tickets in tobacconists and the information points at all stations.
Monterosso
Stay: In Monterosso there are a larger number of hotels, in all other places mostly simple private accommodation. Numerous rooms in every place. Just follow the sign "camere", ask in shops or bars. Sometimes you can experience positive surprises (overwhelming sea view!).
Maestrale
Locanda Maestrale: very stylishly furnished hotel with terrace in the historical center of Monterosso. (Via Roma 37, 19016 Monterosso, Tel. 81 70 13, Fax 81 70 84, www.monterossonet.com).
Hotel Ca'd'Andrean: simple, hidden family hotel in Manarola, with a beautiful courtyard garden. (Via A. Discovolo 101, Manarola, Tel. 920040, Fax 920452). www.cadandrean.it
Hotel Stella Maris: small hotel in a 19th century palazzo in the center of Levanto, with annex by the sea. Levanto is a few minutes by train from the Cinque Terre. (Via Marconi 4, 19015 Levanto, Tel. 80 82 58, Fax 80 73 51, www.hotelstellamaris.it).
Borgo di Campi: a special tip: In the sanctuary of Montenero / Riomaggiore winegrower's cottage (bedroom, kitchenette, shower, terrace) for two to four people rented. Easy to reach, only on foot (15 to 20 minutes) or via our own rack railway. For nature lovers absolutely gorgeous! (Borgo di Campi, Santuario di Montenero, 19017 Riomaggiore, Tel./Fax 760111, www.borgodicampi.it).
Shopping: The markets are particularly beautiful, in Levanto every Wednesday from 8 to 13 o'clock, in La Spezia every Friday from 8 to 18 o'clock. Typical products: oil and wine, pickled sardines, pesto, honey, lemon liqueur.
