Cinque Terre National Park with its 3,868 hectares is one of the smallest National Park in Italy and at the same time the most densely populated, with about 4,000 inhabitants divided into five villages: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare.
For centuries, starting from the year one thousand, the inhabitants of Cinque Terre have dissected the steep slopes of the hills that fall sheer to the sea to obtain strips of arable land; each of these narrow flat portions, called “ciàn”, are supported by kilometers of dry stone walls. This is the true identity of Cinque Terre, with an atypical and highly man-made landscape that has made them famous all over the world; this explains why it is called “Parco dell’Uomo”, a territory included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. At the same time as the National Park was established, Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area was also established which includes two areas A of integral reserve and two areas B of general reserve in Punta Mesco and Capo Montenero and which boasts an extraordinary wealth and variety of animal species and vegetation.
Thanks to the geographical and anthropic characteristics of the territory where they arise, Cinque Terre are considered one of the most evocative Italian coastal attractions, due to their naturally rough and rugged hilly orographic context, softened by the construction of terraces or bands for cultivation, which falls towards the sea with steep slopes; in the points where the sea creeps into the land there are the villages: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare; articulated to follow the natural shape of the hills. At an altitude ranging from 300 to 450 meters above sea level, a Marian shrine watches over each village of Cinque Terre and starting from Riomaggiore we have: Shrine of Our Lady of Montenero, Shrine of Our Lady of Health, Shrine of Our Lady of Grace, Shrine of Our Lady of Reggio, Shrine of Our Lady of Soviore. Each of them holds the deep roots of the spirituality and culture of Cinque Terre, which the inhabitants are linked by a feeling of devotion. They are a must for the attentive visitor who wants to get closer to the most authentic identity of this stretch of the extreme Levante of Liguria. Even if they are all accessible via road – with the exception of Riomaggiore, Nostra Signora di Montenero – the best way to visit them and fully enjoy the naturalistic beauties and views they offer is certainly on foot. The routes are part of the Cinque Terre trail network and are all indicated with white-red signs, symbols of the CAI signs.
For centuries the paths of the Cinque Terre have been the only connection between one village and the hinterland. Today the network that extends for over 120 kilometers allows you to appreciate and visit the whole territory, through paths of different types.
