The Cinque Terre of the Ligurian Riviera

THE CINQUE TERRE OF THE LIGURIAN RIVIERA

The Cinque Terre is a limpid stretch of coastline of the Ligurian Riviera of Levanto located in the territory of the province of La Spezia between Punta Mesco and Punta di Montenero, where there are five villages or, as it was said in ancient times, lands, listed here from west to east : Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore.

Thanks to the geographic and anthropic characteristics of the territory where they originate, the Cinque Terre are one of the main tourist attractions of the Ligurian Riviera, and in general of Liguria, for their naturally sour and sloping orographic landscape, sweetened by the construction of terraces or bands for the culture, which goes down to the sea with strong slopes; in the places where the sea crepts serpently into the earth, the villages arise, knotted to follow the natural shape of the hills.

Man's work, over the centuries, has shaped the territory by building the famous terraces on the slopes due to the particular agricultural technique aimed at exploiting as far as possible the soils on a steep slope that goes down to the sea, so did one of the most characteristic and fascinating landscapes of Liguria.

In 1997, at the instance of the province of La Spezia, the Cinque Terre, together with Porto Venere and the Palmaria Islands, Tino and Tinetto, were included among the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

In 1998, the Ministry of the Environment established the Cinque Terre Protected Marine Area for environmental protection, protection and enhancement of biological resources, for the dissemination and promotion of socio-economic development compatible with the natural and landscape importance of the " area.

In 1999, the Cinque Terre National Park was set up to preserve the ecological balance, protect the landscape and preserve the anthropological values of the site.