The Cinque Terre in the Cinque Terre National Park of the same name consists of five villages along the Italian coast near La Spezia in Liguria, Italy.
Cinque Terre consists of the following villages:
The villages of the Cinque Terre National Park were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. The area is difficult to reach by car along the steep coast. There is a footpath linking the five villages, the part between Riomaggiore and Manarola known as Via dell'Amore. The villages are also connected by a railway line which is part of the main La Spezia-Genua line. From the footpath one has a view of the sea and the terraced hills. There are also olive and lemon groves bordered by walls on the hillsides.
The largest village is Monterosso and has 1560 inhabitants. It is situated on a sandy beach. Vernazza has 1060 inhabitants and is considered the most picturesque of the five villages. The village has a number of rocky beaches and has a small fishing port to supply the local restaurants and its own hinterland. Manarola is the oldest of the five villages.
It was founded in the twelfth century and has the Punto Bonfiglio area at the back of the port with a historic cemetery and adjacent park. From there you can walk along a footpath to the other towns, Corniglia and Vernazza. In Corniglia there are vineyards and very old olive groves.