Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre (“Five Lands” in Italian) is a string of small towns nestled in the cliffs of coastal Italy lying halfway between Genoa and Pisa. They were built centuries ago far above and inaccessible from the seas below as refuge from the very real threat of pirate attacks. Over time they have become better known for idyllic beauty that comes both from the picturesque layout of the towns and from the dazzling and serene landscape that surrounds them.

After the turn of the century, when Italy was being connected by rail, the tracks just so happened to pass through Cinque Terre. This changed the towns from an unknown and inaccessible hideaway into a obvious destination in eyes of travelers, and there emerged a serious risk of these towns being destroyed by overzealous developers trying to capitalize on this quaint slice of heaven. Thankfully the Italian government stepped in, making Cinque Terre a national park and preventing large-scale development, which is why today Cinque Terre is still lacking any type of large-scale development and hotels. If one wishes to stay in one of the Cinque Terre towns, many residents rent out a room of their house.

From Florence we hopped a train to La Spezia, the closest access point to Cinque Terre. There we purchased access day passes for Cinque Terre, and hopped a small regional town that led to the first of the five towns.

After arriving, we explored a bit and began following the foot path that connected all the towns. Each town exuded such an old-world charm: small local markets, hole-in-the-wall restaurants serving authentic-as-it-gets pasta and pizza and gelato, and the obligatory souvenir shops lined the streets that led to the most breathtakingly beautiful seascape on earth. A gentle breeze swayed the scattered high grasses and trees that lined the cliffs overlooking the water. The water itself gently lapped the rocks below, as small specks of people floated around, their shadows darkening the ocean floor ten to twenty feet below them, and in the distance charter boats scooted by and private yachts relaxed, anchored peacefully.

The path between towns was not always easy, and it took 60-90 minutes to get from one town to another. This was serious up-and-down-hill hiking that had us sweating, drinking tons of water, and thankful that we had remembered to switch our sandals for hiking shoes in the morning before leaving. We made our way in this fashion through four of the five towns, before the setting sun forced us to make our way back to Florence.

You can see more pictures here.