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The
Cinque Terre - literally ‘Five Lands’ - is one of Italy’s latest
tourist discoveries. These five little villages - no more - cling to the
rugged cliffsides of the Ligurian coast, to the south and east of Genoa.
Their attraction is their very simplicity, allied to their highly
improbable setting. For years the villages were only accessible by boat,
and still no road joins all five together. The train, however, does, make
the region very easy to reach from Genoa and an excellent place too for a
short break that’s just that little bit different.
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The
Cinque Terre began life as mere fishing ports. For most people, the
greatest pleasure is taken along the footpath that spectacularly
links the five settlements. Starting off is the small town of Portovénere,
before the headland gives way to the Italian naval city of La Spezia
and more lively resorts on the other side of the gulf.
Skipping
La Spezia, with its shipbuilding and military connections, to the south
lies the little resort of San Terenzo, only a fishing village at the time
the Romantic poet Shelley stayed there. He drowned off the coast when
returning from seeing his friend, and fellow poet, Leigh Hunt at Livorno.
The next resort along is even more popular. Lérici is dominated by a
castle, etched out of the cliff by the Pisans in the 12th
century, and is much more commercial than its modest neighbours to the
north. |
One
can wander the streets of each village in turn, pausing for a leisurely
lunch in one of the tiny squares.
It
will come as no surprise to hear that most restaurants around here focus
on seafood. Indeed, many of the restaurants are very simple
establishments, the sort of eating places that would be described as a
trattoria in other parts of Italy.
Nevertheless,
the food is known to be good and, washed down with excellent wine from the
vines you passed on your coastal trek, it rounds off a very fulfilling and
healthy few days in the open air...
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