La via dell'Amore or The Way of Love is a pedestrian path overlooking the sea, with a length of just over one kilometer, linking the villages of
Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore (, locally ) is a village and ''comune'' in the province of La Spezia, situated in a small valley in the Liguria region of Italy. It is the most southerly of the Cinque Terre villages.
The village, dating from the early thirteenth c ...
and
Manarola
Manarola ( in the local dialect) is a small town, a frazione of the comune (municipality) of Riomaggiore, in the province of La Spezia, Liguria, Northern Italy. It is the second-smallest of the famous Cinque Terre towns frequented by tourist ...
,
Cinque Terre
The Cinque Terre (; ; meaning 'Five Lands') is a coastal area within Liguria, in the northwest of Italy. It lies in the west of La Spezia Province, and comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggio ...
, in
Liguria
Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. It is one of four sections of the
Sentiero Azzurro, "the Blue Path", the most popular hiking trail in the
Cinque Terre National Park.
The trail's name was inspired by the fact that it provided an easy and private meeting place for young lovers who lived in the two small towns in the mountainous terrain.
On September 24, 2012, a rockslide injured four tourists and caused the trail to be shut down for repairs.
As of April 2015, only 200 meters of the trail had been reopened.
[ According to press reports in late 2019, extensive work is due to begin on the repair of the trail. It required major engineering work, with an estimated cost of over 12 million euro.
The complete trail finally reopened in July, 2024 for residents and tourists.]
The path is one of the most important tourist attractions in the area and is an integral part of the Cinque Terre National Park, a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
.
Gallery
File:Via dell'Amore2.jpg,
File:Natale ar cess.jpg,
File:Un_dos_tres_carbosa.jpg,
File:I_love_scamuzzo.jpg,
References
External links
Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre
Via dell'Amore Riapertura
Hiking trails in Italy
Panoramic walks
Tourist attractions in Liguria
World Heritage Sites in Italy
{{Italy-transport-stub