Cinque Terre, Coastal tourist destination in La Spezia province, Liguria, Italy

Cinque Terre is a stretch of coastline along the Italian Riviera where five settlements sit wedged between steep cliffs and the sea. Pastel-colored houses stack in tight tiers above small harbors, threaded by narrow alleys and staircases, while terraced vineyards and olive groves cling to the hillsides above each settlement.

Fishing settlements arose along this remote coastline in the early Middle Ages and became fortified under Genoese rule from the 11th century onward. Farmers built extensive terraces on steep slopes and traded with other Mediterranean ports until tourism replaced agriculture and fishing as the main source of income during the 20th century.

Fishermen repair their nets along the quays and clean their boats using methods practiced for decades, while locals serve dishes featuring anchovies, freshly caught seafood and locally pressed wine in family-run trattorias. Women sell homemade focaccia and pesto produced from hillside herbs at small stands, and villages hold religious feast days with processions that thread through narrow lanes down toward the water.

Trains connect the settlements frequently with each other and with La Spezia and Levanto, with most stations a short walk from village centers. Hiking trails require sturdy footwear and good fitness because of steep climbs and uneven ground, and spring or autumn offer better conditions than crowded summer months.

The dry stone walls (muretti a secco) that hold up the terraces are built without mortar, and their total length is usually given as about 7,000 kilometres, not 7,000 kilometres in a single protected zone. The 25 October 2011 storm sent mudslides through Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare, killing people and burying lanes; the collapse was linked to terraces left unmaintained since cultivation began declining some sixty years earlier.