Cinque Terre: Corniglia

Of the 5 Terres, I find Corniglia the least of them all. It is also very small. Perched on top of the rock cliffs, the little primordial village of Corniglia, fortified with ancient boulders from the sea, is bordered with vineyards and terraces of flora. It is the only village in Cinque Terre that has no marina.

The main road, Fieschi – was all I can truly remember when I entered the village. The narrow road clustered with rundown yet charismatic old buildings was flanked with many cheerful touristy shops. Fresh lemon fruits a plenty and everywhere; I forgot Liguria is one of the Limoncello regions.

We started our hike from Manarola to Corniglia late afternoon and thankfully in Italy, during spring, the sun still shines at 7PM. In the Netherlands we normally have daylight late into the evening, and in June, sunset would be around 10pm-ish. Oh, heerlijk zeg.

The trek started out really nice as a quarter of the road from Manarola to Corniglia was paved in stone. Halfway through the trail, the paths became a bit rougher, but still manageable as long as you have comfortable shoes on. It was also hot but the wind from the sea helped a bit. Suffice to say, it was quite an enjoyable walk. If you are an advanced hiker, this would be something along chirping happily with the birds as you walk leisurely in the park.

What I loved with this route are the beautiful views down below the seaboard. The rugged coastline and the waters splashing against the massive rocks; the beautiful sea with hues of blue and green that tapers into the horizon; and the many picnic groves, some suspended above the rock precipice, while others are hidden down below the shores.

Then we reached Corniglia – the train station greeted us as we passed by not really realizing that it’s another, ugh, half an hour climb up to the village, but at least the flight of red brick steps (377 steps!) were not as bad as what we have struggled through in Monterosso (which will be in another entry) that made me wheeze so bad like a poor little livid dog chasing a thousand wild naughty cats!

All in all, the most memorable were the views during the hike to the little town and the Ligurian panorama that I managed to catch a glimpse of.

If you walk all the way up to the back of the St. Catarina Church (loved the blue dome ceiling interior), you will reach upon a deck with fantastic sea views… but more like an observation deck to me but could easily be transformed into an attractive café terrace. Hmm, there goes the business side of me, but I don’t think I could ever live in Italy. Maybe when I retire, who knows?

Travel Period: May 2008
Destination: Cinque Terre (Liguria), Italy

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