Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
down to the coast to escape from invading barbarians. Riomaggiore came next, pur-
portedly established in the 8th century by Greek settlers fleeing persecution in Byzantium.
The others are Vernazza, Corniglia and Manarola. Much of what remains in the villages
today including several castles and a quintet of illustrious parish churches, dates from the
late High Middle Ages,
Buildings aside, Cinque Terre's unique historical feature are the steeply terraced cliffs
bisected by a complicated system of fields and gardens that have been hacked, chiselled,
shaped and layered over the course of nearly two millennia. So marked are these artificial
contours that some scholars have compared the extensive
muretti
(low stone walls) to the
Great Wall of China in their grandeur and scope.
In October 2011 flash floods along the Ligurian coast wreaked havoc in Vernazza and
Monterosso, burying historic streets and houses under metres of mud and killing half-a-
