The Cinque Terre consist of five small villages on the italian ‘riviera’. The villages, from north to south, are: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.

This territory was long isolated: the villages were only reached from the outside about one hundred years ago, when the railway line was built.
The historical activities of Cinque Terre were agriculture, which drew the famous terraced landscape, and fishing.

The Cinque Terre is a National Park and territory protected by UNESCO. This zone is characterised by the presence of typical steep slopes cultivated with vines thanks to terraces, unique witness of the transformation of the territory carried out by men’s hard work.

The climate is mild, the summer is long and warm. Usuallly the average temperature during winter is around 12-14 degrees. The spring is usually moderate with temperatures until 25 centigrades. Autumms, depending on the years, can be beautiful or quite rainy.

The village is divided into two parts from San Cristoforo hill and the old part of the village, protected by a rock spur, still presents the maritime village.

The church of Capuchin Father, from which one can admire a wonderful panorama of the village and the promontories which enclose the Cinque Terre, has a painting of the Cambiaso and a Crucifixion attributed to Van Dyck.

The old town of Monterosso is dominated by the ruins of the castle and characterized by typical narrow medieval streets (carruggi) with multi-coloured terraced houses. The beach is the only extensive sand beach in the Cinque Terre and runs along most of the coast line and is well used by tourists and locals.

The new part of town, Fegina, is dominated by the famous concrete statue of the Giant, built beside the terrace of a local villa. This statue was created at the beginning of the XX century by Levacher and Minerbi, an architect and a sculptor, and represents Neptune, the god of the sea.