Stifling though the crowds of tourists can be at the height of summer, a hint of love is in the air across the five villages of Italy’s Cinque Terre as a Ligurian riviera coastal path famed as a meeting point for courting couples reopens after an almost 12-year closure. Sculpted into the steep cliffs wedged between the villages of Riomaggiore and Manarola, the Via dell’Amore (Path of Love) had been closed since being damaged by a September 2012 landslide that injured four Australian tourists. It reopens to residents on Saturday, and to tourists from 9 August.
The paved path is only about 900 metres long, but with its breathtaking views of the rugged coast, it is perhaps the most popular of the 48 trails that run through the villages of the Cinque Terre, a Unesco world heritage site. The restoration works were a labour of love, too, costing €22m and involving building a system of steel harnesses and netting to secure the rocks above and below the path. “The reopening has been eagerly awaited by everyone here,” said Fabrizia Pecunia, the mayor of Riomaggiore and Manarola.
“The path has always represented a landmark for us. There is a feeling of great satisfaction after all the hard work.” Pecunia concedes, however, that in the lead-up to the reopening there were concerns about the effects that the hyped-up image of romanticism may have on a hotspot already struggling with overcrowding.
Before its closure, more than 850,000 visitors would stroll along the path ever.