Anna Bressanin Cinque Terre’s most romantic trail has been closed for 12 years, but thanks to new safety measures it’s about to reopen to visitors. The Cinque Terre’s most romantic hiking trail – aptly dubbed the Via dell’Amore (Path of Love) – is reopening in Italy on 27 July, 12 years after the September 2012 landslide that injured four Australian tourists and highlighted the area’s dire need for renovations and increased safety measures. The 800m footpath, carved on steep cliffs with breathtaking views of the Ligurian sea, has a 104-year history and a future that crucially depends on the preservation of Italy’s coastal landscapes.
Prior to its 2012 shuttering, the stunning route was one of the most popular tracts of the 130km network of trails crisscrossing the “five lands” that give Cinque Terre its name; linking the multi-coloured medieval borghi (villages) of Riomaggiore and Manarola. Ironically, no one ever planned to build the Path of Love. Today, Riomaggiore and Manarola – “vertical” villages perched on majestic rocks with houses stacked upon each other like pastel scoops of gelato – attract millions of international tourists, all chasing a technicolour Italian fantasy.
But originally, they were simple settlements of seafaring farmers (not fishermen, as often mistakenly believed); connected only by an ancient trail over a precipitous peak, so arduous to cross that communication was scarce and the two tiny villages spoke different dialects..