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Above is the picturesque Manarola.. The beautifully rugged and charming famous little five towns on Italy’s Italian Riviera are a must see at least once in your life time. Known as the Cinque Terre and in Italian translating to ‘The Five Lands’ they start from the North with the very special to my heart Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola ending with Riomaggiore.
 It’s possible to walk between the five towns through the weathered landscape on an easy to follow track. It is not a difficult walk to do if you are fit and healthy, there are a few small hills yet it makes it all worth while when you come across scenes like the above one, mesmerising panorama with the piercing sun pelting down glistening on the Mediterranean and reflecting off the olive groves and grape vines that are carefully maintained all the way up the extreme cliff faces. The hike is breath-taking and as you approach each little town stop and take in the views from up high.
 The paths are lined with olive trees and the olives are mainly harvested during the Autumn months which is really the loveliest time to visit Italy and it’s Five Lands. Families and olive pickers lay the nets out to catch the falling olives and it’s such a pleasant slice of Italy to see, tradition lives on with the olive grove picking in these parts. After centuries of olive farming they know exactly when the timing is right, when the olives are ripe to pick for the best olive oil production.
All of the five towns have something special about them, walking through these traditional little villages you will see locals seated on the outskirts of the piazzas, generally the older men and women talking amongst themselves, some sitting at cafes lining the edges playing chess, young kids kicking soccer balls around and everyone eats gelato, its such a warm casual inviting scene. The cobble stone streets are so narrow that the women’s voices echo bouncing off the walls as they talk amongst themselves from high above the street, leaning out their balcony windows having a conversation to their neighbour who lives in the opposite brightly washed building. Crisp white linens are hung off the balconies and in some areas linen is strung out from one side to the other on wheeled clothes lines. This always fascinated me how Italians managed to hang their clothes high above from one side of the street to the other, yet after living in Italy and actually using one of these wheel lines to dry my linen I discovered it is very practical and easier than it looks although I could never bring myself to hang out anything other than linen, with the chance of loosing a lace knicker or bra and it falling at someones feet or worse still on someones head sticking to the safety of large sheets is perhaps best. No pollution in the air with minimal if no cars at all the linen stays fresh and crisp drying in the coastal breeze and sunshine.
The Cinque Terre is surrounded by precarious and colourful little homes that look like they have been stuck on the edge of these postcard scenes. Each town has many lovely cafes and restaurants with fresh local seafood and salads and many of the locals make their own delicious local wines as they do everywhere in Italy.
 Local farmers in the surrounding villages grow their own fresh fruit and vegetables, basil, garlic and pine nuts producing wonderful fresh pesto sauces. Trattoria’s serve up superb seafood caught by the local fishermen who live in the villages. After lunch or dinner in Italy I always indulge in a glass of Limoncello, especially here because also surrounding the villages are lemon plantations so a lot of the locals make their own. The smell and taste is so enticing!
 Earlier this week the spectacularly beautiful Heritage listed Cinque Terre experienced 20 inches or rain in just a few hours causing flash flooding which is extremely unusual and an investigation is underway into the structure of the towns to keep its preservation. There were lives lost so one can only imagine the trauma that the people who reside in these towns are experiencing right now. My heart goes out to them all.
The Cinque Terre is an exceptional place to visit, its characteristics unique and its a MUST visit destination on the Italian Riviera coastline in the region of Liguria. Love love love!
xmm @ IAT
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