Our visit to the Cinque Terre region of Italy started with some time in Manarola ---a great place to see what this lovely coastal area is all about!
Our plan was to start at Manarola, then take the train to Venezza and finally end up at Monterossa --
We got a bit of EVERYTHING!
I had to do some searching on the background of the area....it used to be only accessible by sea until the 1970s when they connected the area to the rest of Italy with a train system.
According to Wikipedia:
Manarola may be the oldest of the towns in the Cinque Terre, with the cornerstone of the church, San Lorenzo, dating from 1338. The local dialect is Manarolese, which is marginally different from the dialects in the nearby area. The name "Manarola" is probably dialectical evolution of the Latin, "magna rota". In the Manarolese dialect this was changed to "magna roea" which means "large wheel", in reference to the mill wheel in the town.
Manarola as seen by the road above!
Manarola's primary industries have traditionally been fishing and wine-making. The local wine, called Sciacchetrà , is especially renowned; references from Roman writings mention the high quality of the wine produced in the region. In recent years, Manarola and its neighboring towns have become popular tourist destinations, particularly in the summer months.
Look at the colors!
Tourist attractions in the region include a famous walking trail between Manarola and Riomaggiore (called Via dell'Amore, "Love's Trail") and hiking trails in the hills and vineyards above the town. Manarola is one of the five villages.
How great is this?
Mostly all of the houses are bright and colourful. Manarola was celebrated in paintings by Antonio Discovolo (1874-1956).
Peaceful waters.....bliss!
All of my group having a great day exploring the Cinque Terre!
I am breaking up all of my Posts for the Cinque Terre, because we saw and did different things in each area.
Click the image below if you are unable to view the slide show on your mobile device. You'll be taken to the photo album for viewing.
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| Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy 2015 |
Did I see an Italian outhouse in one of the photos? How are we going to keep you on the farm (i.e. home turf) now that you've seen all this wonderful 'stuff'? Anyway welcome home soon!
ReplyDeleteTo capture the photo of multicolored houses forever, check out the "Pretty Little Quilts" blog. They are having a quilt-along with their free 12-block pattern "Hillside Houses." It looks like a cross between your photo, Bonnie, and some of Flavin Glover's log cabin villages.
ReplyDeleteCwoosley12@yahoo.com
Enjoying all of your photos from your Italia trip, all the while wondering if we'll be seeing some of those warm colors in this year's mystery quilt. Wish I could be one of those on your Peru trip.
ReplyDeleteIs it mostly ladies sans husbands? I've been thinking about the Peru trip but I'm a widow and don't know anyone interested in going. Don't want to be a fifth wheel and haven't been able to talk to anyone to see what the single rate would be on that trip.
ReplyDeleteI hope Lee is right--those colors would make an amazing quilt! Maybe even incorporating those gorgeous arches from earlier in the trip...
ReplyDeleteWe spent 11 days in Italy in the fall of 2012, my favorite ones were the 6 days we spent in the Cinque Terre. Our home base was Vernazza, don't know if you learned of the massive flooding and mudslides there in the fall of 2011, but the whole main avenue from the train station to the water was flooded and all the stores were packed with mud, from floor to ceiling, and front to back. The labor of love from the townspeople is amazing, you cannot tell at all. Amazingly, only one person perished. We hiked the coastal trail from town 1 to town 5 (Monterroso) Gorgeous! Highly recommend if anyone is ever in the region. I felt so relaxed, and you really learn to slow down and enjoy the day in these towns!
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