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Cinque Terre, Liguria (Italy)
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Alla Porta Rossa - Via Rollandi 246
Manarola - Cinqueterre (SP)
email: info@mareterra.it - Tel. (+39 )
0187 920189 - (+39 ) 0187 842382 - Fax (+39 ) 0187 760621
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Porta Rossa viewed from VIA DELL'AMORE
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Railway station of Manarola
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SCENT OF CINQUE TERRE
Seasons....
Colours.... Scent of CINQUE TERRE....
Which is the most
beautiful season to visit the Cinque Terre, this singular landscape
of both spirit and harmony hewn out laboriously through constant
collective work by man over the centuries?
... I
was born in May.... My favourite flower is the violet , a particular
kind of spekled violet, yellow and orange, which we call
"viola ciocca" and fills the hills ...
That's why I think the
perfect season to come and see the five lands is
spring....
From April to the end of June
the five villages Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza
and Monterosso are dressed in flowers, multicoulered
flowers and wrapped in a strong scent of "viola ciocca", roses,
white grapesflowers.
Our small lovely affittacamere
"ALLA PORTA ROSSA" , which was a castle in ancient times ,
is nowadays a new bio-ecological structure with its
environment quality-mark; just like the hotels of Manarola and the
other lands, bed& breakfast, houses and apartments, it lies
in the heart of the National Park of 5 Terre and is really
caressed by this scent.
From the balkonies of the comfortable
rooms "Sapore di sole" and "Rugiada di mare", from the
terrace of the Suite " Crem caramel"... you can listen to the
the voice of the sea, admire the spring sea, calm, quiet with
its twinkling all day long ... and stay breathless
with the sunsets in the early evening....
Unforgettable....
At the beginning of summer you
can meet new and old fond tourists all over the world who come
here to this natural corner, recognised by the Unesco
"Mankind's World Heritage", to the 5
Terre; they relax in the sun and refresh themselves in the
cool and clear green-blue waters either in "Palaedo", "Marina",
small lovely inlets, or on the rocks of the so called "Via
dell'amore, 20 minutes walk to Manarola .... just "1 Km to love and
to be in love with....".
Here on this romantic path, partially
cut out of the steep cliffs overlooking the sea, there is also
a little cosy bar-restaurant where you can have a
rest trying the tipical products "tagliatelle al pesto",
"totani and accuighe fritte" or drinking a rare precious raisin
wine, "Sciachetrà", really very very special after a
swim!!!!
But in the village, by the sea, there are other
restaurants, pizzerie, bars, gelaterie for a snack or a special
meal with fresh sea -food.
During the week-ends, on
Saturday and Sunday evening, you can dance on the small charming
square on the sea till early in the morning... and than to the
jazz-pub "Cantina dello zio Bramante" for a glass of good wine
and a sandwich with anchovies....
And also September
with its scent of grape, must, cellar and new wine is coming!
New white wine ideal with different kind of pasta..., rice and
vegetable pies.... The Cinque Terre, apart from its
characteristic landscape, is also famous for the DOC wines produced
here and the harversting is a great natural events not to
miss.
During this period the farmers, men and women,
carry baskets overflowing with golden grapes from their fields
into the cellars, sometimes they sell them to the
wine co-operative of 5 Terre, which lies on the
terraced vineyards closed to Groppo between Manarola and
Volastra, very small village on the hill inside the National
Parc of 5 Terre.
Little by little the hill changes its
dress..... and is tinged with nuances of red, yellow, orange;
the air getts more and more biting, the sky clearer and clearer...
much more blue....
The winter is coming to the 5 Terre. The
empty "caruggi", the wind, the scent of hood-smoke and vegetable
soup all around the cold and silent village....
From "Alla porta
rossa", from the balkonies of the rooms "Sapore di sole" and "
Rugiada di mare" you can see the sea....a dark blue sea ...
sometimes almost black....; a cold, maybe a litlle
severe skywith all its stars is mirorred in this
sea..... ....Also the silent winter here in Cinque terre is lovely
and has its own particular swing..........
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5 TERRE NATIONAL PARK
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THE
CINQUE TERRE NATIONAL PARK
(PARCO NAZIONALE DELLE CINQUE TERRE)
The Cinque Terre National Park is in Liguria in the province
of La Spezia. It extends from the coast of Tramonti, near La Spezia,
westward to include Monterosso.
The National Park was set up as a
means of promoting and safeguarding the landscape of the Cinque
Terre, an area whose form and structure have been profoundly
modified by human activities throughout the centuries.
The early
inhabitants of the Cinque Terre were forced, not by tyrannical
overlords, but by the desperate need to create agricultural space in
a hostile environment, to substitute the original vegetation growing
on the steep hillsides with a close-knit network of terraces based
on dry stone walls for planting vines. The dry stone walls round the
hillsides total about 6.729 kilometres.
It was a superhuman
endeavour which has created a unique landscape. Today changes in
economic and social behaviour have redefined the significance of
this terraced agriculture leading to a slow decline of the
traditional activities.
The Cinque Terre National Park intends to
restore and preserve this amazing example of landscape architecture
with its historic, cultural, visual and environmental importance by
keeping up the cultivation of grape vines, the only human activity
that could possibly conserve what is already considered a World
Heritage site, and guaranteeing the local production of
centuries-old famous wines such as the fragrant after-dinner wine,
Schiacchetrà.
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CINQUE
TERRE NATIONAL MARINE PARK
(AREA MARINA PROTETTA DELLE CINQUE
TERRE)
The fascinating coast along the Cinque Terre is
characterized by high cliffs, caves, bays, tiny beaches and cleft
rocks.
Marine life in the stretch of the coast that extends from
Punta Mesco at Monterosso to Capo Montenegro at Riomaggiore is
extraordinarily rich and varied.
The steep faces of the cliffs
under water and the shallows and isolated rocks are populated by
various kinds of gorgonia (sea fans) such as the colourful
Leptogorgia sarmentosa and the white Eunicella verrucosa, a rare
species in the Mediterranean, but fairly common along this part of
the coast.
The Posidonia oceanica, a plant that creates very
important grass-like colonies grows here and provides a safe habitat
for the reproduction of many organisms.
The steep rock faces of
Punta Mesco and Capo Montenegro have the richest forms of marine
life including rare species: the Eunicella verrucosa mentioned
above, the very rare Gerardia savaglia, or black coral. At a depth
of only about 15/20 metres at Punta Mesca, unlike the rest of the
Mediterranean, it’s possible to discover the magnificent fans of the
Paramuricea clavata or red gorgonia.
These two stretches of the
coast which have the richest and most varied marine life (the A and
the B zones) are the most severely protected.
However there is
another reason why the sea at the Cinque Terre is so special:
dolphins. This part of the sea is included in the Cetacean
Sanctuary, an international protected area where marine mammals can
be found.
These are some of the environmental characteristics
which stimulated the setting up of the Cinque Terre Marine Reserve
in order to preserve the local biodiversity and the natural habitats
by regulating the activities within its boundaries. The reserve has
been created without penalizing the local population which has in
fact developed new activities tied to the respect of such an
important and beautiful part of the coast.
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Info
centers:
Riomaggiore c/o Stazione Ferroviaria Riomaggiore Tel. 0187
920633
Corniglia c/o Stazione Ferroviaria Corniglia Tel. 0187
812523
Vernazza c/o Stazione Ferroviaria Vernazza Tel. 0187
812533
Monterosso c/o Stazione Ferroviaria Monterosso Tel. 0187
817059
top of page
The Montemarcello – River Magra National Park
comprises the hills along the southeastern flank of the Gulf of La Spezia,
the part of the plain of the River Magra flowing through Liguria as well
as the major and minor tributaries of the River Vara as far upstream as
Ponte Santa Margherita. Stretching from Punta Bianca, the striking rocky
tip of the Caprione promontory to the green valleys of the River Vara, the
park covers an important natural, historic and cultural area of 3,660
acres. The park includes sixteen comunes: Amelia, Arcola, Beverino,
Bolano, Borghetto Vara, Brugnato, Calice al Corniviglio, Carro, Carrodano,
Follo, Rocchetta Vara, Santo Stefano Magra, Sarzana, Sesta Godano and
Vezzano Ligure.MONTEMARCELLO - MAGRA NATURAL PARK
(PARCO NATURALE DI
MONTEMARCELLO-MAGRA)
The Park’s offices are in:
Via Paci, 2
19038 Sarzana (SP)
Tel 0187 691071 Fax 0187 606738
Information
centre: Via Nuova, 48 19030 Montemarcello (SP)
Tel 0187 670910
IAT
Pro Loco Montemarcello: Via Nuova, 48 19030 Montemarcello (SP)
Tel 0187
600324
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