At present, tourism represents, along with agriculture,
the main occupation in the area,  and
in fact farming has benefited tourism. The landscape has
been altered in the course of centuries by peasants employing
a know-how, that is slowly being lost. In the 15th century
the wines of Corniglia and Vernazza were renown and appreciated
not only in Rome but also in the halls of the nobility of
France and England; now the tourist is able to purchase
directly at the source the products of the vines and olive
groves in a splendid and beautiful environment. The Cinque
Terre, which already belonged to a list of protected
areas and subsequently were defined Regional Park have
now been made a National Park. A prestigious acknowledgement
has recently been made also by UNESCO, which has
defined this territory as 'Humanity's World Heritage'.
|
Back
to Cinque Terre info index
The
Cinque Terre represent one of the best preserved natural
and semi-natural areas of the Mediterranean. Historical
and geomorphologic reasons have forbidden excessive housing
development and the creation of major roadways (which instead
are present inland in the Val di Vara). Human activity and
especially viticulture, have contributed to create a unique
landscape in which development of the typical stone walls
is so extensive as to equal that of the famous Great Wall
of China. All this, combined with the 
characteristics
of a crystal clear sea, of architecturally interesting locations,
of a varied and extensive network of paths (one of the most
enviable in the whole Mediterranean), makes the Cinque Terre
an increasingly sought after location among Italian and
foreign tourists. This is not so much the result of a successful
promotional campaign but rather the spontaneous recognition
of the uniqueness of the place, of its beauty, of the enjoyment
one gets from staying in or visiting it. 
