Vernazza, Cinque Terre

Today we decided to visit one of the other fishing villages before returning to Monterosso al Mare for another day of relaxing on the beach. A bit of research showed that Vernazza was one of the prettiest and most photographed of the five villages, especially around sunrise.

So after an early rise we caught the train to Vernazza and started the hike up to the best vantage point to capture the colourful buildings surrounding the small marina. Only thing we didn’t account for was the position of the marina in comparison to the sun rising behind the mountain, stopping the sunrise from lighting the marina for some time.

Because we were there so early it was nice to walk the empty streets before the crowds descended for the day. It is a town filled with history. The first records recognizing Vernazza as a fortified town date to 1080. It was a likely point of departure for naval forces in defence of pirates.

In 1997, the Cinque Terre was recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and in 1999 the National Park of the Cinque Terre was created. Today the main source of revenue for Vernazza is tourism. However, as a testimony to the strength of centuries-old tradition, fishing, wine and olive oil production still continue.

On 25 October 2011, Vernazza was struck by torrential rains, massive flooding, and mudslides affecting not only Cinque Terre, but the surrounding province of Lunigiana. The flood left the town buried in over 4 metres of mud and debris (submerging even the train station in mud), causing over 100 million euro worth of damage. The town was evacuated and remained in a state of emergency for many months.

After taking the odd photos or two (code for many) we decided we weren’t going to wait around for the full sun as our beach chairs were calling us from Monterosso al Mare. Vernazza is a lovely town and one I would love to visit and photograph again.Read more