Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre - Pt 2

We enjoyed Monterosso al Mare so much the first time, we just had to come back again. We couldn’t think of a better way to relax for the day before hitting the ‘road’ (trains) again. So after a quick detour to check out Vernazza we returned to enjoy another delicious breakfast at the same place we visited two days ago. Why try somewhere new when what we had discovered was perfect. Great prices, great food and fantastic view.

We wandered into town to for a final look around. With Monterosso being the largest of the five villages there are more than one street to wander down. It is such a pretty town to explore and as we seem to have beaten the crowds, we took our time to look inside the two churches, the Church of San Giovanni Battista and the Oratoria dei Neri (the Oratory of the Blacks)

The Oratoria dei Neri is in very poor shape and is in the process of being slowly and painstakingly restored. However, behind the walls of scaffolding there are still images that intrigued me. Amongst the usual church imagery are many skeletons and skulls, along the cornices of the dome and embedded in the end of the wooden pews.

The church was founded in the 16th century by willing people who did their best to help widows, victims of shipwrecks, orphans and took care of the burial of the less fortunate. With so many deaths and families unable to afford to have their dead buried it was an extensive problem for the times. There was a group of volunteers that worked together to take care of the dead and as this group grew in size it began to have a form, rules and a name, The Company of Death. The Pope sanctioned the group in 1560, allowing them to receive alms and build churches and oratories, and the Oratory in Monterosso was built. The members had to wear a black habit, closed by a black cord and with a hood and collar that served as a mask to protect themselves from the decomposing bodies, and that is how the church gained its name. It was an interesting place to visit.

The other church, the one that I love photographing, is the Church of San Giovanni Battista and was built between 1244 and 1307 in Ligurian Gothic style. The beautiful facade is decorated with white and green marble, that actually looks like black and white stripes. It was very simply adorned inside and very peaceful and does not have the dramatic history like the Oratoria dei Neri.

After that we made our way back to "our" beach, Bagni Eden, to relax for the rest of the day on our paid beach chairs. Who would have thought that us Aussies would actually pay to go to a beach, but it was totally worth it. It was an extremely enjoyable way to spend the day. If only we knew then that we were actually meant to have checked out of our accommodation and be on our way to Pisa…Read more