Cinque Terre, Italy
"The world was void,
The populous and the powerful was a lump,
Seasonless, herbless, treeless, manless, lifeless—
A lump of death—a chaos of hard clay.
The rivers, lakes and ocean all stood still,
And nothing stirr'd within their silent depths;
Ships sailorless lay rotting on the sea,
And their masts fell down piecemeal: as they dropp'd
They slept on the abyss without a surge—
The waves were dead; the tides were in their grave,
The moon, their mistress, had expir'd before;
The winds were wither'd in the stagnant air,
And the clouds perish'd; Darkness had no need
Of aid from them—She was the Universe."
/Lord Byron, Darkness
That poem, parts of it anyway, has nothing to do with Cinque Terre in the region of Liguria in north-west Italy. Even though it was written by Lord Byron, whom I used to love as a teenager. He and another poet, Shelley spent parts of their lives in this landscape. Maybe gazing at all the people clinking with wine-glasses and laughing at harbours and in restaurants. While they got inspired in their lonliness.
In fact these five ocean-villages - clinging to steep cliffs, vines and caressing green valleys and hills - Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore, are the opposite of the poem above. They are connected by a scenic, 400 km hiking path. And you can also reach each part by boat or train. Me and my boyfriend Simon spent 3 whole days here this summer. We had planned to relax but found it almost impossible.
Maybe because it was in the midst of the summer? Maybe because of the thousands of tourists: traveling by boats, hiking, swimming, talking in the sun, having cappuccinos in narrow piazzas or streets, savouring local fish-dishes, pizzas or buying souvenirs and local pesto.
But later I´ve realized that the reason must have been something different. This area is a palette of life, colors, flavors, and energy. Inspite of all people. You couldn´t control it even if you wanted to. One day the sun shined.
Vernazza in the early evening.
And the other dark clouds created a thunderstorm.
Monterosso where you find the beaches.
Ipad-sign in Vernazza where we stayed for 2 nights. The first night we spent in Monterosso.
I don´t think it is ever quiet and peaceful here, except for at night. In fact it almost felt as if we wen´t italian during a short period of time. So italian that we wen´t out for dinner too late one evening in Vernazza. AFTER the restaurants had closed. We ended up under the stars in the small harbour instead with chips and ice-cream...
Steep slopes cultivated with vine.
These medievale villages where once isolated from the rest of the world. Now you can reach them by train. This was not possible as early as 100 years ago. Thank God!
