A 920-metre trail suspended between the sea and the sky, steeped in the sea breeze and the fragrance of Mediterranean herbs. This is the celebrated Via dell’Amore (Lovers’ Walk) that connects Manarola and Riomaggiore. Closed since 2012 for much-needed safety work, the trail reopened this summer and is once again one of the unmissable experiences of the Cinque Terre, the gem of eastern Liguria. It’s definitely well worth the four hours’ drive from The Mall Sanremo, perhaps with a stop-off halfway in Genoa “la Superba” (to borrow Petrarch’s term).

HISTORY
The footpath was built in the nineteen-twenties as a storage area for explosives needed for the extension of the Genoa-La Spezia railway line. In the thirties, once the work was completed, the local people began to walk the route, happy to have a faster and more user-friendly alternative to the steep mule track that until then had been the only way of getting from Manarola to Riomaggiore. Thanks to its stunning views and romantic sunsets, this winding clifftop walk was soon christened Lovers’ Walk, or “la Via dell’Amore”.

CINQUE TERRE NATIONAL PARK
The Via dell’Amore is located within the beautiful Cinque Terre National Park and is part of a longer route that connects all the five villages (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso): the Sentiero Azzurro, which takes approximately five hours. Higher up, another trail, called the Alta via delle Cinque Terre, runs from Portovenere to Levanto, the villages at either end of the Cinque Terre, a distance of some 40 km.

HOW TO REACH THE VIA DELL’AMORE
The newly-reopened trail requires booking and payment, and is walkable in one direction only, from Riomaggiore to Manarola. Tickets are available on www.viadellamore.info, and can also include the train that connects all the Cinque Terre.
Opening times:
November to March 9:30 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30)
April to October 8:00 to 21:30 (last entry 21:00)