Cinque Terre - October 2004

This is probably one of the most picturesque communities in Italy that we've visited. It's fairly isolated, crystal clear water, tall cliffs, and mountainous farming. However, the recent years have turned this place fairly touristy. You should have seen some of the pictures of this quiet community in the summer when it's jammed packed!

Cinque Terre literally means five lands. Cinque Terre is made up of five small villages that are fairly close together: Montorosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. We stayed in Montorosso which is the biggest village and it also has the biggest beach. They are all really similar in that they each have at least one church, a bell tower that rang every half hour and most have a castle.