Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore is the southernmost of the Cinque Terre villages and the first that most travellers reach from La Spezia. It also serves as the administrative seat of the wider commune that includes Manarola and the hill hamlet of Volastra. The village is built into a steep, narrow valley, its tall pastel houses climbing the slopes on either side of a single main street, Via Colombo, that runs down to a small picturesque harbour where fishing boats are hauled up the slipway. Visitors come to wander the main street and its food and wine shops, to watch the sunset from the breakwater rocks beside the harbour, to climb to the castle and the Church of San Giovanni Battista above town, and to start the reopened Via dell'Amore, the easy clifftop walkway to Manarola. A visit takes around half a day. The view down Via Colombo to the harbour, and the boats stacked on the slipway against the painted houses, are the signature photographs, best in the golden light of late afternoon. Riomaggiore is reached by the Cinque Terre Express train and, in summer, by ferry. Like its neighbours it is busiest from late morning through the afternoon, so early mornings and evenings are the most peaceful and best for photography. As the gateway village of the Cinque Terre in eastern Liguria, Riomaggiore combines easily with the Via dell'Amore stroll and train hops to the other four villages.