Monterosso al Mare Audio Guide

Monterosso al Mare: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Monterosso al Mare

   Welcome to Monterosso al Mare, the westernmost of the five villages of the Cinque Terre, on the Riviera of La Spezia in Liguria. The name Cinque Terre means Five Lands, and this is the largest of them. Look at how it sits. The village lies at the center of a small natural gulf, protected by a small artificial reef, just east of a headland called Punta Mesco. Monterosso feels different from its neighbors. The other villages cling to narrow cliffs, but here the shoreline opens out and the beaches are noticeably larger. The village is divided into two distinct parts, the old town and the new town, joined by a single tunnel used by pedestrians and the very few cars. The train station stands in the new part, called Fegina. In this guide we will walk through the village's story in four steps: its medieval beginnings and the rivalry between two maritime republics, its churches and oratories, the seafront and its giant statue, and finally the hills above, where poetry, legend and footpaths wait. Ligurians call this place Munterussu, and by the end you will know why it has so many admirers.

2. 02

   A Prize Between Genoa and Pisa

   Monterosso is the oldest of the five villages in the written record. Its first document dates to the year 1056, when the area was under the Obertenghi, a powerful feudal family of northern Italy. That date gives the village roots reaching back almost a thousand years. In the centuries that followed, Monterosso and the rest of the Cinque Terre became contested land, a prize fought over by two great maritime republics, Genoa and Pisa. The struggle ended in 1254, when Monterosso passed definitively into Genoese hands. That matters for what you will see, because the village's most important buildings carry a distinctly Genoese stamp. Some of the old defensive towers from those turbulent centuries can still be seen today. Even the bell tower of the parish church began as something more martial. It was originally a watchtower, scanning the sea for trouble. There is another detail to picture. For much of its history, Monterosso was reachable only by sea or along mule paths that linked it to the other villages of the Cinque Terre. Nothing arrived quickly. Everything came by boat or on the back of a mule, which helps explain why the place developed such a strong identity of its own.

3. 03

   Stripes, Oratories and a Hilltop Convent

   Go into the heart of the old town and you meet the Church of Saint John the Baptist, built between 1244 and 1307. It is a fine example of Genoese Gothic. Its facade is made of alternating bands of two colors of stone, the typical bicolor style of the Ligurian coast. The imposing bell tower rises between the apse and the entrance, and as we said, it began life as a lookout. A few steps away stands the Oratory of the Brotherhood of the Blacks, dedicated to Death and Prayer, a sixteenth century baroque building. Not far beyond it is the oratory of the Brotherhood of the Whites, also known as the oratory of the Holy Cross. These lay brotherhoods were a central part of religious life in Ligurian towns, and their oratories show how rich that community life was. Look up at the hill and you will see the Capuchin convent, built in the seventeenth century. It is visible from every part of the village and is known for its historical and artistic treasures, including a wooden altar and choir. Inside its church hangs a painting attributed to Van Dyck. Down by the shore you can also find the Aurora Tower, a sixteenth century tower that completes this picture of faith and defense side by side.

4. 04

   Fegina, the Beach and the Giant

   Now stroll toward Fegina, where the sea takes center stage. The beach runs along most of the coastline and is enjoyed by locals and visitors alike. It is the thing that sets Monterosso apart, since it is the only one of the five villages famous for its beach and its historic bathing establishments. Tourism took hold here from the early 1960s, thanks to the beaches, the clear water and the mild climate, and today the old fishing village and the Fegina seafront are lined with hotels, restaurants, bars and beach clubs. At the western end of the seafront stands the Giant, a statue of Neptune 14 meters tall, recently restored. The god carried a trident, and a gigantic shell on his head once served as the terrace of the villa built around him. The statue and the villa suffered serious damage when Allied forces bombed Monterosso during the Second World War, and the heavy seas of 1966 damaged them further. The sea has not always been gentle with this village. On the twenty-fifth of October, 2011, torrential rains caused flash floods and mudslides that swept through Monterosso al Mare and Vernazza. Walking the lively promenade today, you are seeing a place that has rebuilt itself before. Lemon trees, for which the area is famous, add a bright note throughout the village.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Monterosso has one more chapter, and it lies above the rooftops. High on the hill, at 464 meters, stands the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Soviore. Legend says the Lombards destroyed it in the seventh century, and that the image of the Madonna was then found miraculously. It is a story told, not a proven fact, and it is part of the village's soul. Poetry is part of that soul too. The village was the beloved place of Eugenio Montale, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature. A literary park was created in his honor, and the house that sheltered him and the places that inspired some of his most famous works are part of the village's heritage. If you feel like walking, there is the footpath linking Monterosso to Vernazza, and trail 590 leading toward the ruins of the hermitage of Saint Anthony of Mesco. It passes through a holm oak wood, offers wonderful views over the Cinque Terre, and ends near an abandoned military signal station. The national park asks walkers to go only in good weather, with suitable footwear and some hiking experience. So which will you follow first, the poet's lines, the legend of the Madonna, or the path along the cliffs?