Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre

Where water becomes soil. Vernazza - Monterosso (Santuari)

• Trail Conditions: On foot
• Interest: Geology

• Departure: Vernazza
• Arrival: Monterosso
• Duration: 3 hour/s 30 minutes
• Length: 8.408 km
• Difference in height: 540m

Twenty-three million years ago, the two landmasses we now call Corsica and Provence drifted apart, pivoting on the Gulf of Genoa. In doing so, they left an empty space - one that was quickly filled by the sea.

Making room, leaving room: this is the essence of discovering the Cinque Terre's sea. Sometimes, that even means turning your back on it, to view it from a new, privileged perspective.

From Vernazza to Monterosso and back again - first along the mid-coast, then down to the shoreline - this trail lets you see the sea from afar and up close. It reveals a sea of hope and fear, of fishing and piracy, of fury and refuge. It's a route to tune into an ancient, geological dialogue that tells the story of our planet - and our place on it.