Cinque Terre: a walk on the mild side

Legend has it that many a love affair has blossomed along the Via Dell Amore – a narrow flagstone path linking the unbelievably gorgeous but little-known Italian fishing villages of Riomaggiore and Manarola. It must have been so for the unknown Romeo who carved questa e la via dell amore (this is the road of love) into the rock face at the path’s entrance.

Riomaggiore and Manarola are two of the five fishing villages which make up Italy's Cinque Terre region on the north Italian coast, about an hour from Genoa by train. Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare complete the line-up, each of them strategically positioned along a stretch of romantically terraced coastline, mountains rising sharply behind them, the Ligurian sea washing at their feet.

People come here for the network of well-defined walking tracks carved into the hillside and along the coast. The main route - popular with American and German walkers and the occasional louche English wanderer - meanders for 12km between Monterosso at the north end and Riomaggiore to the south.

Nobody does the walk in one hit. The idea is to pick a town, drop your luggage and walk the track to the next town for lunch. If you're feeling energetic, you can continue walking to another town, then catch a train or boat back to home-base at the end of the day.

Less energetic types, or those wanting to string the experience out over more than three days, can choose to head back to base after lunch, saving the next instalment for another day.

Cars are few and far between in Cinque Terre, primarily because the topography makes the Amalfi coast road look like a highway, as one colleague put it. In other words, leave the car somewhere else (ie Genoa or Pisa) and use the frequent trains that run through the region.

Most of the travel material on Cinque Terre points to Vernazza as the best place in which to base yourself. That's not a bad call. It is less touristy than its northern neighbour, Monterosso and more scenic than its southern compatriots.

Vernazza came to notice in the 11th century as an ally of Genoa in its naval battles against Pisa. Its townsfolk gained a fierce reputation for the raids they carried out against nearby communities and on the local shipping trade. Genoa was unsuccessful in its later attempts to subdue the town, partly because of the fortifications (still standing) that helped protect Vernazza from naval attack. As with the other Cinque Terre settlements, Vernazza's mountainous backdrop helped stymie any attack by land.

Travellers walking through the town with luggage are often asked by elderly but entrepreneurial Italian women whether they want to rent a room in the family house. Rates are negotiable, but check out the room first before agreeing to any deal. Once ensconced, grab the maps and some fruit, fill your water container and head for the hills!

During the summer months, be sure to take your swimmers as well. There is nothing better than a plunge into that deep Ligurian blue after a few hours hiking in warm weather. The walking tracks are not Cinque Terre's only attraction.

People also come here to momentarily lose themselves in the towns' mediaeval labyrinths of streets and squares and to savour a local cuisine whose specialities include pesto, anchovies and a sweet wine called sciacchetra.

Word-of-mouth information about Cinque Terre was shared with me by John La Rosa, the Italo-Australian cousin of a good friend. His credentials as a tourist adviser are impeccable: Italian speaking and food-obsessed. Not surprisingly, his suggestions lived up to expectations. La Rosa's first suggestion for accommodation, if Vernazza proved impossible, was a hotel and restaurant called Cecio (812 043) in the adjacent village of Corniglia. The rooms come with a view and the food is delicious. Large grilled sea bass and a perfectly simple mixed seafood antipasto were stand-out dishes.

Further afield, about half an hour north of Cinque Terre, lies the urbane seaside resort of Santa Margherita, just a boat ride away from the once exclusive but now much-visited tourist enclave of Portofino, the Italian hideaway for glamorous movie stars and aging mariners. Santa Margherita's hotel of choice is Hotel Fasce (0185 286 435), run by a sharp talking Englishwoman called Jane and her smartly dressed but largely unseen Italian husband. Rooms are spacious and, luxury of luxuries, include a TV with English-speaking cable.

Finding a good restaurant in S. Margherita is easy, especially if you steer away from the waterfront. Trattoria Baicin (via Algeria 9, off Piazza Martin) offers authentic Ligurian food, including pesto served with spaghetti and potatoes, and is well-patronised by the locals.

Apart from doing the ferry ride to and from Portofino (or better still, walk there along a track through national parkland and catch the ferry back), S. Margherita's main attraction is its passagiata. About 5 o'clock or so each afternoon, the streets come alive with townsfolk out for an afternoon stroll, a coffee or gelato, or a chat with whomever they bump into, idly keeping an eye on the kids as they chase pigeons and shout with joy each time the birds scatter and regroup. Find a seat in the town's main square and enjoy!

You could probably enjoy Cinque Terre in three days, easy, and walk away with a backpack full of memories. S. Margherita would be good for another couple of nights, as rest and recuperation. But be warned. Even this avid walker gained a few kilos over a week or so, unable to resist Italy's food temptations. But then, that's what a good holiday is all about, isn't it?

- First published in The Sydney Morning Herald.