Cinque Terre, Italy’s 5 villages

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"The Cinque Terre dramatic cover girl"

source: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/getaways/04/22/cinque.terre.vernazza/index.html

The article above just about covers it, but I have just a few words to add. The Cinque Terre are 5 villages located in the Liguria region and is a National Park and a UNISCO World Heritage Site. It can easily be included if you are visiting the Tuscany, Genoa, Pisa, Porto Portofino or Florence.

The harvest of grapes during late September is an experience in itself. Since the vines are planted along steep hills cascading down to the sea, they are harvested by people lying on their backs. Most growers have small patches of vineyards dotted over the hillside producing only a few thousand bottles. Little carts on monorails carry the grapes down the steep hills. They used to be carried down in large baskets carried on the backs of people up until recently. Planted about three feet above the rocky ground allows the grapes to absorb the heat reflected from the soil. Cultivation is still done using traditional methods, with hardly any mechanization. Cinque Terre is known for its two wines, The Chinque Terre and Schiacchetrà, a sweet late harvest wine, drunk for dessert. The grapes are harvested late in the season allowing the sun to dry the grapes to concentrate the sugars. They are then placed on mats to continue drying. Wild fig trees line the streets with the sweetest figs I have ever tasted and the views above the cliffs overlooking the vineyards and ocean is memorable. 

Pesto is the most well know food from the region and believe me it is hardly possible to make it or find the right type of basil to make it the way it is found in this area.  I have almost given up as I have tried everything to create the same flavor. The basil is a small leaf variety full of aroma.  I’m lucky to have found a fresh pesto from Genoa shipped to a market in Como where I buy several containers and freeze it.

My husband and I are risk takers and have found that it is hardly possible to find a bad meal in Italy (except in the center of a tourist area). As we were driving down one of the steep hill above the villages, we saw a sign that said “Retaurante” on a mailbox in front of a house.  We were hungry so decided to stop.  The owner met us at the door and invited us into his home.  As we walked through the kitchen, through the living room and out onto the patio we wondered what kind of a restaurant this was and knew we were in for an interesting meal and anxiously began to look forward to it. The large patio had one table with 2 chairs and a huge view of the ocean.  As we moved the table around on the patio searching for the very best view, which was from everywhere, he went off into the kitchen to prepare our lunch.  He arrived with a plate of seafood risotto; celery stalks rising up from the middle with shrimp climbing up the stalks. Wine and more wine came with each course and we knew that the ride down to the Cinque Terre, which lies with a rugged coastline and small narrow roads that drops to the sea was going to be a precious ride, we thought we just couldn’t drink anymore. Well our master chef would have nothing to do with it and insisted that we select from several Grappa’s before we continued on our trip. Yes needless to say we never made it to the villages that day. But this has stayed with me and is filed away in my memory as one of the most fantastic food experiences I’ve had anywhere in the world.  Our one table restaurant, the food and the warmth of our chef was one of those experiences you hope to find but almost never do.

The Clique Terre lies to the south of the Ligurian coast. Travel up the coast to Santa Margherita Ligure, Rapallo and Porto Portofino and sit at one of the restaurants along the harbor watching the rich and famous bring their yachts into the harbor. Yes everyone in the world knows about the” Rich and Famous” visitors that go to Porto Portofino, a beautiful isolated seaside harbor. We have enjoyed visiting this little exclusive harbor for many years staying at the “Splendido” overlooking the village and ocean.

Put the Cinque Terre on your list of places to visit in Italy. If you can visit in the shoulder season it is recommended because if you are traveling by car, you will find it difficult to get into any of the villages and there is very limited parking.