High Five
Alessandra Zecchini
My eyes can see as far as the island of Corsica, but they keep dropping down to the precarious ground at my feet as if to reassure me that I hadn’t taken off with some sort of magical wings.
Below, the houses of pastel pinks and yellows stand tall with windows opening directly on to the sea and the heavens while secret gardens, protected by high stone walls, nestle ancient trees of oranges and lemons.
A few remaining fishermen pull ashore colourful little boats and dinghies with the catch of the day. All around, stone walls steal space for grapevines and olive trees in areas accessible only on foot, while aromatic herbs like basil and marjoram mixed with wild flowers perfume the air.
 Despite being on the beaten track in Italy, the Cinque Terre National Park has managed to preserve this spectacular stretch of coastline south-east of Genoa. Five villages, known in medieval times as terre, makeup this prodigy of beauty: Riomaggiore, Manarola,Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. For centuries all five were connected to each other and the outside world only by sea or the paths which provide hikers with breathtaking views seen only intermittently by train.
It is not surprising that the stunning landscapes of the Cinque Terre became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1997 and a national park in 1999: everywhere you turn both the natural and man-made beauty is breathtaking, and yet so fragile. This is not a place for grand modern hotels with swimming pools, nor will you find the marble monuments that dot other Italian cities: you come here for the peace and authenticity that has kept the five villages and their surroundings unchanged for centuries.
I arrived in Riomaggiore with my family and a photographer in tow in December, after crossings now-covered, foggy mountains into a still-chilly but sunny landscape. We started with the most famous and easiest walk of all, the Via dell’Amore (Path of Love),built on a rock surface that dives straight down into the blue waves. Halfway along we stopped at the Bar dell’Amore where the tables al fresco are set atop a metal grill bolted to the rock with a vertical drop down to the cliffs below. We all felt mildly vertiginous, but duly impressed.
 In the kitchen Laura and Alessia had worked hard and the two waiters, Aldo and Ferdinando, started to pile the table with plates. Three different salads with prawns and a variety of vegetables, octopus with red radicchio and chilli strips, the famous local anchovies(le acciughe di Monterosso), cod fritters and a dish of mussels with a miniature frittata cooked inside each shell. Liguria may be one of the smallest Italian regions, shaped like a thin crescent moon extending from the French Riviera down to Tuscany, but it is renowned for its cuisine. Savoury tarts are a must-try here and on the table we found an incredibly tasty artichoke tart that begged to be sliced. My children poured olive oil on their bread and we all dug in. There were six of us and enough food for an army. Just whenI was ready to pop, Ferdinando arrived with the first course: a plate of trenette al pesto. Well, I couldn’t refuse pesto in its homeland and a few of the others even managed the main course of orata (gilthead)and a couple of cakes for dessert.
The view from the restaurant is inspirational and if altitude is your thing, you can climb up a further seven terraces to reach the picnic tables. Looking down to the sea we saw a little boat carrying two fishermen. One was rowing and the other pulling along a line. By chance I met Giovanni Buttà, who runs the local diving school, at the next table. He told me the men were fishing for octopus and the bait was a conger eel.
The fishermen pulled the bait along and rowed round and round in circles. Finally an octopus grabbed the bait and zap, up on to the dinghy and into the net. Giovanni gave us a lesson on the marine reserve, divided into three areas where fishing (always by professionals and with non-intrusive methods) may or may not be done. Today he can take divers down to see a world that will be conserved for future generations.
 I was glad for the overfeeding at Bar dell’Amore because walking around the Cinque Terre consumes plenty of energy. On the second day it was all uphill on foot to the Montenero Sanctuary through a path among the vines that, due to the coastal wind, are cultivated a terra, which means “on the ground”. The low trellises create a thick canopy under which the pickers are forced to bend to reach the fruit. The resulting wines, all white, are unique – a blend of the three grape varieties of Bosco, Vermentino and Albarola. The grapes from each village, indeed each garden, develop different flavours depending on the site of planting. In Riomaggiore alone there are three different DOC wines: Costa de Campu, Costa da’ Posa and Costa de Séra.
But the most special wine of all is the Sciacchetrà:a few selected grapes are left to dry for about three months and then the fruit is picked one by one, so as to discard the rotten or mouldy grapes. The ageing can go from one up to 30 years and only around 3000bottles are produced every year. Families usually keep one or two to open on special occasions.
Everybody I met warned me against imitations. As with much other produce from the area, including olive oil, sauces, jams, limoncello and honey, you should look for the national park’s Cinque Terre brand so it is best to shop in the park’s own cooperatives and information centres.
 Maria Felicia, the national park’s food technologist, showed me around the communal olive press. Growers are encouraged to bring in their harvest, even as little as 40kg at a time, from October onwards. The olives must be in perfect condition, not damaged and absolutely not picked up from the ground. Nets are positioned under the trees, the ripe fruit is shaken onto them and they are pressed within 24 to 36 hours. I tasted a drop of the previous day’s pressing: delicious, full of flavour but delicate and sweet; the local cuisine would be lost without it. In Liguria fish, for example, is touched barely to be cleaned and then cooked as simply as possible with a drop of olive oil. Whitebait is dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and pepper(although other recipes for the tiny fish include soups, frittatas and fritters).
I found a fish expert in Riccardo Fucci, chef of Gli Ulivi, a little gem of a restaurant set along the higher paths of the park. Riccardo is from Genoa and I loved the way he talked. On the first evening we ate there he announced that the special was squill (mantis shrimp)because on that day the sea was bulesun, a dialect word meaning “very mildly choppy”. Apparently these are the only conditions in which fishermen can catch the precious shrimps.
The next day Riccardo invited me inside the kitchen to show me one of his creations: sea-bass plait. He placed a fresh sea bass on the table and thwack thwack thwack, with three quick manoeuvres the head was gone and the fish perfectly filleted in two, bones removed. Then he took one fillet and divided it into three long strips leaving one end uncut. The strips were folded into a plait and then baked and served with crispy deep-fried julienne vegetables.
 It is no surprise that the person I met who was most passionate about fish was a fisherman. On my last day, hopping from village to village, I reached Monterosso, home of the famous anchovies. Beppe Martelli, son of a fisherman and organiser of a small cooperative that salts anchovies, was almost cinematographic in his presence and eloquence. From June to July he leads his boat out every night, towing along two smaller boats that carry strong lamps. Once at the chosen spot the small boats direct their lamps to the water and the anchovies (mostly 10cm to 12cm long), attracted by the light, come to the surface and into the net of the big boat. This traditional method of fishing is called lampara, something ancient and charismatic, not unlike the challenging work of extracting wine and oil from steep vines and orchards.
In a few days in the Cinque Terre my eyes and senses took in enough memories to last a lifetime. I perfectly understood the willingness of Unesco in trying to preserve these villages that encompass history, nature and lifestyles. And it will be preserving emotions for future generations of hikers in one of the most wonderful corners of Italy.
FACT FILE
EAT
Bar dell’Amore
Loc Vailungo, Via dell’Amore (between Riomaggiore and Manarola), ph: 0187-921 026
This establishment provides bar service, snacks and light lunches, but portions are generous and not exactly light from the New Zealand perspective. A fantastic spot to order your trenette al pesto. Picnic tables available on the cliff terraces.
Ristorante and Bar Gli Ulivi
Via NS della Salute 114, Volastra, Riomaggiore, ph: 0187-920 158
Chef Riccardo Fucci specialises in high-quality cuisine matched with excellent local wines. Fish is the star but the pansotti (a type of herb ravioli) with walnut sauce are also good. Wayfarer’s complete menu from €15.
SLEEP
Albergo Ca’ d’Andrean
Via Discovolo 101, Manarola, ph: 0187-920 040, www.cadandrean.it
Ten rooms on the site of an old frantoio (olive oil press). Double with breakfast €100.
Hotel Suisse Bellevue
Loc Minali 2, Monterosso, ph: 0187-816 065, www.hotelsuissebellevue.it
A larger hotel with 30 rooms in Monterosso, the only locality in the area with a little beach. Double with breakfast €125-145.
Hotel Villa Argentina
Via de Gasperi 170, Riomaggiore, ph: 0187-920 213, email: villaargentina@libero.it
Fifteen rooms and beautiful views. Double with breakfast €130, meals €20. For more information about hotels, apartments and rooms in private homes and hostels, visit www.parconazionale5terre.it
SHOP
Laboratorio del Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre
Via Litoranea 801, Cravarezza, La Spezia, ph: 0187-758 041
The laboratory where many of the local products that carry the 5 Terre quality brand are made. The same products can also be purchased in all the park information centres in the five villages.
INFORMATION
Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre
Via T Signorini 118, Riomaggiore, ph: 0187-760 000, or see www.parconazionale5terre.it
Park authorities advise visitors to dress comfortably and drop all formalities. Do not approach with your superyacht – this is a marine reserve and no matter how rich or famous you may be, the coastal guard will escort you out and invite you to return by dinghy, train or on foot.
Photography by Mario Castelli
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