The itinerary "Vigneti terrazzati" starts in Riomaggiore, with trail 531 Riomaggiore - Manarola via Beccara, one of the Park's most panoramic trails, as it is perched over the sea.
Before the railway line Genoa-La Spezia was built, in the 1870s, and before the opening of the Via dell'Amore in 1928, the villages of Riomaggiore and Manarola were connected only by this steep path.
The trail sets off from the railway station of Riomaggiore, going uphill along Via Signorini until it takes a fork to the left. After a few hundreds meters on Via Tracastello, a small staircase on the left leads in the valley of the stream Rio Finale. Follow the marked path along the cultivated orchards to the small bridge from which the long staircase begins that, through cultivated and uncultivated fields, leads, with a panoramic view, to the ridge of the Costa Corniolo, from where you can admire the Montenero peak at Levante, Manarola and the Gulf of Cinque Terre to the west. Continue on the ridge of Costa Corniolo and, on the left, there is the descent towards Manarola with the ancient staircase, partly in stone and partly carved in the rock, which leads with scenic views to the Marina of Manarola.
Download KMZIn Manarola, in Punta Bonfiglio (Street View 1
), turn your gaze to the west to Punta Mesco and beyond, with the clear sky, towards the snowy peaks of the Maritime Alps and Corsica. Then you go back to the streets of the village (2) until you get to the church of San Lorenzo (3), in front of the hill where, during the Christmas period, the crib of Mario Andreoli (
) stands out, with the illuminated figures built with material recycled; then go up to the parking lot and then move to the right of the Groppo stream taking the path no. 506 (4).
Between gardens and cultivated land the path winds, crossing the state road, up to the staircase with irregular steps and it climbs steeply between cultivated fields, Mediterranean scrub and vineyards, "with a low vine" (). On the left you can see the village of Groppo, dominated by that of Volastra with its terraced land. You walk among heather and Mediterranean shrubs until you reach the SP51 carriage road, to be followed for about 5 minutes uphill to the Cantina Sociale; at this point you can continue on the asphalt of the SP51 up to the hairpin bend that discovers the view on Volastra. (5).
If, on the other hand, you prefer to abandon the asphalted road, go down towards the hamlet of Groppo and enter the houses towards the south, to take the small path that goes around the inhabited center and between vegetable gardens and fields also cultivated with olive groves, and continue on the path along a staircase that winds through the terraces planted with vines until it crosses the SP51.
Cross the road from here, take the 506V marked stairway that detaches from the lane upstream of the road and climbs towards the ridge of the hill among pine forests, until it crosses the asphalted stretch of the path 530 Telegrafo - Volastra (6), which you go downhill until you reach the churchyard of the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora della Salute (7) (), from which the path 586 Volastra - Case Pianca begins, near a sandstone seat surmounted by a cross and decorated with sacred symbols.
The path develops in front of the sea () with beautiful panoramas, crossing the terraced environment cultivated with vineyards, meeting along the way the small rural nucleus of Porciana and then the scattered houses of Pianca, just before the beginning of the staircase, to go down with great attention (8), towards Corniglia.
You arrive on the square of the parish church of San Pietro e Paolo (9) and then on the Belvedere, along the narrow streets of the village of Corniglia, resting on the cliff overlooking the sea.
Your walk ends on the square, with the open view from Montenero to Punta Mesco, on the blue sea of the Marine Protected Area, with a glass of Cinque Terre wine in hand.
Points of Interest:
More information at mappe.parconazionale5terre.it:
