Jedna od mnogobrojnih prednosti Firence je njezin geografski
položaj. Većina mjesta u Italiji nije udaljena više od nekoliko sati, tako da
je prilično lako putovati – izvrsno za onog koji putuje, malo manje izvrsno za
onog koji plaća.
Danas vam donosim priču o malenom, idiličnom i slikovitom
mjesto Cinque Terre.
Što su Cinque Terre?
Samo ime govori puno toga. „Cinque“ znači pet, a „Terre“
zemlje. Riječ je dakle o pet zemalja, odnosno naselja, svih pet pod zaštitom
UNESCO-a. To su Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola i Riomaggiore.
Gdje se nalaze Cinque Terre?
Prilično sam sigurna da svatko od vas može otići na
maps.google.com i u tražilicu upisati „Cinque Terre“. No ipak, evo nekoliko
podataka. Cinque Terre nalaze se u talijanskoj pokrajini Liguriji, na zapadnoj
talijanskoj obali, odnosno Ligurskom moru. Sjeverno su od Spezie, južno od
Genove i zapadno od Bologne.
Malo povijesti
Naselja koja mi danas posjećujemo nalaze se tamo još od 11.
stoljeća. Monterosso i Vernazza se spominju prvi, a ostala naselja kasnije.
Prvi su stanovnici prirodne šume i nizbrdice pretvorili u mjesta na kojima se
može graditi i živjeti. Stalno na oprezu od gusara, dijelom Republike Genove, stanovnici
su počeli trgovati, a bili su poznati po vinu.
Ime „Cinque Terre“ prvi se put javlja u 15. stoljeću, a u 16. se grade
utvrde za obranu od Turaka. U 17.
stoljeću ovo mjesto gubi na svojoj snazi i važnosti. Iseljavanje je dijelom
svakodnevice jer stanovnici žele izbjeći siromaštvo i izolaciju, što znači da
napuštaju tradicionalne djelatnosti ovog kraja. Situacija se mijenja u drugoj
polovici 20. stoljeća s razvitkom turizma.
Što raditi u Cinque Terre?
Ovo je vjerojatno smiješno pitanje. Ako, kao ja, imate svega
jedan dan za provesti u Cinque Terre, onda je čarobna riječ „hodanje“. Od
naselja do naselja se ide vlakom, ali u naseljima se hoda. Ne samo zato što
automobila tamo gotovo da i nema, nego svaki korak pruža neki živopisni prizor
pa bi bilo šteta ne prehodati cijelo mjesto.
Jedan dan je premalo za istražiti ovih pet naselja, no
moguće je obići ih. U svakom naselju nalaze se restorani, kafići i razni dućani,
tako da vam sigurno neće ostati slobodnog vremena. Svakako probajte nešto s pestom,
koji je tradicionalan proizvod Ligurije. Kad kažem „nešto“ mislim na bilo što,
jer s pestom vam nude sve. Od pizze do lasagna.
Corniglia se nalazi u sredini i može se pohvaliti utvrdom koja potječe iz rimskog razdoblja, a ime je vjerojatno dobila po jednoj od obitelji koje su u vlasništvu imale većinu teritorija. Zanimljivo je da su među iskopinama u Pomepija pronađene amfore za vino na kojima je pisalo „Cornelia“.
Ovo se mjesto može pohvaliti crkvom posvećenom svetom Petru, koja je napravljena u tipičnom ligurskom gotičkom stilu četrnaestog stoljeća, te raznim kulturnim manifestacijama i festivalima. Ovdje također možete „planinariti“, odnosno proći 377 stepenica – i onda uživati u sladoledu kao nagradi!
Na reprezentativnim slikama ste vjerojatno vidjeli i Vernazzu. Ovdje se nalaze mnoge crkve i kapelice kao i utvrde, a ljeti se održavaju piratske večeri.e
Monterosso je najsjevernije naselje. Glavna atrakcija ovog mjesta je plaža i sve vezano uz plažu. Prilično se razlikuje od ostalih naselja, ali je jednako očaravajuće. Osim što sam imala dojam da sam se vratila u vremenu, sve je nekako bilo tip-top posloženo i djelovalo je kao filmski set.
Manarola je drugo mjesto ako dolazite iz Spezie, hrana za oči i dušu. Ime vjerojatno potječe od „magna rota“ što na latinskom znači veliki kotač, a odnosi se na mlinski kotač koji se nalazio u mjestu.
Moj izlet u Cinque Terre je potvrdio da u Italiji vrijeme nije uvijek savršeno. No Cinque Terre su i po kiši očaravajuće i vrijedi ih posjetiti bez daljnjeg. Pripremite se na puno turista i puno fotoaparata, gužve u vlaku, ali i na cestama. Ja sam obišla svih 5 naselja u jednom danu, no moj je savjet ostati ondje barem puna dva dana.
KRAJ
POČETAK
There are
restaurants, cafés and little stores in every of the villages so you will have
something to eat, drink and buy all the time. Make sure you eat something with
pesto. It is typical for Liguria and you can find anything with it. From pizza
to lasagna.
One of the
numerous great things about Florence is that it is close to the majority of
main points in Italy. This means that it won’t take you more than a couple of
hours to get almost anywhere (in Italy). A great thing if you are a traveler,
not so great is you are paying for somebody’s trip. (I’ll add a big thanks to
my parents)
Today’s
story is about idyllic, picturesque place called Cinque Terre.
What is
Cinque Terre?
The name itself
suggests the answer to this question. “Cinque” means five, and “Terre” means
lands. These are not exactly lands as countries, but five precious villages. All
of them – Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore – are under
the UNESCO protection.
Where is
Cinque Terre?
Although I’m
sure that most of you can simply open Google Maps and search “Cinque Terre”,
here are some coordinates to give you an idea about the location. Cinque Terre
is in the Italian region Liguria, on the west coast of Italy at the Ligurian Sea.
It is north of Spezia, South of Genova and west of Bologna.
A Bit of
History
The
villages we visit nowadays date back to the 11th century. The first
ones to be mentioned are Monterosso and Vernazza. The first inhabitants turned
natural forests and uninviting slopes in area where they could build houses and
actually live. Despite the constant pirate threats and the fact that Cinque
Terre became part of the Republic of Genoa, the commerce was growing and the
place was well known for wine.
The name “Cinque
Terre” first came in use in the 15th century. In the 16th
century many fortifications were added to the villages to protect them from the
Turkish attacks, but the 17th century is when the downturn started
with the decrease in trade. Locals started emigrating, escaping poverty and
isolation, and traditional activities of the area ceased. This trend stopped
only in the second half of the 20th century with the development of
tourism.
What to do
in Cinque Terre?
The magical
word here is “walking”. Especially if, like me, you have only one day in Cinque
Terre. You go from village to village with the train, but the best (and
probably the only) thing to do in the villages themselves is to walk. This way
you will see the most, and frankly you will be amazed with the sights that you
will refuse to do anything but walk around all the time!
If you saw
only one photo of Cinque Terre, it is probably Riomaggiore. A beautiful little harbor
with colorful houses just takes your breath away. It is a place I could gaze at
the whole day and still not get enough of it.
Corniglia is in the middle – the third village, with a fortification from the Roman era. The name comes from the family who owned the majority of the land. An interesting fact is that in the excavations in Pompeii they found amphorae with “Cornilia” written on them. Here you also find St. Peter church, which represents typical ligurian gothic style. In Corniglia there are also numerous cultural events – you just need to check when to come. This is also the village where you can “hike” – go up 377 steps and then eat some gelato as a reward!
You are very likely to have seen some photos of Verenazza as well. Here you can find numerous churches, chapels and fortification. If you visit the place in the summer, you are very likely to see a pirate festival.
Monterosso is the northernmost village. I would say it actually differs from others. The main attraction is the beach and the place has many wonderful villas, rather than small picturesque houses. I felt like we went back in time and were on a film set. I really liked it, but it definitely has a different feeling from the rest of Cinque Terre.
Manarola is the second village if you are coming from Spezia. The name probably comes from Latin “magna rota”, which means “big wheel” and refers to the Watermill that was in the village. Here, too, you will fall in love with the sights and wish never to leave.
My trip to Cinque Terre showed that the weather in Italy is not always perfect. But we had fun although it rained, and I was amazed although it was cloudy most of the time. Be ready for many tourists and many cameras – after all you will be one of the tourists and will probably have at least one camera. I did manage to visit all 5 villages in one day, but if you can, stay there at least 2 days. You want to really see the place, not rush through the villages.
