Cinque Terre National Park (Italian: Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre) is a protected area established as an Italian national park in 1999. It is located in the province of La Spezia, Liguria, northern Italy. The park is the smallest in Italy, covering 4,300 acres, and has the most people of any Italian national park, with 5,000 permanent residents living in the five towns: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare. The park also includes parts of the communes of Levanto (Punta Mesco) and La Spezia (Campiglia Sunsets). Cinque Terre was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1999.

The five cliff-side towns along the Ligurian Coast are connected by trails, showing how people and nature work together. Because changes to the landscape were important for the area’s growth and tourism, the National Park helps protect the natural environment while supporting tourism that is important for the local economy. To reach its goals, the park encourages responsible tourism that supports the unique features of the area and local products, helping to protect the terraced land, which is now at risk.

Description

The Cinque Terre National Park was created on October 6, 1999, to protect the area’s important natural beauty, farming traditions, history, and culture. Two years earlier, in 1997, the area was added to the list of World Heritage Sites. Five small medieval towns along the Ligurian Coast offer views of rocky land shaped by terraced stone walls, where the mountains of the Appennino Ligure meet the sea. The way the towns are built, fitting the shape of the cliffs, shows the long history of people living there and the terraced farmland that reflects the area’s farming traditions. As the first Italian park created to protect a landscape shaped mostly by humans, the Cinque Terre National Park and Protected Marine Area aim to preserve the cultural heritage of “the park of Man.” The area’s location and natural features are key to Cinque Terre’s identity, as its steep terrain and limited access to the coast create a close relationship between people and nature. This relationship has led to a balance between life on land and at sea. For more than 1,000 years, people have carved terraces for farming and vineyards, while also maintaining a strong fishing culture. The beauty of Cinque Terre comes not from untouched nature but from the way humans and the environment work together.

Cinque Terre is known for its natural beauty and coastal hiking trails, attracting millions of visitors each year. In August alone, between 3.5 and 5 million people visit. While this large number of visitors raises concerns about harming the environment, tourism is now the main source of income for the area, replacing farming and fishing. To help protect the environment, places like Cinque Terre National Park aim to keep the ecosystem healthy by balancing tourism with farming.

The Mediterranean region has many different types of plants, even though the climate seems similar. These differences create a wide variety of landscapes. Some common plants include pine trees, cypress trees, chestnut trees, and rock plants like samphire and sea cineraria. Shrubs such as rosemary, thyme, and lavender are also found in the area. Trees and plants like succulents are visible along many trails.

The environment supports many animals. Birds such as gulls, peregrine falcons, and ravens live in the area. Mammals like dormice, weasels, moles, badgers, martens, foxes, and wild boars (which sometimes damage crops) are also present. Reptiles, including common wall lizards and snakes like rat snakes and vipers, live on rocks. Amphibians like frogs and salamanders live near streams.

One of the biggest threats to Cinque Terre is land degradation. Many cultural heritage sites are at risk of landslides. In Italy, where 75% of the land is mountainous or hilly, 36% of heritage sites face problems with unstable slopes, including Cinque Terre. Landslides can be caused by natural and human factors. In the Apennines, many landslides are now reactivated due to climate change. However, human activities, such as changes in farming and land use, also contribute to landslides. Comparing images of Cinque Terre’s terraces from 1958 and 2000 shows more soil erosion and damaged vineyard terraces. This is linked to the shift from farming to tourism in the 1960s. In 1951, about 3,500 acres of land were farmed, but today only 275 acres are.

In 2011, landslides worsened after heavy rain caused a flash flood that severely damaged the towns of Monterosso al Mare and Vernazza. Other towns were less affected due to their natural shape and good drainage systems. To address these issues, the National Park focuses on repairing and restoring the slopes. Maintaining terraces helps prevent landslides and honors the villages’ history by reviving traditional vineyards. The “Uncultivated Lands” LIFE Project, started in 2001 by the European Community and the park, aims to restore unused terraces for growing Albarola and Vermentino grapes. A hill called Corniolo serves as a model for researchers and a place to revive these grapes, which helped make Cinque Terre famous for wine in the Middle Ages. A sub-project with Agricultura Cinque Terre works to bring back ancient grape varieties. The success of this project has inspired other areas, like the UNESCO site of Ifugao, Philippines, to restore their own traditional farming methods.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

On December 5, 1997, during a meeting of UNESCO, the Cinque Terre, Portovenere, and the islands of Palmaria, Tino, and Tinetto were added to the World Heritage List as a cultural landscape. This area is important for both its natural environment and its cultural history. It was described as a place where people and nature work together to create a landscape of great beauty. Adding Cinque Terre to the list also recognized it as a famous tourist destination. The site was included based on several reasons:

• It shows an important exchange of human values over time or within a cultural area, seen in developments in architecture, technology, art, or the design of landscapes.
• It is a clear example of a complex of buildings, art, technology, or landscapes that represent a significant moment in human history.
• It is a clear example of a traditional human settlement or land use that is typical of a culture, especially if it is at risk from changes that cannot be undone.

Ecotourism

Over the last 30 years, tourism has grown a lot, creating new economic chances for places like Cinque Terre. Ecotourism is a part of the tourism industry that helps protect the environment while allowing people to enjoy natural landscapes. Many tourists want to see clean, unspoiled nature and learn about the local people who live in these areas. In Cinque Terre, the main attractions are the hiking trails and the beautiful scenery around traditional villages. These social and cultural aspects show the history and traditions of the Italian towns. Cinque Terre became popular because of the creation of the park in 1999 and its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These steps support ecotourism and the need to protect the environment. Through work to improve roads, make the area easier to visit, and use sustainable methods, the park has grown and become more famous worldwide. Although some conservation rules might focus more on tourism than the environment or local needs, this is not true in Cinque Terre. Locals and park officials work together to meet tourist needs while protecting the environment.

To keep tourism responsible and sustainable in a community, certain conditions must be met. First, tourism should respect local culture. As a World Heritage Site, Cinque Terre shares its traditions, foods, and wines with visitors, making the experience more than just hiking. Second, it is important for people to have a strong connection to the land, which Cinque Terre shows through lifestyles that depend on both land and water. This deep link to the environment draws tourists to the towns nestled in the hills. Finally, Cinque Terre has great potential for sustainable tourism because the benefits go beyond money. Since tourism is now a big part of the towns, social benefits like stronger community ties and pride in caring for a protected area are clear.

Management and development

Safe and accessible trails that help prevent soil erosion are very important for a National Park, especially one with a challenging landscape like Cinque Terre. The park’s trails, which are almost 19 km (12 miles) long, are often crowded during the summer months. This heavy use causes problems like soil damage and safety risks for visitors. Without proper management, these issues could worsen, leading to loss of plants or serious erosion. To manage trails responsibly, it is necessary to check their condition, set rules for use, and close trails when needed due to weather or other natural conditions. When evaluating trails, it is important to consider how they will be used and how difficult they are. Many trails in Cinque Terre were not built by park planners but instead created by visitors or for local needs. For example, the Via dell’Amore was built by railroad workers in 1926–1928 to connect train stations. To handle the steep hills, the park uses trail building, stone walls, and steps to create safe paths.

To improve the park, it is important to understand what tourists need and create projects that meet those needs. With help from the Italian government, UNESCO has started a pilot project to develop management plans for World Heritage sites listed before 2002. These plans aim to guide how these areas are protected and used. For Cinque Terre, the goals include managing the number of visitors, protecting the land, supporting local products, and growing the local economy. The plans consider factors like the landscape, how easy it is to reach places, services available, types of food, and how tourists feel about these aspects. Tourists seem to value the natural beauty of the area more than the traditional terraced vineyards, which are now degraded. Programs like the "Uncultivated Lands" initiative help raise awareness about these areas. While tourists like the train system for traveling, they are not in favor of expanding it further, as it might harm the environment. These insights help the park and UNESCO improve management of Cinque Terre and similar sites.

Tourism in the Mediterranean is seasonal, with many visitors coming in the summer. This causes short-term stress on natural resources and makes it hard to manage crowds and limit trail use. In the off-season, some businesses close, creating economic challenges. To address this, the park has tried to promote other attractions in the towns. The "Cinque Terre Card" is popular for trail access, but ideas like the "Education Card" (for museums) and the "Health Card" (for natural medicine) are less well received. Still, ecotourism is important for a more sustainable future.

The Marchio di Qualità Ambientale (Environmental Quality Brand) is a program that encourages businesses to reduce their environmental impact through sustainable tourism. It is a voluntary effort by the National Park and local businesses to balance economic growth with environmental protection.

Protected Marine Area

The Protected Marine Area was created in 1997 to help protect the sea near Cinque Terre. It came before the National Park and works to ensure the sea is used properly. The area is divided into three parts: the Strict Nature Reserve, where boats are not allowed; the General Nature Reserve, which allows motor boats, registered fishers, and guided scuba diving; and the Partial Nature Reserve, which permits monitored recreational fishing.

This part of the Ligurian Sea is part of the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean marine mammals, an international protected area that includes parts of France, Monaco, and Italy. Established in 2002, the Pelagos Sanctuary aims to protect dolphins and other marine mammals that are at risk from human activities. In Italy, past actions such as deep-net fishing and pollution from cruise ships near Cinque Terre have harmed the habitats of dolphins and other sea creatures. The sanctuary’s goals include protecting these mammals, their homes, their food sources, and the overall biodiversity of the Mediterranean coast.

The coastline of Cinque Terre is marked by tall cliffs, caves, bays, small beaches, and rocky formations. The marine life in the area between Punta Mesco in Monterosso and Capo Montenegro in Riomaggiore is diverse. Underwater cliffs, shallow waters, and isolated rocks are home to sea fans like the colorful Leptogorgia sarmentosa and the rare white Eunicella verrucosa, which is more common in this region. Posidonia oceanica, a plant that forms large grass-like colonies, grows here and supports the reproduction of many sea creatures. The steep underwater cliffs at Punta Mesco and Capo Montenegro have the most diverse marine life, including the rare black coral, Gerardia savaglia, and Eunicella verrucosa. At Punta Mesco, red gorgonia (Paramuricea clavata) can be found at depths of about 15–20 meters (50–70 feet), which is unusual for the Mediterranean.

Sanctuaries

The Cinque Terre path network includes a route that connects five Marian sanctuaries, each linked to a village. These sanctuaries can be reached by road, except for the one in Montenero. The sanctuary in Corniglia is located 390 meters (1,280 feet) above sea level and was built in the 20th century on the site of a chapel originally constructed in 1584. Other buildings, such as Nostra Signora de Soviore, were built during the Middle Ages. Nostra Signora de Soviore is the oldest Ligurian sanctuary and is mentioned in a document from 1225.

Administration

The Cinque Terre are made up of five villages, listed from west to east:

• Monterosso al Mare (municipality)
• Vernazza (municipality)
• Corniglia (district of Vernazza)
• Manarola (district of Riomaggiore)
• Riomaggiore (municipality)

Other areas included in the Cinque Terre National Park are:

• Levanto
• La Spezia