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| RIOMAGGIORE |
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The ruins of the 15th – 16th century castle erected on Cerrico hill on the north-west side of the village in defence against saracens’ invasions, testify Riomaggiore’s history.Two round towers and the restored |
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perimetrical walls are still well-visible. Starting from the centre of
the village, people can reach the ruins walking along Pecunia Street.
In the highest part of Riomaggiore, in a little square with a beautiful view, there’s the parish church consecrated to Saint John the Baptiste, erected thanks to the Bishop of Luni, Antonio Fieschi, and his brother-in-law, Luchino Visconti, in 1340: with this gift to the village, they helped its inhabitants who had to go to Montenero or
Manarola, to pray into a church.
Saint John the Baptiste’s dedication seems to come from a misterious relic that Antonio Fiechi received in Genoa. The duty of the building was entrusted to the “Magistri Antelami”, longobardic skilled workers who were always on service of Genoa, and shared in almost all the Cinque Terre’s churches. The ogival door-ways on the east side and the windows of the original structure are particularly interesting.
In the chappel located on the left of the presbytery, there’s a beautiful distemper dated back to 1480, placed on a Reinassance portal. The triptych is by the Master of the
Cinque Terre, an unknown 15th century painter: it rapresents the Virgin and the Infant between the Saints Rocco and Sebastiano.. |
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| MANAROLA |
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The village of Manarola was
founded about during the
12th century by people
coming from Volastra (the
“vicus oleater”:
olive-trees’ village). More
probable for Volastra seems
to be the ethimologic origin
from ligurian names such as:
“Viassa” (Biassa), “Vappa” (Viapra)
or Strà…In |
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ancient times, Volastra was
already the post-stage used by the Romans for the
change of horses along the coastal road, before the building of the Aurelia (109 B.C.). From the overhanging hills, groups of countrymen went down toward the sea and founded this new coastal settlement.
Manarola was a feud of the marquis of
Carpena, then it passed to the powerful family of the
Fieschi, lords of Lavagna, when the Bishop of Luni yelded it to them, in 1252.
The village is firstly quoted into a document, in 1266.
Manarola was the birthplace of Linibaldo Fieschi, the future Innocenzo IV (1243-1254), the Pope who excommunicated Federico II and arranged the 7th crusade.
The village suffered many saracens’ invasions. |
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| CORNIGLIA |
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This village, which looks
more like a rural than a
seafaring village, is the
only one in which houses are
not directly on the sea, and
rises on the top of a
headland. On the surrounding
hills, vines and olive trees
are grown |
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and it is normal to bump into women
that go or come from the "cian" (vineyard
plans) with baskets and bundles on their heads.
The first part of the path that leads to Vernazza is protected by another dry masonry which shelters from the sun and the wind that often blows very strongly from the sea: the path winds around twisted olive trees and goes up again to the top of other hills covered by holm-oaks and pinasters.
At half the way it is possible to go down and reach the sea by a quick hardly traced path that reveals the beautiful and isolated Guveno beach. |
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Avanti>> |
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