Cinque Terre - La Via Dell'Amore

While one of my roommates opted for the 5K hike when she visited Cinque Terre with her mother, our group decided to mainly travel by train instead. One of our few "hiking" endeavors took place along la via dell'amore (a.k.a. the "lover's walk").

The entrance to La Via Dell'Amore

Before the walk was built, the only way to travel to Riomaggiore from one of the other four villages was to hike over the hilly landscape. As Riomaggiore housed many of the major institutions for the five towns (banks, markets, school, etc.), citizens would make the trek daily. School children would have to factor in a two hour commute to class.

After a while, the citizens of Riomaggiore and Manarola came together to build the lover's walk. How did it get this name? Benches were built along the pathway and given certain names. Town boys and girls would agree to meet at specific benches for their "dates." Today, you see many lovelocks (similar to the ones I wrote about while in Paris on the Pont des Arts) along the path, sealing couples' love for eternity.

One of the many benches. As per the white plaque on the left, this spot's name is "Penelope."

Greetings from La Via Dell'Amore! This is the most famous spot to put a lock along the path (and that's one of my roommates on the right!).

On the day we were there, the air was so fresh and clear that in the distance (according to our guide) we could even see France. With the sky a perfect blue and the water an even more exquisite shade (my favorite color, if you didn't know), I couldn't help but keep looking back at the exquisite and growing landscape.

The path along the water.