Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore is a great little village. The views along the Via del Amore are amazing. The village itself is quite nice. There are a lot of little shops and eateries. But as you head higher up the hill, you discover some great little neighborhoods.

I was surprised to find 3 churches in this village. So far, each village has had one main church. Riomaggiore has at least three. I'll have to do some reading to find out more about why that is.



I ended up following an alley to a lookout. This was another first for me. At the lookout was the first school I have seen on this trip. It was an elementary school that was having some repairs done. On the walk back down, I noticed a flower I have never seen. I took a few photos of the bloom and one of the pods that it came from. I have no idea what it is, but it is very pretty.



Riomaggiore also has a great little harbor. I decided it was time to dip my toes in the Lugurian Sea. I went down to the dock area, took off my shoes and sat there with me chubby feet dangling in the water. It was so refreshing. In fact, I got excited to see a pretty big wave coming my way. My passport and money were safe from the water, so I just let it hit me. It was a very refreshing treat on a really hot day.

Via del Amore

Today I took a walk along the Via del Amore. The is a path between Manarola and Riomaggiore. From what I can tell, the two villages were very secluded because of the geography. The youth of the villages began to meet half-way along a rugged trail overlooking the sea.

As time went on, lovers began to leave messages for each other written on the rocks, even the cacti. Then locks began to appear, signifying their hearts being locked together.



Over time, this tradition has added graffiti to the walls. There is a lot of graffiti in Italy. There was quite a bit in Switzerland as well. I'll be interest to see what Spain is like.

How do they do that?

One of the questions I keep asking myself is how do they make deliveries, move building supplies, etc? There really aren't roads in Cinque Terre like we are used to having. There may be a main street that an occasional delivery truck, police car, or ambulance will use. Everywhere else is a series of small alleyways. And remember, nothing here is flat. Steep and narrow stairs are your access to everything.

I thought this piece of equipment was ingenious. It isn't very fast, but it handles the stairs and alleyways really well. It also looks like it carries a lot of materials. I've seen them using it to make deliveries and for construction.