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With almost 8,000km of coastline Italy is blessed with a catalogue of spectacular seascapes,<\/strong> where the land tends to come crashing down dramatically to an immaculate cobalt sea<\/strong>. The Amalfi Coast is the most obvious example, but there are many more scattered around the peninsula\u2019s perimeter, some wild and inaccessible: the Gulf of Orosei in Sardinia, Sicily\u2019s Aeolian Islands, the Gargano in Puglia, parts of the Tuscan Archipelago. But the most poetic, perhaps, is Liguria\u2019s Cinque Terre.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
The five villages<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
The five villages strung out along this short and startling stretch of coast\u2014Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore<\/strong>\u2014are described by one guidebook as \u201cthe concentrated essence of Liguria at its most tenacious.\u201d Indeed, the land still supports widespread wine production on the impressive dry-stone terraces<\/strong> that scale the slopes, using custom-built rail cars to achieve what must be one of the world\u2019s most vertical wine harvests<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Until recently fishing and seafaring remained a part of the local livelihood\u2014not surprising if one recalls the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley\u2019<\/strong>s description of these waters: \u201cWe sail along this delightful bay in the evening wind, under the summer moon, until earth appears another world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Preserving Cinqueterre<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
The flip-side of the Cinque Terre\u2019s achievement in preserving its traditional character, <\/strong>however, is rampant overtourism. With cruise ships disgorging thousands of day-trippers in the nearby port La Spezia, who then overrun the local public trains, the area has become a victim of its own success. During the high season the five tiny towns get completely swamped by crowds\u2014bulldozing the fragile charm of this enchanted coast into oblivion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n