The coastal stretch of land beyond the rock of Ferale that goes from Schiara and Tramonti as far as Mesco is known as the Cinque Terre. This name derives from the five little villages overhanging the sea on the rocky terraces of the coast.

RIOMAGGIORE
Riomaggiore is the capital of the Cinque Terre. Here the head and the administration offices of the park are located.
The main street winds along the stream Rio Major (now under ground,) which gave the village its name. The historic 'borgo' nestles on the slopes of the little valley with multi-storeyed houses linked to one another by alleyways and flights of steps. The main monuments are: The Church of San Giovanni Battista, The Castle, and the Oratorio dei Disciplinanti.
Along the main street you will find the Memory Museum where you can gain an idea of the natural history and traditions of the Cinque Terre on a computerized multimedia tour.
The Via dell'Amore, the most famous path of the Cinque Terre, winds from Riomaggiore to Manarola.

MANAROLA
Houses in Manarola are clustered on a cliff of black rock overhanging the sea. The main street, built on the remains of the ancient castle, lies on a stream, now completely hidden, the Groppo, whence alleyways lead to the houses. Manarola is linked to Riomaggiore, one kilometre away, by the famous Via dell'Amore.
It is worthwhile to visit the Church of San Lorenzo (or "of the Birth of Mary") built in gothic Ligurian style at the top of the village in 1338. Its façade is in sandstone and is enriched by a beautiful rose window of Carrara marble. Inside there is a bas-relief of the Saint and a polyptych of the XV century attributed to an uncertain Maestro delle Cinque Terre.
There is also a multimedia Museum devoted to wine Sciacchetrà.
At Christmas time, tourists can admire an illuminated Crêche consisting of about three hundred human sized figures placed on the terraced vineyards overhanging Manarola.

CORNIGLIA
Corniglia is perched up 100 meters above the sea level. This natural terrace of the 'Cinque Terre' affords great views especially in the clearest days. A long flight of 365 steps known as 'La Lardarina' joins Corniglia to the railways station and the sea.
The village can also be reached by vehicles along a smooth street. Corniglia is a quiet agricultural village with houses surrounded by vineyards and olive groves.
Tourists can visit the old defence system, the 'Oratorio dei Fratelli Disciplinanti di Santa Caterina', and Saint Peter's Parish Church, built in the XIV century and renovated in the baroque period, though preserving the admirable gothic rose windows and portals.

VERNAZZA
Vernazza lies on the last part of Vernazzola stream, by now completely hidden, and on a natural cliff in the shape of an amphitheatre that shelters the oldest and safest harbour of the 'Cinque Terre'.
This elegant and refined village is clustered around the Church of Santa Maria d'Antiochia that dates back to the XIV century. It is an interesting two-storey building whose apse faces the main square, Piazza Marconi, which overlooks the little harbour.
The promontory is dominated by the stately round Belforte lookout tower. In addition, the remains of the ancient castle can still be seen.

MONTEROSSO
Monterosso is the most densely-populated village of the 'Cinque Terre'. It consists of two different settlements. The medieval historic centre, Monterosso Vecchio, is a typical borgo with its tall and narrow houses, surrounded by silent yards and alleyways. The Church of San Giovanni Battista is located in Garibaldi square. The building has a gothic bichrome façade enriched with a preciously chiselled marble rose window and a portal where, in the lunette, the Baptism of Christ can be admired. The bell tower was initially a defence tower.
The church of San Francesco, close to the Cappuccini Convent, is located on the hill. Inside you can admire precious paintings of the Florentine school and a Crucifix attributed to Van Dyck. Some ruins of the old castle dominate the borgo and the tower Aurora divides the two parts of the village, the old and the new one - a new residential area developed in the second half of the XX century which spreads out along Fagina beach, where lived the Genoese poet and journalist Eugenio Montale, awarded a Nobel Prize for literature in 1975.