A Journey through the towns of Cinque Terre: Corniglia
Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italy (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/4, 1/2000 s)
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**This post is the 3rd of a 6-post series discussing what to see in Cinque Terre (You can check out the other parts in the list below, separated by each specific village (just click the village name to see the blog post. Everything is also summarized in another post here.**
Riomaggiore (Blog Post: A Journey through the towns of Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore)
Manarola (Blog Post: A Journey through the towns of Cinque Terre: Manarola)
Corniglia (Blog Post: A Journey through the towns of Cinque Terre: Corniglia)
Vernazza (Blog Post: A Journey through the towns of Cinque Terre: Vernazza)
Monterosso al Mare (Blog Post: A Journey through the towns of Cinque Terre: Monterosso al Mare)
Cinque Terre (Summary) (Blog Post: A Guide to the Villages of Cinque Terre)
The town of Corniglia is situated right in the middle of Cinque Terre, with Riomaggiore and Manarola to the South, and Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare to the North. It is the only town out of the five without direct sea access. Corniglia possesses a rich agricultural culture, evident by the sheer amount of vineyards and terraces around it and is the oldest of the five villages.
The secrets of the origins of Corniglia actually go back to artifacts that were found at Pompeii of all places. Containers made of terra-cotta that were unearthed from the ruins of Pompeii bore the words Gens Cornelia translating to ‘from the family Cornelia’. This surname was most likely taken by a colony of slaves that were given freedom and settled in the area. Since then, the Fieschi family was known to be the rules of the town, and you’ll find remnants of the family name everywhere there.
Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italy (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/4, 1/200 s)
When compared to the other towns, Corniglia is the smallest, or at least it feels that way. After all, it’s really just one main walkway called Via Fieschi that takes you through the sights and sounds of the small town. Despite how small it is, there are some notable places of interest. A Google Map of all the places I will discuss can be seen at the end of this article for your convenience (orange pins).
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Since we arrived to Corniglia by hiking from Manarola, we didn’t have to take the seemingly infinite staircase with an infinite number of steps (about 377 of them) up to the town from the train station (do not worry though since there is a bus that can take this journey for you). This massive stairwell is locally called Scalinata Lardarina. In fact, we entered the city from its highest point and found ourselves meandering through the alleyways all the way to the city center.
Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italy (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/4, 1/640 s)
Since Corniglia doesn’t have a dock like the others, the industry there was more reliant on farming, than fishing. You’ll notice this especially when hiking to Corniglia as you will pass the cascading hillside terraces full of grapevines, called ‘fasce’ in the local language. From these grapes, they produce the Vernaccia di Corniglia, a white wine dating back to the 1300s.
Chiesa Di San Pietro, Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italy (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/4, 1/20 s)
If you’re hungry, you will find most of the restaurants and shops in Largo Taragio, the main square of the city. It is also recognized by the memorial to the World War I soldiers sitting in the middle of the square, described as the Oratory of Santa Caterina.
For a good view of the remaining towns of Cinque Terre (all from Corniglia) make your way to St. Mary’s Terrace. You can get there by walking on Via Fieschi towards the water, until you can’t go any more. There is a cafe here as well so you can take in the views with a drink in hand.
Chiesa Di San Pietro, Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italy (ISO 200, 55 mm, f/4, 1/1250 s)
The Church of San Pietro (Chiesa Di San Pietro) is similar to the other churches in Cinque Terre and dates back to 14th century BC. It’s internal construction is Baroque in nature with some Gothic and Ligurian elements and features decorations by local Italian artists. The small platform in front of the entrance is a great place to relax at and take in the views from within the city.
Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italy (ISO 200, 60 mm, f/4, 1/500 s)
When it comes to swimming in Corniglia, your options are limited. As I mentioned before, there isn’t much beach access since the town is located on the cliffside. There is a beach just south of the train station called Spiaggione di Corniglia. However, if you look at the reviews for this beach, they are abhorrent as it is apparently not worth the trip. I recommend seeing for yourself whether you fancy it or not.
If you’re into a known nudist beach (if that’s your thing), then you can rent a kayak and take it to Guvano Beach. There used to be a 1.5 km long tunnel that took you from the town to the beach, however it collapsed in 2012 (Yikes!). So now it is considered quite treacherous to reach it by land, hence the kayak.
If you find your way through the town to the cliffside, you will eventually see a stairway that goes down to the rocks below, where the sea meets the land. You can take the 343 steps down and enjoy the area with other sunbathers as this will most likely be the best ‘beach’ spot in the town.
Check out my other blog posts on the other villages that make up Cinque Terre! You can find the links at the beginning of this blog post!
We stayed in the village of Vernazza when we traveled to Cinque Terre in Italy. It was such a good decision since it is in close proximity to the other villages and is pretty quiet overall. It has its own small beach and harbor area that we relaxed at during our chill days.