GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS -
April 27, 2010 - VERNAZZA, Italy
Catchy harmonica music wafts across the cafe
umbrellas that line the minuscule harbour of this conch-shaped village,
squeezed between vine-covered hills and the Mediterranean Sea.
Tourists sip aperitifs and enjoy the sunny
cliches of the Cinque Terre, one of the most scenic (and overrun) stretches of
the Italian coast. But today, sweat-drenched and a bit wobbly, I feel smugly
that I am in on a secret: I have earned this gorgeous view because I hiked
here, up and down a cliff-hugging sliver of a path that will take me several
more strenuous kilometres by day's end.
There, the only tunes are cicadas above and
pounding waves below. Bursts of purple bougainvillea and glimmers of silvery
olive trees provide the splashes of colour. And, rather than sipping cocktails
in a cafe, hungry hikers get to feast guilt-free on sublime seafood specialties
at locals-only restaurants not far from the trails.
From a full-day hike linking five medieval
villages to a leisurely stroll (called passeggiata by the locals) through one
of Italy's largest botanical gardens, walking is the best way to experience
this region of pine-splattered mountains plunging into the cobalt sea. Here are
my four favourite walks in Liguria, going west to east along this arc-shaped
slice of Italy, from the border with France to Tuscany's coast, along with
recommendations for restaurants.
Giardini Hanbury (garden): In the late 19th
century, Northern Europeans flocked to get health treatments at seaside resorts
on the westernmost stretch of Liguria. One visitor, Thomas Hanbury, an
Englishman who made a fortune in silk and tea trade from China, devoted a 18-hectare
promontory to a collection of exotic plants, now managed by the University of
Genoa.
The botanical garden on a terraced hillside
is now home to 6,000 plant species and also offers wide views of the sea and
horizon. A series of trails cascade from Hanbury's stately villa down to the
sea, passing by a papyrus-fringed fountain, through a cypress-lined path and in
between a wild assembly of plants ranging from azaleas to eucalyptus, from aloe
to olive trees.
It might be the most genteel speck of
Italian Riviera, nature exquisitely tamed and framed as a series of perfect
backdrops. Another kind of nature - seafood, in the form of the prawn-and-squid
fritto misto - is exquisitely framed at Ristorante Lilliput, on a hillside
farther east along the coast, above the medieval hamlet of Noli.
Lungomare Europa (path): Pink-veined white
boulders alternate with ink-black rocks in coves along the recently completed
Lungomare Europa. The wide, 7.2-kilometre path was paved over an old railroad
line between the small towns of Varazze and Cogoleto.
Wedged between hills studded with silver
wattle trees and vacation homes, and a series of tiny pebbly beaches, the walk
is the favourite off-season passeggiata for local families.
In summer, the blindingly white and black rocks
form curtains between tiny coves that grant refuge from the teeming, deck
chair-covered beaches at each end of the lungomare, which is accessible only by
foot or bike.
At dusk, the salt air mingles with the
smell of blooming pittosporum and wild fennel, not suntan lotion. While night
falls, I like to be the last person on the still-warm pebbles as the sea
playfully pulls and pushes them and the first boats venture out to fish for
anchovies they attract with powerful spotlights.
Then I am on my way to eat at U Baracun
near the hamlet of Alpicella, just inland from Varazze, which serves the best
pansotti (herb-filled pasta in nut sauce) and cinghiale (wild boar roast) in
Italy. Not that I would ever forgive myself if I passed on the dozen fresh
antipasti, ranging from artichoke frittata to porcini crepes and homemade olive
paste.
Punta Chiappa (trailhead and swimming
spot): Punta Chiappa, the rocky point where the forest-covered Monte di
Portofino meets the sea, is one of the best swimming spots on the Italian
Riviera.
It's also a pool-size harbour if you want
to cheat and come by boat; a long sliver of grey rocks jutting into deep water;
and the end of a breathtaking 45-minute downhill trail.
With ample provisions of focaccia and
water, I started from the church of San Rocco, high above the fishing town of
Camogli and the departure point of many trails on the mountain, taking in the
view encompassing the sprawling city of Genoa and the curving Riviera di
Ponente, with the Maritime Alps at the horizon.
Making my way down toward the point, I
passed fig orchards, terraces crawling with jasmine vines and bushes hiding
hedgehogs. The goal was to stake a speck of rock with my beach towel and plunge
with a refreshing splash in the sea.
The other goal was a meal on the open
terrace of Da Drin restaurant, just above the mini-harbour. I first had its
spaghetti al cartoccio, bursting with crayfish, mussels and calamari, a few
years ago, and nearly didn't make it back up the trail. But last summer after
stuffing myself, I was nimble enough to avoid the baby boars scurrying across
the path in the dark.
Sentiero Azzurro (trail): This
14.5-kilometre "azure trail" links the five villages of Cinque Terre
and provides a way to experience them as something other than a series of
postcard views with a "for rent" sign in English in virtually every
window.
The hardest and most rewarding stretch is
from Monterosso to Vernazza and on to Corniglia. Climbing nearly 457
vertiginous metres up the dark-green hills, the unpaved, rocks-strewn trail
meanders among olive trees, fragrant shrubs, and gnarled pines.
On a July weekend, I met only two kinds of
fellow hikers: awestruck tourists who were more likely to say "hi"
than "ciao," and taciturn Liguri tending the fantastically terraced
vineyards that cling to the cliffs.
After passing through the main piazza of
Vernazza, huddled between the church and a black castle tower, the trail takes
off again on the cliffside unto Corniglia, perched high on a hilltop. Then it
gets back to sea level and, at Manarola, becomes a wide, paved passeggiata
known as the "Via dell'Amore" (the way of love) that ends in
Riomaggiore, where the train takes you back to Monterosso.
Last stop, La Brinca restaurant, which
serves up the vegetable-and-meat cuisine of inland Liguria, like springy
lettuce wraps in hot bouillon. Only an arduous day on the trail can justify its
gargantuan antipasto-to-dolce meal.
Beyond jaw-dropping views (and dishes),
walking the trails of Liguria is to get right inside the poems of native son
and Nobel Prize-winning poet Eugenio Montale. One of his most celebrated
verses, "Meriggiare pallido e assorto," turns a stroll under the
blinding sun on a pallid afternoon into a melancholy existential metaphor.
But there are sadder ways to live than, as
Montale puts it, walking alongside a "scorching orchard wall" as
"scales of sea pulsate far away among branches" on the Riviera's
trails.
All walks are enjoyable year-round, best in
late spring and early fall. Anyone in any shape can do the Giardini Hanbury,
the Lungomare Europa and the Manarola-to-Riomaggiore part of the Cinque Terre
hike; the rest are best for the moderately fit. The Hanbury gardens
http://www.giardinihanbury.com - and the Sentiero Azzurro
http://www.parconazionale5terre.it - charge a small admission fee.
