The colourful nativity scene on the rock
Perched on a spur of dark rock above the sea, Manarola is one of the most picturesque villages of the Cinque Terre: its tall, narrow houses painted in pastel colours, pink, yellow, orange and green, seem piled one on top of the other on the cliff, overlooking a tiny harbour where the boats are pulled up on the main street when the sea is rough. The most famous view of the village is from the panoramic path that leads to the Punta Bonfiglio, with a small park and the cemetery, especially at sunset, when the lights come on in the houses and the colours glow.
The village was founded in the Middle Ages, and its upper part preserves the Gothic church of San Lorenzo, of 1338, with a marble rose window, and an old bell tower that was once a lookout tower. Around Manarola, the steep terraced vineyards produce the white wine of the Cinque Terre and the precious Sciacchetrà, a sweet passito wine made from grapes dried on racks. Every year, from 8 December to the end of January, the hill of the Tre Croci above the village hosts the Nativity of Manarola, created by a local railway worker, Mario Andreoli, from 1961: hundreds of figures made from recycled materials and thousands of lights placed among the vineyards, considered one of the largest illuminated nativity scenes in the world, a magical spectacle seen from the village. From Manarola, the Via dell'Amore leads along the cliff to Riomaggiore.
Tip: stop at Punta Bonfiglio at sunset for the most famous view; taste the Sciacchetrà with a dry biscuit.
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