The largest beach in the Cinque Terre
Monterosso al Mare, the westernmost and largest of the Cinque Terre, is the only one with long sandy and pebble beaches, which makes it the most popular for a seaside holiday. It is divided into two parts by a rocky promontory crowned by the Tower of Aurora, a medieval watchtower, and connected by a tunnel: the old town, a maze of narrow lanes, "carugi", with the Gothic church of San Giovanni Battista, with its black and white striped façade and a beautiful marble rose window, and the oratories of the confraternities; and Fegina, the newer part, along the large beach, near the railway station.
At the end of the beach of Fegina, carved into the rock, stands the Gigante, a huge statue of Neptune, about 14 metres high, built in 1910 in reinforced concrete to decorate a villa and partly damaged by bombing and storms, which has become a symbol of the village. On the hill of San Cristoforo, the Convent of the Capuchins houses a Crucifixion attributed to Van Dyck. The poet Eugenio Montale, Nobel Prize for Literature, spent his childhood and youth summers in Monterosso, and the landscape of the Cinque Terre inspired his first collection, "Ossi di seppia". Monterosso is famous for its anchovies, caught in the gulf and preserved in salt or served fresh, fried or stuffed, and for its lemons, celebrated every May with the Lemon Festival. From Monterosso, the Blue Path to Vernazza offers one of the most beautiful and demanding hikes of the Cinque Terre.
Tip: taste the stuffed anchovies in the trattorias of the old town; the beach establishments of Fegina must be booked in summer.
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