Italy's Famous Path - The Via Amore - Has Fully Reopened .
A Trail Especially Popular With Lovers, Families, Tourists with Mobility Issues.
El Camino del Amor Promenade de l'Amour Weg der Liebe 爱的方式 愛の道 путь любви
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| Via dell'Amore & the Cinque Terre coast viewed toward Riomaggiore. Reopened entirely in 2024. CC by Davide Bozzo. |
The access details are still being worked out (as of 7/21/24) but the number of visitors will be limited to 400 per hour. A fee will be charged and tickets will be sold online and at booths at the entrances - the fee in 2023 was five Euro. There will also be an online reservation system available.
There's news coverage on Euro News Via dell'Amore. This Italian RAI piece has good video footage of the restored path RAI Camper - Via dell'Amore. But why was it been closed so long? Read on, love.
The appeal is immediate to the Cinque Terre attraction called Via dell'Amore (or Via Amore) since it translates so romantically to The Love Trail, The Lovers Walk or The Way of Love. It's perhaps the most famous trail in Italy and known throughout the world - even though the distance is only one kilometer long and can easily be walked in 30 minutes. This great walkway is one of the reasons the Cinque Terre are a World Heritage Site.
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The Via dell'Amore is the pedestrian path connecting the Cinque Terre villages of Riomaggiore and Manarola. It winds across the rocky face of steep seaside hills and provides panoramic views of the fabulous Cinque Terre coastline. It rises to an altitude of as much as 750 feet above the sea though it's not a steep or strenuous hike. Unfortunately, it has been closed since 2012 due to the risk of landslides.
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| The 'Lovers' symbol along The Lovers Walk with padlocks. Via dell'Amore was an early victim of the viral lock mania. CC by Daniel Stockman |
The walkway began as part of the railway tunnel construction in 1926-1928. It provided access for workers and materials. The explosives used in its construction were also stored along the path - away from the villages in what is now the Bar dell'Amore. Subsequently, the walkway provided the perfect setting for young Italian couples who sought privacy from the prying eyes of a small village - often leaving memorializing graffiti as proof of their fidelity. In time a journalist who noticed all the amorous graffiti along the path coined the trail’s now-established name, Via dell’Amore.
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| Via dell'Amore 2012 rock slide & the 'paramassi'. Photo: GenovaToday.it |
It was closed for most of the 1940's though Rick Steves tells of a special 1949 reopening of the Way of Love for the Christmas wedding of a couple for whom the Via dell'Amore had a particularly special meaning (no guessing).
In the late 1980's the path was closed for a lengthy period by a series of significant rockfalls. It finally reopened in 1995, thanks to work financed by the European Union.
But then the Via dell'Amore was closed again in late 2012 after four Australian tourists were hit in a rockfall. Two women in the group were badly injured, one with life threatening injuries. All were rescued by helicopter and taken to a nearby La Spezia hospital. Soon new rock protections - 'paramassi' - will be added at that site, thanks to.....
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| The Way of Love is rocky. View from Riomaggiore. CC by Cliffano Subagio |
On October 5, 2019, the National Park of the Cinque Terre president, Donatella Bianchi, announced plans for construction leading to the reopening. It's a large effort costing 17 million Euro and will take about 28 months - and the Via dell'Amore will reopen in 2023 or 2024. It helps to understand the necessity of the closure since 2012 when one reads the details of the project.
The work will include the lengthening of the rock protection arcades - gallerie paramassi in Italian -by a further 80 meters on the side where the 2012 collapse occurred. Separately, four kilometers of additional rock barriers will be added along the slopes. The construction will require removing 3,000 cubic meters of rock and the building of a temporary tramway for transport to and from the roadway. There will also be 20 thousand square meters of protective stainless steel netting applied to many of the overlooking cliff faces. The work will require 40 kilometers of bolting both to affix the netting and to anchor unstable rock to the cliff face. Safety fencing will be added to parts of the trail, and the trail will be widened and resurfaced as needed. A modern sensor system will be installed to monitor rock movement.
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| Via dell'Amore & the dramatic Cinque Terre coast. Photo: AmaLaSpezia |
The Way of Love is the final part of the Blue Trail which extends along the coast to all five villages. It's the most popular trail and this section is the easiest. There are handrails and benches and the path is suitable for folks with moderate mobility issues.
There's an entrance fee to walk the trail and there are checkpoints at both ends of the path. The best way is to buy either a Cinque Terre Trekking Card which covers the entrance to all trails or a Cinque Terre Treno Card which also includes train travel on the Levanto - Cinque Terre - La Spezia line. The Cards come in different variations and start at € 7.50 and € 19.50, respectively (2024). For Cinque Terre Card details start here: Park of the Cinque Terre.
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| Fall 2017: our 56th Italy trip. |
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We are Mike and Martha from Boston and we have visited Italy over 60 times in the past 40 years. We are retired photo editors and we've had an apartment eleven miles by crow or drone from Cinque Terre for over 35 years. We know the Cinque Terre well and we keep current by reading the local news and travelers' forums and keeping up with travel websites. We hope our information will help you have a great trip. When planning, remember there are no right choices, just different pleasures. Buon Viaggio.Travel Info Reminder
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