"Tiny town but big ambience" a Manarola Travel Page by rexvaughan

I had asked the very cordial and hard working Laura at our hotel on Lake Como if I could telephone the Cinque Terre to make a reservation in Vernazza based on Rick Steves' recommendation. She called about 10 places before she found one available and it was in Manarola. We could not have asked for a more beautiful or pleasant town so luck had smiled on us. As you can see the town is a tumble of colorful houses hanging onto the side of the mountain.

Manarola is (north to south) the fourth of the five villages making up the Cinque Terre. There is a stone walkway, the Via del' Amore, which links the five, about 10 miles from 1 to 5.

We were dazzled by the huge bougainvillas we saw all around these parts. Back home we have to nurse and overwinter them inside to get modest sized ones. Here they climb above the second story!

This little old church was just around the corner from our room at Casa Capellini. The town topography is so steep that there are very few flat places in it. The church has a little stone plaza and each evening a group of 8-11 year old boys made it their soccer pitch.

The church also had a small bell tower which sounded the hour. My wife said she heard it each morning at 6:00 and 7:00. Rather than an interruption we found it added to the small town atmosphere.