November 2, 2022 - Cinque Terre, Italy

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Pesto originated in this area.  It is a green sauce usually made with Basil, Pine Nuts, Olive Oil, Lemon, and Parmesan Cheese, although Spinach can be substituted in place of Basil back home (not sure if that would be frowned upon in Italy).  Anyway, I was scheduled for an amazing Pesto and Pasta class in Cinque Terre, but unfortunately it got canceled.  So, I’m currently on the hunt for a Liguria Cookbook in English that has an original recipe in it for Pesto.  I found one in Italian and French, but no English version.  I was tempted to buy the French one, but am holding out to see if I can pick up the English version tomorrow somewhere.  Today’s journey led me to the other two Terre’s that I hadn’t explored yet - Riomaggiore and Corniglia.

Riomaggiore:

From the Train Station, you have to go through this long tunnel to get to the town.

Yesterday after seeing my pictures and how high everything was and all the stairs, Mom asked if there were any elevators.  I hadn’t seen a single one, but today in Riomaggiore I saw TWO!  Here you go, Mom.

This one goes from the Train Station, up to the lower part of the town center.

This one is in the upper part of the town center and goes to a parking lot and a level of the houses that are higher, but there are more houses and streets even higher than this.  And these two elevators aren’t any where near each other.  One is on the far right side of town and the other is on the far left side of town with many stairs and uphill inclines between them.

There are two churches in Riomaggiore.  This one is called the Oratory of Saint Maria Assunta, built in the 16th Century.  It is very plain in side with stained glass windows on the left side and a triptych of the Madonna and child, with Saints Giovanni and Francesco on either side.

The other church is called Church of St John the Baptist and was founded two hundred years earlier than the Oratory and has the customary black and white alternating stones found in several other Cinque Terre churches.

Next I went to Corniglia.  This town is the least accessible.  The other Cinque Terre towns are on the coast  with a small beach and harbor/port.  Corniglia is situated on the top of a mountain and there are NO ELEVATORS!  Checking my steps calculator - it recorded that I walked up 72 floors to get to the top - it felt like a thousand.  These switchback staircases are in segments.  You never see all of it at once, which gives you the feeling after each set that you might be done, but no - there seemed to be more of them that went on forever.  Honestly, I can’t even comprehend how a whole group of people decided, “Oh, wouldn’t this be a great place to live.”  Early on from the station, which is nearly at sea level, going up the mountain I met an older couple from France - and we did it together - huffing and puffing our way to the top.

By the time I got to the top, I wasn’t even interested in seeing the town.  However, I did go into the church in Corniglia and sat for a few moments.  It is the most ornate of all the churches I visited in Cinque Terre.  Church of San Pietro was under construction in 1334 and completed in 1351.  The church underwent various updates over the years, especially the current Baroque style.  But the baptismal font and a polyptych on the altar are from the 12th Century.

Here are a few other pictures (mostly landscape photos) I took in Corniglia.

Here are today’s food items:

Actually, this was from last night.  I tried a tiny bottle of local limoncello - half a glass.  Not really my favorite - for me it’s a strange mix between sweet and sour.  I guess that’s why I’m not fond of Lemon Meringue Pie.

Breakfast - Cafe Latte, a tart made of raspberries and a small lemon/almond cookie.

I had a small sampling of various things.  Behind the wine glass (a local rose), good Italian bread.  To the left, toasted focaccia with marinated vegetables and olives.  To the right, honey, two different cheeses and cold beans.  The one cheese smelled bad and not in the good “stinky cheese” way, but I ate it - in an afterthought, not a good decision.  I ended up with stomach pain and diarrhea later - thankfully, it passed quickly. 

I wanted a relatively light dinner, so had what they called a Land Salad.

Tomorrow, I’m off to Florence.