Hey guys,
today I would like to introduce you to Monterosso, one of the five villages of the Cinque Terre. These five fishing villages are all located on the rugged Italian Riviera. The coastal villages are already many centuries old and especially known for their colorful houses.
The houses are situated in front of vineyards, which are laid out like terraces on the steep slopes. If you are more interested in the five villages in detail, feel free to check out my last two posts. These were about Vernazza and Manarola, my two favorites among the five. And yet Monterosso was super beautiful, I really liked each of the five villages without exception.
In fact, though, I found Monterosso to be the least like the other four villages. It wasn't hilly (at least as far as the main road was concerned) and I found it to be the most touristy in layout. However, this may be due to the fact that Monterosso has a very long and wide sandy beach compared to the other four villages. Directly on the beach, where the main road also runs along, some hotels have settled.
Monterosso is really ideal for sunbathing. Unlike Manarola, where you lie on somewhat harder rock, here you have soft sand underneath you. But be careful if you are not staying in a hotel directly on the beach: If you want to find a place under a beach umbrella (but also in general a place for sunbathing), you should be there before eight o'clock in the morning.
We actually came from Vernazza and were there in the morning around ten o'clock, there all berths were already occupied, also the hotels take away many berths for their visitors. It is also advisable to buy an umbrella on the spot at one of the stands, because the moorings are very expensive.
As in all the other villages, there are fishing boats at anchor.
In addition, there are trattorias, simple eateries, on many corners. But there are also more upscale restaurants. Often seafood specialties are offered here. And of course pesto. Pesto is really everywhere. Pesto is the famous sauce of the Liguria region. If you are ever in the region, you should definitely try it, it's practically a must!;)
We tried pesto in Vernazza, Monterosso and Manarola, and I can't say where I liked it best. But maybe because I'm not a pesto specialist ;) Only the portions could be a little bigger in Italy haha
Strictly speaking, the village is called Monterosso al Mare. (You can see this also well on the sign where Monterosso was geographically represented). We have seen this sign also in Manarola. Very practical. And I could bet that there is the sign also for the other three villages.
Monterosso al Mare is the northernmost village.As I had already suspected, my research showed that it is also the largest of the five villages of the Cinque Terre. Monterosso has a population of 1700. That may not sound like much, but the villages are very small. There is no really big supermarket (only small stores where the food is very expensive). For comparison, in Vernazza there are about 1000 inhabitants, so only a little more than half.
Monterosso is different from the other four villages: The village is divided into two parts by a rocky promontory on the sea with the medieval tower Aurora. There is, so to speak, an old village of Monterosso and a modern Monterosso. The modern part of Monterosso we visited, in this part there is also the beach Fegina. The old town is located behind the tunnel, in a small bay.
Unfortunately, I must confess that we have not visited the old part of Monterosso, because we lacked the time, but I would advise everyone who has the time to look at this part of the village necessarily, because the part simply belongs to the city's history. The old Monterosso is dominated by the remains of the castle. Here there are also the so-called "Carruggi". These are the famous narrow, high residential houses that form narrow streets. Also a famous sight in old Monterosso: the church of San Giovanni Battista.
Even though I might not have been able to tell you much about the most exciting part of Monterosso, I hope you got a good impression of the village. We spent most of our time in Monterosso lying on the beach. But I am absolutely sure that if I come here again, the first thing I will do is visit the old part of the village.
What do you say? Have you ever been to Cinque Terre and if so, have you visited all five villages? Which one did you like the most? Feel free to write it in the comments and leave me some feedback. See you next time!
