History of Cinque Terre
The first mention of Cinque Terre comes from around the 11th century. However, for the next centuries, the local villages have not written anything special on the pages of history. During the reign of Genoa, there was one of the observation points of the army. However, more than the troops, the inhabitants were interested in fishing, trade and agriculture in difficult mountainous terrain. In the seventeenth century, for a time Cinque Terre was in the hands of France, but soon returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia, and later in 1860 became part of the United Italy.
Due to the difficult access of the Cinque Terre, they were virtually isolated from the world. At the end of the 19th century, the long-awaited construction of a railway line connecting the towns of Cinque Terre with Geuna, La Spezia and Pisa. It had a huge impact on the subsequent development of tourism in the city. Thanks to the rapid train connection to nearby La Spezia, many of the Cinque Terre residents have left agriculture to work for a huge military port in La Spezia.
In the second half of the twentieth century, the Cinque Terre became a typically tourist region. A small group of inhabitants still dealt with agriculture. It was mainly the cultivation of vines. The Cinque Terre wine is still very much appreciated today. The remaining residents were getting more and more income from the constantly growing number of tourists. Numerous restaurants, tenement houses converted into stylish hotels have been created, in others apartments for holiday rentals have been created that support local rental agencies.
October 25, 2011 is the most tragic date in the history of Cinque Terre, and especially Vernazza. The town was visited by an unprecedented mudslide, which in a dramatic way swept through the middle of Vernazza. Mud creeks dragged cars into the sea, completely destroyed buildings and flooded premises located on the lower floors. The railway line was damaged in both directions, the tourist paths were completely destroyed, the sea took the boats and the municipal infrastructure. In the place where the beach was before, there was mud with rubble. Television pictures from the dramatic events in Vernazza went round the world. In total, 11 people died in the mudslides of Liguria and Tuscany. However, a year later, after most of the damage there was no trace. The National Park was quickly cleaned up, and in Vernazza there is a commemorative exhibition of photos reminiscent of that cataclysm.
