Many of my Thursday afternoons are spent in San Francisco’s Museo Italo Americano brushing up on Italian conversation. It goes without saying that travel is a much richer experience if you know at least a little of the local lingo. It certainly lessens your dependency on maps or the kindness of particular strangers who happen to speak English.
A few weeks ago the teacher who sits in on these conversations to set us right couldn’t believe what she had heard on an acquaintance utter:
“We’re going to Florence and the Cinque Terre on our vacation.”
Her face erupted into a sort of crazed professor look. “No,” she practically screamed while counting off the important cities on the fingers of her right hand, “First you see Rome, then Florence, then Venice, AND THEN MAYBE YOU SEE THE CINQUE TERRE.”
Yes, it’s quite odd to us frequent Italian travelers how these five little villages have suddenly captured the imaginations of folks. How did this come to pass? I’m always wondering about things like this, so recently I have been paying particular attention to what people are saying about the Cinque Terre.
There’s no doubt that the tiny villages linked by rail and crumbling trails have gotten lots more play than their importance has really deserved. The desirability of the destination is a hot topic on the net. Sure, those villages are pretty little things and the trails between them are tame enough—despite their current state of decay—to give a romantic veneer to the whole idea of a two day visit. Besides, life has been hard in this corner of Liguria until fairly recently, which must make slinging pasta with pesto to indiscriminate tourists seem like a virtuous and lucrative cakewalk in comparison to past ways of making a living in remote seaside villages.
But then there is the “magic of the Cinque Terre.” When I read what people say about their experiences, I’m struck by passages that mention the little festivals travelers attend, with that “small town friendliness that makes us feel a part of the traditions.”
Aha! Yes, now I think I know what’s going on here. People on vacation don’t get out of the larger cities much. When they do, they discover a new world. It’s really an old world, but it’s new to them, I mean.
What I’m trying to say is that most folks aren’t aware that these little festivals, complete with religious processions and food to die for, go on in practically every little village of Italy in the summer. In fact, we often agonize for hours over which ones to attend within a fifteen minute drive from our house in the Lunigiana. There’s the sagra di anguile in one direction and the medieval festival in the other. Which has the best view of the craggy peaks of the Alpi Apuane? Which has the best food? The most compelling music? Decisions, oh my!
If you’re a traveler planning a vacation in Italy and want to see a more rural side to Italian life, rent or lease a car and get out into the countryside, making sure when you’re stopped at a stop sign or light that you look around for outrageously colored posters or even hand-written signs announcing the month’s festivals. Don’t plan too much—you’ll miss the little, unexpected things that make a vacation special.
Of course you still want to go. I knew you would. Here’s a map of the trails and visitor information for the Cinque Terre