Manarola, Cinque Terre

One of the five Cinque Terre villages: colourful tower houses stacked in a sea-cliff ravine, with terraced vineyards above.

Its colourful houses are stacked into a ravine that drops to the sea, and hiking trails run through the hills and vineyards above. Manarola may be the oldest of the five villages: the cornerstone of its church, San Lorenzo, dates from 1338. Fishing and wine-making have long been its main trades, and many visitors come in summer.

Name, wine and walks

The name Manarola probably comes from the Latin "magna rota", meaning large wheel, which in the local dialect became "magna roea", a reference to the mill wheel in the village. The people speak Manarolese, a dialect that differs a little from nearby ones.

The local wine, Sciacchetrà, is especially famous, and ancient Roman writers already praised the quality of wine from this area. A famous trail, the Via dell'Amore or Love's Trail, links Manarola with Riomaggiore.

The Christmas nativity

Every Christmas season since 1961, a glowing nativity scene is set up on the hill above the village. It was started by Mario Andreoli, a retired railwayman, and its figures are made from thousands of lights fixed on frames of recycled materials.

It was consecrated in 2007 as the largest nativity scene in the world, and it is lit each year on 8 December. Andreoli also made a lit scene for Easter and one for the Festa di San Lorenzo. He died in 2022 aged 94, and an association with his name now looks after his work.

Manarola in pictures and games

The painter Antonio Discovolo (1874-1956) celebrated Manarola in his paintings. In modern times its look has inspired places in films and video games.

The Cinque Terre towns, including Manarola, inspired the town of Portorosso in the 2021 animated film Luca, and the cliffside village in the game Half-Life 2: Lost Coast looks based on it.

On the globe

The model shows colourful tall houses stacked in a sea-cliff ravine, with terraced vineyards above.