Terrazza di Santa Maria (Largo Terrazzo)

At the end of via Fieschi, Corniglia's main street opens onto the Terrace of Santa Maria, a paved belvedere about ninety metres above the Ligurian Sea, with views along the coast.

Why it matters

Corniglia's site is a promontory about ninety metres high, the only one of the five Cinque Terre villages not to descend to the water, and the Terrace of Santa Maria offers a view across the coast. The terrace lies at the end of the village's main street, beyond the square and the Gothic parish church. From here, views extend toward Monterosso and Punta Mesco, as well as Vernazza and Manarola. The terrace makes clear how Corniglia's elevated position shapes its relationship to the sea.

What to notice

The terrace looks in both directions along the coast, from Manarola and Vernazza toward Monterosso and Punta Mesco. Its elevation above the water reflects Corniglia's position on the cliff. The names Terrace of Santa Maria and Largo Terrazzo recall a church of Santa Maria that reportedly once stood on this exposed corner and collapsed into the sea in the nineteenth century. A paved forecourt and low walls occupy the space where the village ends.

Context and history

The terrace is part of Corniglia's distinctive layout. The village developed as a ribbon along via Fieschi, from the medieval core near the main square to the church of San Pietro, and the street ends at the edge of the promontory. A small church of Santa Maria once occupied this outermost point. Accounts report that it collapsed into the sea in the mid-nineteenth century; its name survives in the belvedere that occupies the site. UNESCO describes the coast as almost inaccessible except by sea before the railway arrived in the 1870s.