Sentiero Verde Azzurro (Sentiero Azzurro, SVA2)

The Sentiero Azzurro links the Cinque Terre villages across terraced slopes and cliffs above the Ligurian coast, forming part of a landscape shaped by centuries of settlement and cultivation.

Why it matters

The Sentiero Azzurro connects the five Cinque Terre villages across a landscape of terraced slopes above the Ligurian coast. UNESCO inscribed the area as a cultural landscape in 1997, recognizing the long history of human work that shaped the villages and hillsides. The path forms part of the area's historic network of connections among settlements and cultivated land.

What to notice

Dry-stone terraces and vineyards press close to the coastal path, reflecting the landscape UNESCO recognized for its traditional settlement pattern and agricultural terraces. The changing relationship among cultivated slopes, cliffside and village fabric shows how communities adapted the terrain to support agriculture and settlement.

Context and history

Families built dry-stone walls and carried soil up the slopes over many generations to create vineyards on steep terrain. UNESCO's 1997 inscription records a traditional way of life extending over a thousand years, villages arranged along a dramatic coast, and a cultural landscape shaped by human effort. The historic path system grew from the need to connect villages and cultivated land; the national park now manages the landscape as part of its conservation work.