Riomaggiore (, locally ) is a village and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

province of La Spezia The province of La Spezia (; Ligurian language, Ligurian: ''provinsa dea Spèza'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of La Spezia. Overview It has an area of and, , a total population o ...

, situated in a small

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

in the

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

region of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is the most southerly of the

Cinque Terre The Cinque Terre (; ; meaning 'Five Lands') is a coastal area within Liguria, in the northwest of Italy. It lies in the west of La Spezia Province, and comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggio ...

villages. The village, dating from the early thirteenth century, is known for its historic character and wine produced by the town's

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s. Riomaggiore is in the Riviera di Levante region. It has a shoreline on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

's Gulf of Genoa, with a small beach and a

wharf A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...

framed by

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

s. Riomaggiore's main street is Via Colombo, where numerous restaurants, bars, and shops can be found. The '' Via dell'Amore'' is a path connecting Riomaggiore to its ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'' Manarola, also part of the Cinque Terre. Riomaggiore is the most southern village of the Cinque Terre, all connected by

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

. The water and mountainside have been declared

national parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

. Riomaggiore inspired paintings by Telemaco Signorini (1835–1901), one of the artists of the

Macchiaioli The Macchiaioli () were a group of Italian painters active in Tuscany in the second half of the nineteenth century. They strayed from antiquated conventions taught by the Italian art academies, and did much of their painting outdoors in order ...

group.

Demographics

Transportation

Riomaggiore railway station is on the

Genoa–Pisa railway The Genoa–Pisa railway is one of the trunk lines of the rail transport in Italy, Italian railway network. It runs along the Ligurian coast from Genoa to Pisa through the Italian Riviera, Riviera di Levante and the Versilia. It passes through th ...

. It is served by trains run by

Trenitalia Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...

, including services from .

In popular culture

Riomaggiore was referenced in the 2014 driving video game ''

Forza Horizon 2 ''Forza Horizon 2'' is a 2014 racing video game developed for Microsoft's Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles. It is the sequel to 2012's ''Forza Horizon'', the seventh instalment in the ''Forza'' series, and the series' first multi-console instalmen ...

''. Riomaggiore and other Cinque Terre towns were the inspiration for the fictional Portorosso in the 2021 animated film ''

Luca Luca or LUCA may refer to: People * Luca (masculine given name), including a list of people * Luca (feminine given name), including a list of people * Luca (surname), including a list of people Places * The ancient name of Lucca, an Etruscan ...

''.

Gallery

File:Riomaggiore village.jpg, Houses on the rocks File:Panaromic view of Riomaggiore at Sunset.jpg, Panorama at sunset in summer File:Riomaggiore, Italy.jpg, Houses on the slope File:Riomaggiore sea view.jpg, Riomaggiore Coast riomaggiore

References

External links