Roland and Stephanie's Semimoon

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Beyond the kiosk, the trail began morphing into one of Vernazza's laneways. We began to walk past furnished terraces, bars, house entrances. The laneway wound down around an old-looking tower (festooned with comms equipment), descending steeply and with an excellent view of Vernazza, which was now completely visible from upper tip down to the harbour. Soon we descended down into the main mass of buildings, standing shoulder-to-shoulder (the buildings, not us).

Vernazza comes more into view

Tourist Traffic

Turning into a laneway

courtesy RHanel

Town of Towers

Typical alleyway transport

Rooftops of Vernazza

courtesy RHanel

Winding Descent

Sea-themed shrine

Start of 592 to Corniglia

Trail 592 crosses the upper reaches of Vernazza and continues on its way north to Monterosso. However, we wanted to stop and explore the town, so upon reaching the first major laneway (called the via carattino), we turned off 592 and descended left, roughly towards the center of town but staying above it.

courtesy JInnes

Worn Door Knocker

Via Carattino

Incredibly thin house

The wander down through the town was as quaint, colorful, and scenic as we had come to expect from Cinque Terre town exploration. Similarly to our back-way walk into downtown Manarola yesterday, we found that our choice of an off-the-beaten path yielded a quiet, tourist-free (well, except for us, of course) experience.

We soon bottomed out at sea level and emerged along the wide Via Roma, Vernazza's main throughfare. As might be expected, visitor traffic was substantial here, as were many little shops, restaurants, gelaterias, and other sorts of spots you would expect in a locale like this. We wandered up the main drag and on to the town's northern slopes, before making our way back down, arriving finally at the harbour area. Vernazza's harbour was quite scenic and spacious - in fact, the nicest harbour of the Cinque Terre towns thus far.

Quiet Backstreet

Vernazza main drag

Via Roma

courtesy RHanel

Old Trail Schematic

Via Roma

Vernazza Vegetable Stand

courtesy JInnes

courtesy RHanel

Flowers, Vernazza

Inter-building supports

Piazza Marconi

Vernazza Boat Ramp

Roland had visited Vernazza before, and he recommended that we visit the town's old castello, perched on the point of land jutting out into the sea and which sported the distinctive dark grey tower visible from up and down the coast. We followed his recommendation, and climbed up through narrow streets to the castle's entrance (minor entrance fee required).

To the Castello

The word "castle" is a bit of an excessive word to use when describing the old castello (more specifically called the castello Doria). It is actually quite small, and was more of a strategic defense point and lookout than actual full-blown castle. The oldest parts of the construction dates to the thirteenth century, including the old watchtower, which is pretty much the only structure of significance remaining. Both the open courtyard around the tower and the top of the tower itself (which we ascended) offered excellent views of the coast. Even better, though, are the views of Vernazza, spread out below.

courtesy JInnes

Clear Turquoise Waters

Castello Doria

Four-fifths

Exploring Castle Nooks

Castle View of Vernazza

South from Castello

courtesy JInnes

North from Castello

Colorful Boats at Anchor

Tower staircase

After enjoying the view from the castle's tower, we descended back to Vernazza's harbour, where we had a quick lunch at a pizzeria in the neighboring Piazza Marconi (where a very chatty American military IT guy sat next to us along with his family and Dutch girlfriend).

After lunch, we spent a few more minutes checking out Vernazza's picturesque waterfront. After examining the 13th century harbourside Church of Santa Margherita, we walked out along the modern pier. Extending out into the crystal-clear turquoise waters of the harbour, it offered yet another beautiful perspective on the town.

Seaside storefronts

Chiesa S. Margherita

Vernazza Harbour

Vernazza Gelateria

Vernazza from the Pier

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