HISTORY

First historical documents are from the XIth century. The first villages that appeared were Monterosso and Vernazza. The other villages arose later in the miliraty and political hegemony of Genoa. In the XVIth century, the old fortifications were strengthened and new towers were built to counteract the attacks of the turks.

In the XVIIth century, the "Cinque terre" were in a decline but in the XIXth century they could have a recovery because of the construction of the La Spezia Military Arsenal and the railway between Genoa and La Spezia. These two events made them get out of being isolated of the region but also caused that traditional activities were abandoned; consequently they increased poverty and many inhabitants emigrated abroad, at least until the 60’s where tourism gave them welfare again.