Anywhere Italy
Stemma di Riomaggiore

Liguria · La Spezia

Riomaggiore

The easternmost of the Cinque Terre, 1,326 people stacked above a fishing inlet, terraced vineyards climbing 250 meters straight off the sea.

Known for

  • SCIACCHETRÀ

    Sweet passito wine from sun-dried Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino grapes, made on the terraces above the village since antiquity.

  • VIA DELL'AMORE

    Cliff-cut footpath to Manarola, closed in 2012 after rockfalls, reopened in July 2024 with a new fee and timed access.

  • UNESCO 1997

    Inscribed with Portovenere and the Cinque Terre as a cultural landscape of stone terraces shaped by a thousand years of farming.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J
  • F
  • M
  • A
  • M
  • J
  • J
  • A
  • S
  • O
  • N
  • D
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

The festa: Giovanni Battista, 24 June

Why come

Riomaggiore sits at the eastern end of the Cinque Terre, the first village out of La Spezia along the line that connects all five. The town is documented from 1251, when the Carpena district swore allegiance to Genoa. The Marchesi Turcotti began the Castello in 1260 against pirate raids; the Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista was built in 1340 under Bishop Antonio Fieschi and rebuilt with a neo-Gothic façade in 1870, a wooden crucifix by Maragliano inside.

The vineyards that produce Sciacchetrà, the local passito wine, drop 250 meters straight to the sea on hand-cut terraces that have held for eight centuries. UNESCO listed the coast in 1997. Pixar set Luca here in 2021, lightly disguised as Portorosso.

The Via dell'Amore, the cliff path to Manarola, reopened in July 2024 after a thirteen-year closure for landslide repairs. Roughly 2. 5 million annual visitors now reach a commune of 1,326 residents.

We've been

Feature from our free newsletter

Cinque Terre | How To Do It Right

The Cinque Terre are five towns with a national park around them and a marketing name that adds up to five. The copies without the name are a few miles away in either direction, and the experience they sell is the same experience, with the crowd divided by a hundred.

From the Riomaggiore letter, July 2026

Read the full feature on anywhereitaly.com

Riomaggiore — photo 1
Riomaggiore — photo 2

What to see

  • Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista

    Built in 1340 under Bishop Antonio Fieschi, rebuilt with a neo-Gothic façade in 1870, holds a wooden crucifix by Anton Maria Maragliano.

  • Castello di Riomaggiore

    Begun in 1260 by the Marchesi Turcotti against pirate raids, completed by Genoa two centuries later, twin cylindrical towers above the village.

  • Via dell'Amore

    Cliff path between Riomaggiore and Manarola, reopened in July 2024 after thirteen years of landslide repair work.

  • Cinque Terre vineyard terraces

    Dry-stone terraces that drop 250 meters from village edge to sea, hand-cultivated for Sciacchetrà and Cinque Terre DOC.

  • Marina di Riomaggiore

    The narrow harbour at the foot of the village, fishing boats hauled onto the slipway between the breakwaters.

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We recommend

Where to eat and stay

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to — a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • Rio BistrotRistorante

    One Gambero Rosso fork (77/100) for Rio Bistrot, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Fuori RottaRistorante

    Fuori Rotta has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.

Living here

  • Population 1,326
  • Commuter belti
  • Pharmacy in town
  • Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
  • Nearest airport Florence / Pisa, 2 h 23 min drive
  • Regional capital Genova, 2 h 27 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 35 m
  • Population: 1,326
  • Surface area: 10.27 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

Close by

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