What is Riomaggiore known for?

Sweet passito wine from sun-dried Bosco, Albarola and Vermentino grapes, made on the terraces above the village since antiquity. Cliff-cut footpath to Manarola, closed in 2012 after rockfalls, reopened in July 2024 with a new fee and timed access. Inscribed with Portovenere and the Cinque Terre as a cultural landscape of stone terraces shaped by a thousand years of farming.

Where is Riomaggiore?

Riomaggiore is a comune in the province of La Spezia, Liguria region of Italy, about 94 kilometers from Pisa.

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.

94 km / 58 mi

Nearest hub (Pisa)

1,326

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

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.

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Gallery

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Known for

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.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June brings the green window before the crowds: terraces in flower, train arrivals manageable, the Sentiero Azzurro walkable end to end. September and October are the dry months, harvest on the slopes above the village. July and August are hard. The single train line and two staircases of streets fill from morning until late afternoon, and accommodation runs at three times the shoulder rate. November through March is quiet. Many trattorias and rental rooms close. Winter storms occasionally cut the coastal trails for weeks. The view of the village from the breakwater at dusk, lights stacked one above the other against the cliff, is the same from December as from July with two thousand fewer people in it.