Monterosso Cinque Terre - Attractions Monterosso
Cinque Terre Monterosso
Monterosso al Mare is the most western town of the five lands Cinque Terre. The village is protected by hills covered with vineyard and olive groves.
Monterosso is the oldest and largest village of the Cinque Terre, the medieval old town offers many attractions and it is the perfect starting point for a sightseeing tour in the Cinque Terre National Park.
In Monterosso you can take the famous Cinque Terre hiking trail Monterosso – Vernazza. The blue trail "sentiero azzurro" connects the five lands of the Cinque Terre and passes through characteristic vineyards and olive groves.
Monterosso has beautiful beaches, steep rugged cliffs and crystalline waters.
Monterosso is divided into 2 parts from the aurora's tower.
To the west of the village, behind the hill "Colle dei Cappuccini", you can find the newer district Fegina, as a natural extension of the original village.
Fegina is reachable through a tunnel. Fegina is rich of hotels, bars, coffee shops.
Here you can find the Monterosso train station "stazione Monterosso al Mare" and a relatively large sandy beach, compared to the other villages of the Cinque Terre which are characterized for rocky cliffs.
The old town is the medieval part of Monterosso and also the suggestive one.
Old Monterosso is dominated by the ruins of the castle fortress Obertenga and featured by typical tower-houses crossed by the "carruggi", narrow medieval streets.
In the origin the 2,000 residents of Monterosso al Mare lived from wine growing and fishing, today they benefit mainly from the tourism.
Compared with the other villages you can find in Monterosso the largest choice of hotels in the Cinque Terre.
Particularly famous and characteristic is the Hotel Porto Roca Monterosso, which is located right on the coast.Monterosso Italy: history
The foundation of the village probably dates back around at the 1000 year and due to its strategically position Monterosso was always a bone o contention between the Republic of Genoa and of Pisa for the control of this coast part.
The stronger republic of Genoa managed to keep Monterosso under its control until the French domination in the 18 century.
Monterosso train station
The Monterosso train station "stazione Monterosso al Mare" is located in the new part Fegina (west of the old town), directly in front of Monterosso beach.
You can reach Monterosso by train from Genoa, Sestri Levante, Levanto and Pisa.
By train you can move quick and economically between the 5 villages of Cinque Terre.
Here you will find more information about the Cinque Terre trainMonterosso beach - Monterosso al Mare beach
In Monterosso al Mare you can find a beautiful and relatively large beach. Compared to the other beaches of the Cinque Terre the Monterosso beach offers the most space because the village is not located directly on the steep cliffs.
Usually the water quality in the beach of Monterosso is very good - the water is turquoise blue and inviting for swimming.
The larger beach of Monterosso al Mare is called Fegina beach or "spiaggia Fegina" (west bay in the new district Fegina) and is easy to find – you can find the beach in front of the Monterosso al Mare train station "Stazione Monterosso".
There is a second smaller beach in Monterosso (east bay Rio Bruanco) - located after the tunnel towards the old town.
However, in high season the beach is crowded due to the huge amount of tourists.
In the category Liguria beaches you can find more insider tips to find the most beautiful beaches of Liguria.
Cinque Terre hiking: Monterosso to Vernazza, Levanto to Monterosso
The famous blue trail "sentiero azzurro" connects the five villages of the Cinque Terre.
In Monterosso begins the footpath Monterosso - Vernazza along the coast to the neighboring village Vernazza (east of Monterosso).
Alternatively there is a nice footpath from Levanto to Monterosso. Levanto is an ideal starting point to visit the Cinque Terre because there is a large choice of Hotels, Bed & Breakfast, ...
Here you can find our recommendations and photos of the Cinque Terre hiking tours:
- Footpath Monterosso to Vernazza
- Footpath Levanto to Monterosso
Monterosso attractions - things to do in Monterosso
What to do in Monterosso ? Here you can find the most popular attractions of Monterosso, which you should see during your visit:
Monterosso al Mare: Statue of giants
The statue of the Giant is a very impressive concrete structure of Neptune or a giant who presses against the rocks.
In 1910 the statue "Statua del Gigante" was created by the architect Francesco Levacher and sculptor Arrigo Minerbi, it is 14 meters high and weighs 170 tons.
The statue that adorns the Villa Pastine along with a large terrace in the shape of a shell, was destroyed by bombs during the Second World War.
The Gigante was restored, but not built up completely.
The statue overlooks the beach of Monterosso al Mare "Fergina" and the Villa of Pastine family, where the Nobel Prize winner for Literature Eugenio Montale spent a part of his life and the summer holidays.
Sanctuary "Nostra Signora di Soviore"
The most ancient Marian sanctuary of Liguria was built where in 643 the inhabitants of the disappeared village of Albareto.
Some of the old building structures date to that period.
The Sanctuary of "Nostra Signora di Soviore" is the result of various restorations and its structure has Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque elements.
The spired bell tower has three plans, opened with double lancet windows. In the sanctuary it is adored a XV century wooden statue representing a Pietà, of Nordic school.
The festivity of the sanctuary is celebrated on August the 15th.
What to see in Monterosso: Church of John the Baptist
The church “San Giovanni Battista” was built between 1244 and 1307 in Ligurian Gothic style.
The beautiful façade is decorated with white and green marble. It has a pointed arch between little marble column embellished with a rose window attributed to Matteo and Pietro from Campiglio (those artists have also embellished the churches of Corniglia and Manarola).
The bell tower crowned by Merlons was originally a medieval defensive tower with a rectangular plant in green stone
In the historical centre of Monterosso, beyond the church of Saint John the Baptist, taking to the right, we find the oratory of the “Confraternita dei Bianchi” (Confraternity of the White Men).
The name comes from to the colour of the garments used by that group during processions.
Monterosso Abbey San Francesco
The abbey and the church of San Francesco rise on the hill of Saint Cristopher that divides the old part of Monterosso from the new one of Fegina.
It was built since 1619 and suffered hard periods, like the expulsion of the friars with Napoleon in 1810, the transformation in a hospital and then in a warehouse.
Monterosso Hotels
Porto Roca Monterosso
In our opinion one of the most beautiful hotels in the Cinque Terre is the Porto Roca Monterosso which is located directly on the coast and offers a wonderful panoramic terrace overlooking the sea.
From the hotel you can reach Monterosso beach by a short walk.
In front of the Hotel Porto Roca Monterosso passes the blue hiking trail Monterosso Vernazza.
Thus, this hotel is the perfect starting point for a Cinque Terre hiking tour.
Moreover you can find here many other Cinque Terre Hotels selected by us, where the location, service and price will match:
Cinque Terre attractions
Here you can find many other information about the Cinque Terre attractions: