10 km west of La Spezia. The ‘Five Lands’ are five villages, crushed into coves below and above vine terraces which the Romans planted, forming one geographical entity. Monterosso at the west end has now joined the world: it has a beach, hotels, parasols and even a road. The church appears to be putting out to sea. Old-time smugglers, hauling in contraband on a rope, acted stupid and persuaded the revenue officers they were trying to turn the church to face the shore. Vernazza’s church also rises from the harbour. Legend says an octopus tolls the bell from the crypt.

Cornigia’s vines grow so steeply from the sea that men need ropes and ladders to tend them. Shale, not soil, nourishes Cinque Terre wines, the famous pale amber vernaccia and sciachettrà (it means ‘chatterer’) in their fish net wrappers.

Manarola is precariously heaped around the outfall of a torrent which descends 760 m in 3 km. A cliff walk, the Via dell’Amore (but lovers must have good heads for heights), goes to Riomaggiore, easternmost of the Cinque Terre, terminus of a road from La Spezia (6.5 km). No cars in the villages. Skimpy black-sand beaches. Access from Genoa or La Spezia by rail (www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/).