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The
ancient town once known as Vulnetia was founded around the
eleventh-century by the inhabitants of Reggio, who moved down from the
high country when the coastal area was freed from the Saracen invasions.
Corniglia is also situated on the coast but in a higher and better
protected location. Like San Bernardino, which lies between Corniglia and
Reggio, it is of Roman origin.
Vernazza boasts a glorious maritime history: in the thirteenth-century,
when Genoa came into possession of the much-coveted gulf (the first to the
west of Portovenere) it awarded important privileges to the Vernazza
shipping industry. It also built an important shipyard there and equipped
the town with a sizeable defence system, which not only included the Doria
castle but also a city wall on the inland side and three watchtowers. The
coastal side was defended by the Belforte battlements.
The Romanesque church of Santa Margherita di Antiochia stands on a rock.
The coastal area lies inside the Cinque Terre National Park and is a
protected area where fishing is strictly regulated. The Maemuna grotto is
a natural aperture: you can go into it by boat to a depth of 50 metres
into the cliff. The rocky underwater environment is ideal for diving;
Vernazza has its own diving centre. The harbour can berth up to 200 boats.
Vernazza is at the heart of a network of roads connecting all the coastal
towns of the Cinque Terre. The sanctuary of the Madonna di Reggio, which
is situated against the hillside, is less than an hour's walk from the
town along the old pathway that takes you through the terracings and past
the Stations of the Cross; half way through your walk you will come across
the chapel of San Bernardo. This has a Romanesque façade and a Baroque
interior. It preserves a fourteenth-century statue of the Virgin Mary from
the Tuscan school, which is an object of great devotion, and a beautiful
collection of sailors' votary objects.
Olive groves and vineyards grow in an ideal climate on these hills: they
have maximum exposure to the sunlight and are well-sheltered from the
wind. The grapes that grow here are used to make white table wine and
"Sciacchetrà", the famous Cinque Terre raisin wine. An
oven-baked speciality called "Tegame alla Vernazzese" is made of
anchovies, potatoes, tomatoes and spices. The painter Ettore Cozzani was
born in Vernazza.
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