A balcony overlooking the sea – the coast of Tramonti
by Alessandra
Have you already traveled the famous Sentiero Azzurro that connects Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore to each other? Don’t warry, there is still so much to see between the Cinque Terre and Porto Venere. Follow us, today we present an itinerary that offers suggestive views of the Ligurian Sea and, for the more trained, a couple of surprising variations. It is a circular route that starts from Campiglia, runs along the coast of Tramonti, touches the locality of Fossola, Campi, Colle del Telegrafo, to return to the starting point via path no. 1. We reach Campiglia from La Spezia in a few minutes by car, park and stop in a small shop to stock up on the inevitable Genoese focaccia.
A look at the panorama of the La Spezia coast that can be enjoyed from the square in front of the church and we set off on path 535 which at first crosses a grove of maritime pine, chestnut and holm oak. Along the way we can admire the terraces built by man, who for centuries has stolen strips of land suitable for cultivation from this rugged land. Here the small vines produce the famous Cinque Terre DOC white wine and Sciacchetrà Cinque Terre DOC. A possible detour is to the left on the path 504c that leads to the Schiara stairway and the pebble beach.
Reached the locality Fontana di Nozzano we always keep to the left on path 535, rapidly losing altitude. A little further on, continuing downhill on the famous staircase, you go down to Monesteroli, but we don’t and continue on the path along the coast and reach Fossola. After a break with focaccia and hot tea, we resume our journey, accompanied by the scents of the Mediterranean bush.
Leaving path 535, a stretch of road leads to Campi, then a steep climb on path 537 until we arrive at the Colle del Telegrafo, overlooking both sides, on one side the coast between Riomaggiore and Porto Venere, on the other the Gulf of La Spezia. To return to Campiglia, the route follows path no. 1, which in this section coincides with the Alta Via delle 5 Terre (trail marker AV5T). Along the route, which is well signposted, we used the Cinque Terre Portovenere and Palmaria map, scale 1: 15,000, published by Terra Digitale editions.
