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riomaggiore |
| Lively RIOMAGGIORE is the easternmost of the Cinque Terre, with a
relatively easy road link to the outside world that makes it also the
most crowded of the five. Nonetheless, its vividly multicoloured houses
piling up the steep slopes above the romantic little harbour, with no
two on the same level, give the place a bizarre charm that remains
untempered by the café crowds. Aside from the requisite rose window, the
church of San Giovanni Battista houses a striking wooden Crucifixion by
Maragliano. Riomaggiore is also the starting-point for the twenty-minute
walk on the Via dell'Amore (Lovers' Path) to Manarola . The town's Web site www.tamnet.it/riomaggiore/homepage2 gives plenty of background. The only hotel is the pleasantly modern Villa Argentina , in a lovely spot at Via De Gasperi 37 (tel & fax 0187.920.213; L120,000-150,000/¬61.98-77.47). Otherwise, your best bet is private rooms ; English-speaking Roberto and Luciano Fazioli (Scalinata della Tagliata 6h; tel 0187.920.587) manage various properties in Riomaggiore and Manarola from clean, simple rooms to self-catering apartments with terraced balconies overlooking the harbour (L60,000-90,000/¬30.99-46.48). For food , La Lanterna (closed Tues) has a good, moderately priced pasta and seafood menu, and a great location in the pinched harbour (to get there, walk under the train line from the bottom of the main street); while Contravelaccio on Via Colombo also has various inexpensive menus. Ripa del Sole , Via De Gasperi 4 (tel 0187.920.143) serves acclaimed gourmet menus for L80,000/¬42.32. |