Manarola, Cinque Terre National Park, Liguria, Italy

© John_Silver/Shutterstoc

A cliffside story. Manarola, Cinque Terre National Park, Liguria, Italy

Known for its pastel houses cascading down to the Mediterranean Sea, Manarola, seen in today's image, looks like a place straight out of a fairytale. Perched on the rugged cliffs of Italy's Ligurian coast, it's one of the five villages that make up Cinque Terre National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name 'Manarola' might have evolved from the Latin 'Magna rota,' which became 'Magna roea' in the local dialect. It means 'large wheel,' a nod to the village's historical mill wheel. Believed to be the oldest village in the Cinque Terre, dating to 1338, Manarola's history is rooted in fishing and winemaking. Sciacchetrà, a dessert wine unique to this area, has long been immortalised in the verses of Italian poets.

Take a walk along the Via dell'Amore, or 'Path of Love'—a scenic coastal trail connecting Manarola to Riomaggiore, another village in the Cinque Terre—and you can sense the romance and charm that defines this region. Time slows down when you're in Manarola, and the magic of the country's coastal heritage comes to life.