CINQUE TERRE ITALY
Pastel on Pastelmat
24"x16"
I have had the good fortune to have visited Italy a few times and to have discovered the magic of Cinque Terre. A protected, historic area along the Ligurian Coast in Italy (at the top of the boot), Cinque Terre is a painters paradise! The area comprises five fishing villages, each with brightly coloured houses built right into the rock cliffs… wherever and however, as if some giant spilled his jelly beans and they landed helter-skelter. A challenging trail at the top of the mountains connects the villages by foot travel. From above I have experienced incredible vistas, looking down on the brightly coloured villages next to a beautiful blue/green sea. There are no public roads in Cinque Terre and the streets are all cobblestone, so you arrive by train or by boat, stopping off in whichever village you choose. From there you travel on foot or hop back on the train to the next village. While the buildings appear to be built one against the other, there actually is a maze of steep stone pathways (streets) winding back and forth between houses. Those pathways are incredibly fun to explore! They are often narrow enough to reach out and touch buildings opposite each other at the same time!
Each time I have visited Cinque Terre, I have stayed in a different village; my favourite was always the most rugged (and most authentic) of them all… Riomaggiore.