Monesteroli is a small rural settlement in the province of La Spezia, located within the Cinque Terre National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It can be reached via a staircase of over 1,200 steps that descend from the hill above, winding through woods and vineyards before opening into a breathtaking descent. These over twelve hundred steps are invaluable: they are the only path to reach a unique place in the world, a village perched on the sea, now uninhabited but visited in the summer by many tourists who enjoy the beauty of the scenery. Here, they also come to understand the human toil involved in living and producing on this vertical, marvelous yet challenging land.
These steps are a testament to history, bearing witness to the heroism of past generations who cultivated the steep terraced slopes and carried the harvested grapes from the vineyards on their shoulders up this very staircase.
The restoration and renovation work on a portion known as the Scala Grande di Monesteroli was completed at the end of 2022. This project was made possible thanks to the contribution provided by FAI (Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano) and Intesa San Paolo as part of the 10th edition of the “I luoghi del Cuore” census.
In addition to the restoration of the steps, the project included the recovery of the traditional dry-stone walls that border the staircase, following the guidelines of the Manual for Dry-Stone Wall Construction, published by the Cinque Terre National Park.
The staircase is an extraordinary work of construction technique, and besides being a fundamental element of the landscape of the Cinque Terre National Park, it holds irreplaceable testimonial value in narrating the “heroic viticulture” that characterizes the area.
The Monesteroli staircase offers a continuous vertical view of the cobalt blue sea. The view of the Ligurian Sea is simply enchanting. This stretch of sea, which laps the Ligurian coast, provides breathtaking views and a variety of colors that change with the sunlight and the seasons.
It is an ideal place for nature lovers and undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and evocative corners of all of Liguria, which you can easily visit while staying at the Downtown Blue Apartment in Cinque Terre La Spezia.