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Italy to finally reopen Cinque Terre ‘Lovers’ Lane’ after 11 years

One of the most scenic trails in the Cinque Terre is set to reopen in 2023, more than a decade after it was closed for renovation.

Published: 7 October 2019 13:53 CEST

Italy to finally reopen Cinque Terre 'Lovers' Lane' after 11 years

The Via dell'Amore runs between the first two villages of Italy's Cinque Terre. Photo: DepositPhotos

The Via dell'Amore ('Path of Love' or Lovers' Lane), the cliffside walk that links the villages of Riomaggiore and Manarola on north-west Italy's most famous stretch of coastline, has been at least partially closed since September 2012 due to rockslides.

Eleven years and €12 million later, it will reopen sometime in 2023, according to a plan presented on Sunday by the Cinque Terre National Park.

READ ALSO: Forget Cinque Terre, these hidden gems are even better

The planned renovations include extending an artificial tunnel that runs under the part of the path considered most precarious, as well as adding steel mesh and bolts to secure rocks above and below the route.

Urgent action was ordered after four tourists were injured in a 2012 landslide, but work stalled amid uncertainty over who would pay for it. In the end Italy's Culture Ministry will put up €7 million of funding, with the remaining €5 million provided by the region of Liguria and the Environment Ministry.

Only a small stretch of the kilometre-long path is currently open to the public.

The Via dell'Amore has been closed since 2012. Photo: DepositPhotos

“It's unacceptable that one of the symbols of our region famed around the world should be closed off,” said the governor of Liguria, Giovanni Toti.

For years the footpath was one of the most popular sections of the trail linking the Cinque Terre, or 'Five Villages', thanks to its spectacular views and gentle terrain.

Carved out in the early 20th century for the construction of the coastal railway, the path turned the journey between Riomaggiore and Manarola into an easy 20-minute walk and – so the story goes – provided a scenic spot for residents in the two villages to meet for romantic trysts.

“That's why it's so important to reopen it: not only to give its beauty back to the world, but to give it back to its people,” said the mayor of Riomaggiore, Fabrizia Pecunia.

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'Painful' - is Paris Charles de Gaulle airport really that bad?

Recently, Paris Charles de Gaulle was voted the best airport in Europe by passengers.

The 2022 World Airport Awards, based on customer satisfaction surveys between September 2021 and May 2022, listed the best airport on the planet as Doha, while Paris’s main airport came in at number 6 – the highest entry for a European airport – one place above Munich.

READ ALSO Paris Charles de Gaulle voted best airport in Europe by passengers

Given CDG’s long-standing reputation doesn’t quite match what the World Airport Awards survey said – in 2009 it was rated the second-worst airport in the world, while in 2011 US site CNN judged it “the most hated airport in the world” – we wondered how accurate the survey could be.

So we asked readers of The Local for their opinion on their experience of Europe’s ‘best’ airport.

Contrary to the World Airport Awards study, users erred towards the negative about the airport. A total 30.8 percent of Local readers – who had travelled through the airport in recent months – thought it was ‘terrible’, while another 33.3 percent agreed that it was ‘not great’ and had ‘some problems’.

But in total 12.8 percent of those who responded to our survey thought the airport was ‘brilliant’, and another 23.1 percent thought it ‘fine’, with ‘no major problems’.

So what are the problems with it?

Signage

One respondent asked a simple – and obvious – question: “Why are there so many terminal twos?”

Barney Lehrer added: “They should change the terminal number system.”

In fact, signage and directions – not to mention the sheer size of the place – were common complaints, as were onward travel options.

Christine Charaudeau told us: “The signage is terrible. I’ve often followed signs that led to nowhere. Thankfully, I speak French and am familiar with the airport but for first time travellers … yikes!”

Edwin Walley added that it was, “impossible to get from point A to point B,” as he described the logistics at the airport as the “worst in the world”.

And James Patterson had a piece of advice taken from another airport. “The signage could be better – they could take a cue from Heathrow in that regard.”

Anthony Schofield said: “Arriving by car/taxi is painful due to congestion and the walk from the skytrain to baggage claim seems interminable.”

Border control

Border control, too, was a cause for complaint. “The wait at the frontière is shameful,” Linda, who preferred to use just her first name, told us. “I waited one and a half hours standing, with a lot of old people.”

Sharon Dubble agreed. She wrote: “The wait time to navigate passport control and customs is abysmal!”

Deborah Mur, too, bemoaned the issue of, “the long, long wait to pass border control in Terminal E, especially at 6am after an overnight flight.”

Beth Van Hulst, meanwhile, pulled no punches with her estimation of border staff and the airport in general. “[It] takes forever to go through immigration, and staff deserve their grumpy reputation. Also, queuing is very unclear and people get blocked because the airport layout is not well designed.”

Jeff VanderWolk highlighted the, “inadequate staffing of immigration counters and security checkpoints”, while Karel Prinsloo had no time for the brusque attitudes among security and border personnel. “Officers at customs are so rude. I once confronted the commander about their terrible behaviour. His response said it all: ‘We are not here to be nice’. Also the security personnel.”

Connections

One of the most-complained-about aspects is one that is not actually within the airport’s control – public transport connections.

Mahesh Chaturvedula was just one of those to wonder about integrated travel systems in France, noting problems with the reliability of onward RER rail services, and access to the RER network from the terminal.

The airport is connected to the city via RER B, one of the capital’s notoriously slow and crowded suburban trains. Although there are plans to create a new high-speed service to the airport, this now won’t begin until after the 2024 Olympics.

Sekhar also called for, “more frequent trains from SNCF to different cities across France with respect to the international flight schedules.”

The good news

But it wasn’t all bad news for the airport, 35 percent of survey respondents said the airport had more positives than negatives, while a Twitter poll of local readers came out in favour of Charles de Gaulle.

Is Paris Charles de Gaulle airport really all that bad?

— The Local France (@TheLocalFrance) December 21, 2022

Conceding that the airport is “too spread out”, Jim Lockard said it, “generally operates well; [and has] decent amenities for food and shopping”.

Declan Murphy was one of a number of respondents to praise the, “good services and hotels in terminals”, while Dean Millar – who last passed through Charles de Gaulle in October – said the, “signage is very good. [It is] easy to find my way around”.

He added: “Considering the size (very large) [of the airport] it is very well done. So no complaints at all.”

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