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Destination: Cinque Terre

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The Cinque Terre’s Affordable Oasis for Backpackers is on the Ropes

Cinque Terre town of Manarola
The beautiful Cinque Terre town of Manarola may lose its youth hostel. Photo by Rich Earl.

It’s funny how many people on my cruise ship have fond memories of backpacking and youth hosteling through Europe when they were students. And enjoying the Mediterranean from a ship, I’ve been thinking about a little crisis percolating in my favorite stretch of Italian Riviera that I’d like to share with you. I know we have lots of Cinque Terre fans among our traveling readership. And the region that many of us consider a little paradise has been in turmoil lately — after a horrible episode in which the corrupt president of the national park colluded with a corrupt local mayor, bankrupting the Cinque Terre National Park and putting many of its services and projects on hold. It was a big step back for the region and now, in good Italian style, the government has stepped in to try to sort things out. In the middle of this mess, the wonderful Hostel Cinque Terre (housed in a building owned by the town of Manarola) faces non-renewal of its lease. I’ve been very impressed by how this hostel gives backpackers and students (just like me when I first visited the place back in the 1970s) a safe and affordable place to sleep. In case you are interested, here’s the letter I sent to the local authorities at the request of my friend Nicola (who runs the hostel). If you are so inclined, you are welcome to share your thoughts with the president of the region (links below).

Thanks,

Rick

Dear Michela Fossa, Patrizia Cavanna, and others concerned,

For twenty years I have been promoting the Cinque Terre as the finest opportunity for American travelers to experience the Italian Riviera. I can’t imagine how much my travelers have contributed to your local economy, and the joy your communities have given our American travelers. I have produced two TV shows on the Cinque Terre which have aired throughout the USA many times. These days, the typical American going to Italy dreams of seeing “Rome, Venice, Florence, Siena — and the Cinque Terre.” And many of the travelers who stay in nice hotels and eat in the finest restaurants of your region first fell in love with your region by staying in hostels.

Ages ago, a traveler had to choose between B&Bs, the Lucca hostel, and the notorious Mamma Rosa’s. I was so happy when the Cinque Terre gained the excellent hostel in Manarola, and I’ve been even happier with the passionate, creative, and energetic leadership and management that Nicola Bordoni has brought to the hostel. Now I hear that the hostel is having trouble with its relationship with the community and that its future is in question. Please understand from me, the most effective promoter of the Cinque Terre in the USA, that losing the Manarola hostel would be a terrible mistake for the region, for both the short term and the long term.

I understand the problems you and the park have had recently. But please do not lose sight of the value of having one of the best hostels on the Mediterranean coast between Turkey and Spain. I will continue to promote the Cinque Terre with all my energy — especially when the region takes care of the next generation of travelers…those who first fall in love with the Cinque Terre from the front door of the Hostel Cinque Terre. Thank you for supporting the survival of the wonderful hostel in Manarola.

Sincerely,

Rick Steves

The owner of the Hostel Cinque Terre would like readers to send emails to Claudio Burlando, the president of Liguria, here: presidente.giunta@regione.liguria.it; or comment on his Facebook page, here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Claudio-Burlando-Presidente.

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The Cinque Terre National Park…in Disarray

You know I love Italy. And because of that, its exasperating bureaucracy and inability to purge corruption from its civil servants “cuts my heart” (as people say here). The current scandal rocking the Cinque Terre National Park is a good example of persistent corruption. (I’ll talk bureaucracy in my next post.) Here’s a sidebar I just added to the next edition of my guidebook on the region:

Since its creation in 1999, the Cinque Terre National Marine Park has brought lots of good things to the area: money (visitors pay about €5 a day to hike the trails), new regulations to protect wildlife, and improved walkways, trails, beaches, breakwaters, and docks. There are park-sponsored information centers and even tiny folk museums.

The vision of the park was exciting ‘ everyone united and thinking creatively for the good of nature, the local communities, and their many visitors. The park administrators were well on their way to creating something truly unique in Europe. But, as is so often the case in Italy, the men entrusted to lead were corrupted by power and money. And, rather than stop them, many of those under the park leaders scrambled to win their favor and get in on the job security and easy money. The result is a vision in shambles and a park in disarray.

The park was run by its president, Franco Bonanini, a powerful man ‘ nicknamed “The Pharaoh” for his grandiose visions. In a personal visit a couple years ago, he conned me into thinking he really was a visionary committed to the region and its precious park.

But Bonanini created a medieval-style system of favorites and enemies, with the help of Riomaggiore’s mayor, and others. Starting and stopping construction projects, funneling money here and there, and extorting people to preserve their power, this cabal derailed the park vision. In 2011 they were removed from power, but the damage had been done. The good ideas of the park (info offices, baggage deposits, mountain-bike opportunities, little museums, elevators for the infirm, and even maintenance of the trails) have been scuttled.

Today, Bonanini is out of power, and the park’s run by a man from the central government whose vision for a fix, it seems, is to run the park as a business. But a park is a park, not a business. Ironically ‘ and sadly, for the residents ‘ using the park to wring money out of visitors while giving little back is not good for the livelihoods of the region’s hard-working residents. So, for 2012, no one knows exactly how the park will or will not be functioning. Thankfully, the villages and dramatic land between them are bigger than any corrupt modern-day pharaoh. For the latest on the park, see www.parconazionale5terre.it.

What does all this mean to the visitor? Not much. The Cinque Terre is still my favorite stretch of Mediterranean coastline. The people are endearing. The food, culture, and nature are uniquely enjoyable. I just thrill at the thought of people working together for a grand and noble vision that helps a community’s economy by wisely treating a park as a park, rather than making a park a business. And so far, the Cinque Terre has failed in that regard.

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A Lonely Train Ride to Rome

Riding the four-hour train from La Spezia to Rome was actually lonely. Paying extra to get away from crowds was entirely unnecessary. Thumbing through my Cinque Terre book, now filled with its changes for the 2012 edition, was like a celebration. I learned so much in four days in paradise, and it’s all massaged into the new edition.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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Chatting with Chef Claudio in Vernazza

While Vernazza is inundated with tourists in the middle of the day, by 10 p.m. it’s nearly a ghost town ‘ just a stray cat, the village wanderer, and the boys at the restaurant winding up a hard day of serving great food. Chef Claudio at Gambero Rosso sends his best wishes to all the Americans who keep this town employed.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.