In the village of Vernazza in Cinque Terre National Park, Italy

 "...There's a long, long trail a-winding

Into the land of my dreams,
Where the nightingales are singing
And the white moon beams.
There's a long, long night of waiting
Until my dreams all come true...."
-- (lyrics from a popular World War I song)
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(in Italy) The Italian Riviera features dozens of towns and villages but none are as famous as Cinque Terre (literally meaning "Five Lands"), which is made up of five UNESCO protected fishing villages within Cinque Terre National Park. Each one is nestled into the rugged hillside, and bordered on the west by the Mediterranean Sea. Set amid some of the most dramatic coastal scenery on the planet, Cinque Terre's five fishing villages can bolster the most jaded of spirits. Sinuous paths traverse seemingly impregnable cliff sides, while a 19th-century railway line conveys people from one village to another.

+ Rooted in antiquity, Cinque Terre's villages date from the early medieval period. While much of this fetching vernacular architecture remains, Cinque Terre's unique historical draw is the steeply terraced cliffs, bisected by a complicated system of fields and gardens that have been hacked, chiselled, shaped, and layered over the course of nearly two millennia.

+ The Cinque Terre lie in the west of La Spezia Province, and comprise five villages: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over the centuries, people have built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the Ligurian Sea.

+ The Italian Riviera is not short of rugged coastline or romantic towns and villages, but the fishing communities of the Cinque Terre are its most iconic highlight. Tucked away in a particularly mountainous kink at the eastern end of the Riviera, the villages were shaped by their profound isolation. Though the villages are no longer the isolated hamlets they once were, there is still a feeling of authenticity here, with well preserved architecture and a network of stunning coastal and mountain trails.

+ Depicted here, is the village of Vernazza in Cinque Terre National Park: Even in Italy, a land of many wonders, Cinque Terre National Park is unique.

+ History is alive in the park's villages, which are replete with ancient churches, castles, and homes that line narrow streets and squares. Trains arrive from La Spezia, which is serviced by all long-distance routes on the Pisa-Genoa line. Ferries embark from La Spezia, Lerici, and Porto Venere; connecting boats serve each of the five villages with the exception of Corniglia.