Of the Cinque Terre, Monterosso is the most well known and the last of the five villages. It is about thirty kilometres from the city of La Spezia. The village faces a sort of gulf that is closed to the north by Punta Mesco and is surrounded by terraced ledges constructed aside the hills that descend towards the sea. An area whose form and structure have been profoundly modified throughout the centuries by several generations of inhabitants and are today transformed into a paradise where lemon trees, olive trees and the famed grape vines are grown that produce schiacchetrà, a fragrant after dinner white wine, renowned the world over.
From the seaside promenade there is a view of the beautiful Fegina beach that is perfectly integrated into the new part of Monterosso.
From the beach, towards the eastern part of the medieval hamlet, you will discover, along the coast, the entrance to the Sentiero Azzurro. This is a sort of enchanted panoramic terrace from which there are, in erratic but harmonic succession, unforgettable views of grottoes, coves, reefs, small beaches and rocky cliffs that plunge into the crystal clear sea.
At sundown looking from the village towards the horizon where the mountains and the sea become one, you will see, sometimes through veiled clouds, the red rays of the sun as they illuminate the mountains while finding, behind them, a hiding place for the night. It is believed by some that the name Monterosso (Mons Ruper) derives from this daily event, others believe it comes from the colour of the local rocks.