Flooding devastates Italy’s charming Cinque Terre

  • By Rick Steves
  • Friday, November 18, 2011 3:18pm
  • Life

While hitchhiking in Switzerland 32 years ago, I met two American college girls. They were studying in Florence, and I asked them their favorite place in Italy. They surprised me by naming a place I had never heard of before: the Cinque Terre.

Curious, I headed south and discovered a humble string of five villages along Italy’s Riviera coast with almost no tourism and, it seemed, almost no contact with the modern world. I fell in love with this stretch of Mediterranean coastline and have returned almost every year since.

On Oct. 25 a freakishly intense rainstorm ripped through the region and inflicted serious damage on the Cinque Terre towns of Monterosso and Vernazza. Torrents of water rampaged from the surrounding mountains into town, carrying with it tons of mud and debris.

Massive flooding destroyed homes and businesses, and landslides filled the streets with rocks, dirt, and debris up to 12 feet deep. Entire ground floors were buried.

Photos and videos of the devastation show storefronts ripped off and fishing boats crumbled on rocks. The images of spindly, pastel Vernazza buried in rubble were especially difficult to look at. I’ve been there so many times that I actually think of it as a person. I believe I know more people in Vernazza than in all of Spain. After the disaster, the town looked like a crime scene. I felt as if I’d lost a friend — as if nature had murdered someone I loved.

For some, it did. At least six people died in the flash floods, and several are missing.

In one heartbreaking account on the Save Vernazza website (savevernazza.com), Valentino Giannoni recalls the tense hours in his father’s gelato shop as he did everything he could to keep his wife and 3-year-old son above the rising tide. They survived, but Valentino’s father was swept away while trying to keep the flood from consuming his family.

One of my staff members was also in Vernazza at the time. She and her family were eating pesto pasta when water started seeping into the restaurant.

As the water level rose, everyone migrated into another room and took refuge on tabletops while several people held their bodies against the door to try to keep the water from raging in.

As the group waited for the storm to subside, they started to smell gas. The floodwaters had ripped the restaurant’s stove from the wall, leaving an exposed gas connection. As she recounted, they didn’t know if they were going to drown or die in an explosion.

After more than two hours, the floodwaters receded momentarily (likely slowed by a pile-up of jumbled, overturned cars in the ravine), allowing everyone in the restaurant to escape to higher ground. Shortly thereafter, the rain increased, and the river rose even higher, pushing everything in its path into the sea.

My staff member and her family ended up at Al Castello restaurant, where the owners provided food for about 100 tourists and townspeople. Later that evening, the owners of the Gianni Franzi hotel took them in. They were evacuated by boat the next morning.

Emergency responders have been working nonstop since the disaster and have made a lot of progress clearing the streets. I’ve heard from many friends in the region.

The communities of Vernazza and Monterosso are in for a bleak, backbreaking winter of digging out and rebuilding, but they are determined to come back. One hotelier in Monterosso has promised to fix the damage in time to welcome our first tour group next year, in March.

I’ll be back too. One of my favorite rituals in Vernazza is to walk the main drag at midnight, from top to bottom. In ancient times, a stream rushed down the middle of this street.

One time, generations ago, the stream was put under the pavement. But it still flows, draining water from the terraced vineyards that surround the town on three sides.

At one point, you can actually hear the soft sounds of water flowing beneath the road, from vineyards to the sea. It’s strange to imagine that within the course of a few hours, this underground rivulet turned into a roaring river that claimed lives.

When people ask me what they can do to help, I tell them to keep the Cinque Terre in their travel dreams. Like I do almost every year, I’ll be traveling here next spring to do some filming and update my guidebook.

Witnessing the damage, and the progress, firsthand will be both inspirational and bittersweet. Most of all, I look forward to taking that midnight stroll, stream trickling underneath my feet, just like I have for the past 30 years.

Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at rick@ricksteves.com and follow his blog on Facebook.

&Copy; 2011 Rick Steves distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Children play and look up at a large whale figure hanging from the ceiling at the Imagine Children’s Museum (Olivia Vanni / The herald)
Fun for all ages: The best places for family adventures

From thrilling activities to relaxing outings, here’s where to make unforgettable family memories!

Everett P. Fog, 15, in front of an Everett mural along Colby Avenue on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Hello, Everett! No escape when your name is same as the town

Everett P. Fog, 15, sees and hears his first name wherever he goes. His middle name is also epic.

Jared Meads takes a breath after dunking in an ice bath in his back yard while his son Fallen, 5, reads off the water temperature on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Chill out: Dive into the cold plunge craze

Plungers say they get mental clarity and relief for ails in icy water in tubs, troughs and clubs.

Schack exhibit to highlight Camano Island watercolorists

“Four Decades of Friendship: John Ebner & John Ringen” will be on display Jan. 16 through Feb. 9.

XRT Trim Adds Rugged Features Designed For Light Off-Roading
Hyundai Introduces Smarter, More Capable Tucson Compact SUV For 2025

Innovative New Convenience And Safety Features Add Value

Sequoia photo provided by Toyota USA Newsroom
If Big Is Better, 2024 Toyota Sequoia Is Best

4WD Pro Hybrid With 3-Rows Elevates Full-Size

2025 Toyota Land Cruiser (Provided by Toyota).
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser revives its roots

After a 3-year hiatus, the go-anywhere SUV returns with a more adventurous vibe.

Enjoy the wilderness in the CX-50. Photo provided by Mazda USA Newsroom
2025 Mazda CX-50 Adds Hybrid Capability to Turbo Options

Line-Up Receives More Robust List Of Standard Equipment

Practical And Functional bZ4X basks in sunshine. Photo provided by Toyota Newsroom.
2024 bZ4X Puts Toyota Twist On All-Electric SUV’s

Modern Styling, Tech & All-Wheel Drive Highlight

Photo provided by Mazda USA Newsroom
2025 Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus Hatch Delivers Value

Plus Functionality of AWD And G-Vectoring

2025 Mazda CX-90 Turbo SUV (Provided by Mazda)
2025 CX-90 Turbo models get Mazda’s most powerful engine

Mazda’s largest-ever SUV is equipped to handle the weight, with fuel efficiency kept in check.

Provided by Bridges Pets, Gifts, & Water Gardens.
Discover where to find the best pet supplies in town

Need the perfect store to spoil your furry friends? Herald readers have you covered.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.