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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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TRAVEL NEWS

Aarhus Airport to get easier connections with new code-sharing deal

Passengers travelling from Aarhus Airport using Scandinavian airline SAS are likely to find more convenient onwards connections from September.

Published: 16 July 2024 15:49 CEST
Aarhus Airport to get easier connections with new code-sharing deal

Convenient connections to European hub airports in Amsterdam and Paris will become easier to find from Aarhus Airport from September.

A code-sharing agreement between Scandinavian airline SAS and Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Delta Air Lines means that flight codes from those airlines – and more efficient connections via Copenhagen – will appear at Aarhus, the Jutland airport said in a press release on Tuesday.

The agreement gives Aarhus Airport passengers access to over 1,000 European destinations through so-called SkyTeam network.

For example, the code-sharing networks cuts journey times from Aarhus (via Copenhagen) to Amsterdam Schiphol to 2 hours 50 minutes, and to Paris CDG to 3 hours and 50 minutes.

“We are becoming more global. With only 30 minutes’ driving time from Aarhus, people in the region can save a huge amount of time flying from Aarhus Airport to an impressive number of Air France, KLM or SkyTeam destinations,” the airport’s director Lotta Sandsgaard said in the press release.

The agreement “has great significance for the international business environment in the Aarhus region and in a tourism perspective for a booming sector by attracting travellers from European and overseas markets,” she added.

The SK flight code, one of the codes which will be used at Aarhus under the agreement, is operated by Air France and KLM from their respective hubs. This means destinations including Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes, Porto, Newcastle, Southampton, Cardiff, Venice and Naples as well as Marrakesh, Tunis and Casablanca in North Africa can be booked.

Destinations including Las Vegas, Denver, Seattle, Orlando, Cincinnati, Montreal, Vancouver, Detroit and Salt Lake City and more can also be booked with Air France and KLM to and from Aarhus Airport.

Travellers in Aarhus will also see new connections between SAS and Delta-operated flights to dozens of destinations across the USA and Canada via Delta’s North American network. The deal means they can travel to these destinations with one check-in at Aarhus Airport’s SAS counter.

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