HISTORY: The first information about Vernazza dates back to 1080, where, in a document, the settlement Vernatio is cited as the maritime base of the House of Obertenghi, a prominent noble family in the Middle Ages. Read More [...]
With the increase in commercial traffic and the development of the marina, the village soon became part of the expansive Republic of Genoa, which made Vernazza one of its main coastal bases for the commercial, political and, above all, the territorial conquest of the Ligurian Levant.
Vernazza was part of the First French Empire between 1805 and 1814, being included in the Department of the Apennines. In 1815, it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia, as established by the Congress of Vienna of 1814, and subsequently into the Kingdom of Italy, starting with 1861.
On October 25, 2011, Vernazza was struck by heavy rainfall, massive floods and mudslides, which caused over 100 million € worth of damage to the historical center of the town.
GEOGRAPHY: Today, Vernazza is a town of about 850 inhabitants in the province of La Spezia, part of the Italian region of Liguria. Together with Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia and Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza is included in the Cinque Terre National Park, a protected area recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, in 1997. Read More [...]
Vernazza is located about 12 kilometers northwest of Riomaggiore, 25 kilometers northwest of La Spezia, 47 kilometers southeast of Sestri Levante, 85 kilometers southeast of Portofino and Camogli, 100 kilometers southeast of Genoa and about the same distance northwest of Pisa, 165 kilometers northwest of Florence, 200 kilometers west of Bologna, 225 kilometers south of Milan, and about 240 kilometers southeast of Turin.
TRANSPORT: The closest airports are the Galileo Galilei Airport, the main airport of Tuscany, located about 110 kilometers southeast, in Pisa, and the Cristoforo Colombo International Airport, in Genoa, located about 115 kilometers northwest. Read More [...]
You can get to Vernazza by train, coming from the southeast, from La Spezia, or from the northwest, from Genoa. From La Spezia, a train ticket costs 2.70€ during the off-season and 5.00€ during the high-season (April 1st-November 6th), and the trip takes about 20 minutes. From Genoa, the cheapest ticket costs 10.70€ and the trip takes between one hour and a half and two hours.
If you plan to see all the villages of Cinque Terre during the high-season, you should consider buying the Cinque Terre Train Card, which gives you access to the hiking trails in the area, together with unlimited train trips on the Cinque Terre Express trains on the Levanto - Cinque Terre - La Spezia line. The card costs 18.20€ for 1 day, 33.00€ for 2 days, and 47.00€ for 3 days. During the off-season, the hiking trails are free, and the train tickets are cheaper.
LANDMARKS: Vernazza is a small seaside village, and the main tourist attractions are gathered within a few hundred meters. In Vernazza, you can visit the picturesque marina, the Doria Castle, the Church of Santa Margherita di Antiochia, or you can relax on the small rocky beach of the town.
