Cinque Terre Coast Line

A cab ride along the Ligurian coast from La Spezia through the five Cinque Terre villages, then past Levanto, Sestri Levante and Rapallo to Recco.

The route

The railway from Genoa to Pisa follows the Ligurian coast for 165 km, and the stretch between Sestri Levante and La Spezia is its hardest part. The Kingdom of Sardinia approved the Ligurian railway by royal decree in 1860. Building it meant fighting landslides and storms, with materials often brought in by sea. Genoa to Chiavari opened in 1868, and the line reached La Spezia from Sestri Levante in 1874.

Between Sestri Levante and La Spezia, 51 tunnels with a combined length of more than 28 km were needed in 44 km of line, together with 23 bridges. The terrain forced a single track at first; the last section to be doubled, Framura to Monterosso, was finished only in 1971, with a new station at Levanto. Many of today's tunnels are long, such as the 3,834 m Biassa tunnel out of La Spezia and the 4,007 m Vallegrande tunnel before Riva Trigoso, and the stations sit in the short gaps between them.

The line was electrified in the 1920s with three-phase current and rebuilt for 3,000 V direct current after the Second World War. RFI owns the track and Trenitalia runs the trains: regional services under contract with the Liguria region, suburban trains from Genoa that terminate at Recco, and long-distance trains on the coast. For the five Cinque Terre villages, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the railway is the everyday link along the coast.

What you will see

The film was shot in December 2022 from the cab of a Hitachi Rock train (FS ETR 521), heading northwest. After La Spezia Centrale the train goes straight into tunnels, including the Biassa tunnel, and comes out at Riomaggiore, the first of the five villages. Manarola, Corniglia and Vernazza follow within a few minutes, each a brief view of houses and sea between tunnels, before Monterosso.

Beyond Monterosso the 3,327 m Mesco tunnel leads to Levanto. The line then passes Bonassola, Framura, Deiva Marina and Moneglia, mostly underground, and runs through the Vallegrande tunnel to Riva Trigoso. The coast opens out at Sestri Levante, and the train continues through Cavi and Lavagna, crosses the Entella river and stops at Chiavari.

The last part follows the Gulf of Tigullio past Zoagli and its viaduct and around the bay of Rapallo to Santa Margherita Ligure–Portofino, then tunnels under the Portofino headland to Camogli. The film ends at Recco, about 55 minutes after leaving La Spezia.

Riding it for real

Trenitalia regional trains run between Genoa and La Spezia and between Sestri Levante and La Spezia, calling at the Cinque Terre stations. The Cinque Terre Treno MS Card gives unlimited 2nd class travel on regional trains between Levanto and La Spezia, along with access to services of the Cinque Terre National Park. Check Trenitalia for current timetables and fares before you travel.

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