Liguria

The village of Vernazza in the Cinque Terre (‘five lands’), in Liguria in northern Italy. The Cinque Terre is a series of five villages on an inaccessible part of the coast of the Italian Riviera.

The village of Riomaggiore, one of the Cinque Terre (‘five lands’) villages on the Ligurian coast in northern Italy. The medieval houses lean on one another, creating deep narrow walkways. Nearby is a vineyard that produces good white wine.

Region of northwest Italy, lying between the western Alps and the Gulf of Genoa in the Mediterranean, comprising the provinces of Genova, Imperia, La Spezia, and Savona; area 5,421 sq km/2,093 sq mi; population (2001 est) 1,560,800. It is a generally mountainous region, with a steep, narrow coastal strip that includes the Italian Riviera. Genoa is the chief city and port.

Economy The region includes the popular resorts of the Italian Riviera and tourism is very important. Industries include shipbuilding, heavy engineering, horticulture, and the production of chemicals, metals, and textiles. Liguria contains only small areas of flat land, but what little agriculture there is takes advantage of the south-facing slopes and mild climate. Flowers are grown around San Remo (mostly for use in making perfume), olives at Imperia, and vegetables near Genoa and Savona. Road communications are enhanced by a spectacular motorway, the Autostrada dei Fiori, which runs along the coast.

History The region gets its name from the pre-Roman settlers the Ligurians (or Ligurii). By the 16th century Genoa controlled almost all of present-day Liguria, and the area grew into an imposing commercial centre. Liguria was seized by France in 1798, but was given to Piedmont-Sardinia by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. It played a major role in the movement to unite Italy in the latter part of the 18th century.