The Cinque Terre National Park is a Italy’s first national park in 1999. Located in the region of La Spezia, Liguria, northern Italy, it is the littlest national park in Italy at 4,300 acres, but also the densest with 5,000 permanent occupant among the five towns. In addition to the enclave of the towns of Cinque Terre, the Cinque Terre National Park circle parts of the communes of Levanto (Punta Mesco) and La Spezia (Campiglia Sunsets). Cinque Terre was enclosed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
Cinque Terre National Park, which is part of the Unesco World Heritage, has indirect and beneficial features which are essential to safeguard: extend coasts over the sea with bays and small beaches, thousands of kilometers of dry-stone walls enclosing the terraces where vineyards are polished, the unique rural buildings, the medieval quarters, the sanctuaries, the panoramic trails over the sea and the slopes. If you consider the precious Ligurian wines, the fresh fish, the cuisine, and the traditional craftsmanship, you will acknowledge the value of these places.
The collection of five cliff-side towns on the Ligurian Coast linked by a series of trails highlights a delicate relationship between man and the environment. As modification of the landscape has been so vital for the area’s development and tourist industry, the National Park is an essential tool in preserving and preserve the natural landscape while build up feasible tourism that vital to the economic success of Cinque Terre. To achieve its objectives, the Park management encourages the development of responsible tourism, able therefore to invest in the identity of the places and the territory’s products, and thus save its endless heritage of terracing, now threatened.
These are placed along the trail by lovers who want to show they are “locked” in love with each other and will never part. I’m not sure how many come back to this place after the “never” part doesn’t work out, but the locks are still a lovely sight.