As I laced up my shoes and set out this morning for a five mile run over this beautiful bridge not far from my house, I thought about whether I should pack my running shoes for our Italy shoot this time. I took my running shoes with me on our last trip to the Cinque Terre. While we were there the last time, I discovered a beautiful bridge I kept eyeing as a great potential running route. But between our very tight schedule and all the wine research (yes, I said research! We are doing a film on a traditional winemaking culture, remember?), I never did go for a run. And I didn’t have to. The residents of the Cinque Terre are all in fantastic shape. One local man joked with us about how everyone who lives there has “gambe grande,” or “great legs.”
Here’s why they all have such great legs:
These are just some of the steps to our house. I think there were 187 (Sharon counted) of these very steep, narrow steps up to our apartment.
The steps are all connected with a series of beautiful alleyways. This alley leads to the steps to our house, shown above.
Here’s Sharon on the way down. I’m not sure you can truly appreciate the incline from these photos, but let’s just say we got quite a workout! Especially carrying gear! It’s no wonder that the park office has established a program for the younger generations to help out the elderly, carrying groceries and things up to their houses for them.
Elevators are rare in the Cinque Terre, although we did see one that takes you to the Via dell’Amore, the one structured path that connects the town of Riomaggiore to the town of Manarola. But elevators up to residences? Not so much. I wish I had a photo of us upon arrival, standing on the street at the bottom of the “hill” in Riomaggiore with all of our bags and gear, looking up. No cars, no elevators, just lots and lots of steps!
Here we are on the balcony of our apartment the day we arrived in 2008. That view is definitely worth the climb – it was cloudy that day, but the vineyards are visible just behind the buildings in the background and the sea is out of frame to the left. I think I will bring my running shoes after all – not for that beautiful bridge, although maybe I’ll squeeze it in this time. But definitely for running up and down those fantastic steps!
Salute!
Krista
