Appeal to Save the Cinque Terre

Like many passionate admirers of Italy’s priceless Cinque Terre coastline with its outstanding balance of natural environment and human intervention, we were appalled to learn of a project that will severely blight the foreshore along the “Sentiero Azzurro” that links the villages of Corniglia and Manarola (situated in the boroughs of Vernazza and Riomaggiore). The project has already received preliminary authorisation, and envisages the construction of a residential complex consisting of 42 apartments, plus restaurant, bar, and swimming-pool, occupying a total of 6,000 cubic metres and stretching for some 250 metres along what is currently a public esplanade.

This monstrous structure – which clashes drastically with the harmonious chain of tiny cliff-top villages and stepped vineyards – is scheduled to occupy the disused railway track, which was sold in 2003 by the Italian State Railways to a private realtor for the paltry sum of €195,000 ($258,000, £173,000), without any of the relative local authorities intervening to purchase the property for the purpose of conserving it and upholding its present use as a public footpath.

To our dismay, those local authorities and bodies – which include the National Heritage Ministry, the board of the Cinque Terre Park, and the municipal, regional, and provincial authorities of nearby La Spezia, and not least the councils of Riomaggiore and Vernazza (in whose constituencies the stretch of land lies) – have given their general agreement on the proposed construction. Opposing the project is a body of citizens who, together with the environmental association Verdi Ambiente e Società (V.A.S.), have begun legal action in the magistrate’s court in Liguria, and so far obtained an annulment of the said authorisation, successfully blocking work for the time being. In reaction, the authorities and private investors involved have lodged an appeal with the courts, and it now rests with the Council of State to deliberate the matter during the coming months.

There can be no question that the planned construction would irreversibly mar a significant stretch of this unique coastline, worsening the precarious natural balance of a hillside location that is already prone to landslides. It would also mean depriving the public of access to this historic pathway. The authorisation for the scheme is even more incongruous in light of the fact that the entire Cinque Terre district is subject to multiple environmental restrictions. Since 1997 the five villages and environs have been listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site; since 1998 the entire stretch of coast was declared a protected area; and in 1999 the constitution of a National Park secured the area’s conservation as a natural reserve.

Although UNESCO has been alerted and is monitoring the situation in response to the publication of numerous articles in newspapers and sector journals (including the Giornale di Architettura), and to the countless appeals filed by common citizens and environmental organisations, our great concern is that the necessary measures to safeguard this outstanding heritage will not be implemented, or will arrive too late to prevent irreparable damage being done to the coast.

Given that the response from the relative environmental protection bodies has been totally inept, and the possible devastation of the territory has been drastically underestimated, it is now urgent to raise greater public awareness and take action on the issue so as to press the regional and national authorities to critically re-examine the situation. Furthermore, it is has become paramount that the European Parliament and UNESCO intervene in the matter – which is the basis of this appeal for your signature and participation.

Your interest and involvement is of critical importance to ensure that the appeal gathers momentum and is heard by those empowered with decision, and we therefore ask you to sign our appeal.

Write your surname and name, profession, city, country, and email address. For address, cap-zip code and province, just write a dash.

Cinque Terre, September 29, 2008

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