Why is Carrara marble so white? Whose statue stands in nearly every Italian town?

For the answers, follow me and local guide Boris to Colonnata, a village high in northern Italy’s Apuan Alps above the city of Carrara, famous for its pure white marble. Think, Michelangelo’s David, Da Vinci’s Pieta, etc. Then we’ll explore Manarola and Corniglia, the two remaining mountain towns in Part Two of our Hiking the Cinque Terre series.

Carrara and Colonnata are in Tuscany, about two hours from Porto Venere and Cinque Terre. The winding road above the Ligurian Sea, called the Napoleonic Road because it was built during Napoleon’s time, leads to a freeway to La Spezia and Carrara, both major cities. We pass by a municipal park where Boris points out an equestrian statue. “Who can guess whose statue that is?”

“Garibaldi!” everyone answers. Giuseppe Garibaldi, the famous general instrumental in the unification of Italy in 1861, is the correct answer to just about every question Boris asks about Italian history.

Colonnata, a medieval village with steep streets and a classic town square, sits at the end of another winding narrow mountain road. From here we trek to the top of a small mountain with views of old and new quarries on distant peaks. The narrow path is formed with large stone steps set in packed earth, not loose rock that will trip the unwary. It winds in a forest of huge chestnut trees above a forest floor thick with ferns and wildflowers -- yellow cinquefoils, pink clovers and the tiny blue forget-me-not, called “nonti-descardare-dimi” in Italian.

Surmounting the little mountain, we’re rewarded with views of quarries on distant “snow-covered” peaks. But it isn’t snow; it’s the bare white marble cliff, stripped of vegetation, where marble has been quarried out since Roman times. That prized white color is due to its pure calcium carbonate composition, Boris says.

Take a full day to hike Manarola and Corniglia, the last two towns of the Five Terre.

A motor coach drops us off in Manarola, at the top of a medieval winding steep “main street.”  We amble downhill as the town begins to wake up to the tourists assembling in the town square and the rocky shore with its little cove, not yet full of swimmers. Local Guide Francesca points her hiking pole across the cove to a high rocky point and announces, “We begin our hike uphill to the village of Volastra. It should take an hour and a half. Those who do not wish to hike to Volastra can take the local mini-bus (2.5 Euros, about $4) and meet us there. Then we walk down to Corniglia for lunch.” 

The itinerary describes this trek as ‘through the most beautiful vineyards in Italy.”  Generations of grape growers have carved terraces from sheer rock that rises three hundred yards straight above the ocean. Although we walk these paths for fun, locals walk them daily for work.

The views are gorgeous. But it’s hard to admire the views when watching where to put one’s feet or dodging oncoming or passing foot traffic. Nevertheless, this is the quintessential Cinque Terre experience, the “Rick Steves” moment.

Francesca stops to point out little Corniglia below, perched atop a cliff. “It’s the only Cinque Terre town not with a sea entrance,” she says

We walk out of the vineyards, redolent of honeysuckle and Scotch broom, and into a massive sun-dappled forest of mixed conifers, evergreen oak and wildflowers. Two hours later, we stagger into Corniglia.

A deli serves a take-away of lasagne for half a restaurant price. Find a bench along the narrow street to enjoy it before hopping a train for a short ride to the city of La Spezia and our waiting motor coach that returns us to Porto Venere. 

For your Rick Steves moment in the Cinque Terre, check out Road Scholar online at roadscholar.org.

Next time: Summer solstice hiking adventures in England’s Lake District.

Yvonne Lanelli shares outdoor adventures around the world every two weeks exclusively in Vámonos.