History – The Middle Ages (II)

…The matrix of transfers of the people of Vara along the coast is linked to two historical events are common throughout western Europe: population growth and the liberation of the Mediterranean Saracen threat to the Arab-. The coast also had a better climate, best the cultivation of certain products such as the screw el'ulivo. The Cinque Terre are not born, but then as seaside villages as agricultural villages. But to exercise the first farming settlers were forced to completely clean the area with the terracing of the slopes of the mountains. Thus began the characterization of the landscape of Cinque Terre with forms similar to modern ones: extensive terraces planted with vines and olive trees, woods of chestnut trees, forest timber. Commune was thus the origin of the villages was a common lineage Lunigiana, as the Val di Vara was the western part of the territory that had as its capital Luni. After a while’ time that the inhabitants of the Val di Vara had moved on the coast took familiar with marine elements as transport by sea, in the past, was in an absolute cheaper than any other means. The wine produced for sale, in fact, had to be exported far and everything needed to live was to be purchased outside the country.

L'esportazione wine was absolutely necessary because the production was aimed primarily at selling the product and not for meet their needs of life. For this, from the sale of wine only inhabitants of the Cinque Terre were the means to buy food that they could not draw from their campaigns. Become men of the sea meant to be, as well as sailors in the merchant marine, also fishermen and pirates. From that moment the people divided their time between work in the countryside and going to sea, according to their needs and of the alternation of the seasons. This fact is supported by the fact that in 1170 a galley of Vernazza, along with some other villages of the eastern shore, he ran the war on behalf of the Genoese against Pisa. In 1182, also, even men of Vernazza (probably at the time the largest and most populous country) exercised, in peacetime, the war ran on its own, against merchant ships bound for Genoa. The oldest document dates back to memories of the Cinque Terre 1056. E’ the act of March of that year, drawn up to Monterosso, with which the Marquis “Guido Alberto was” donated to the monasteries of Santa Maria and San Venerio, immovable property situated in the islands of Palmaria and Tino Tinetto and Portovenere. This document draws from the certainty of the existence of Monterosso at that time. Vernazza for the oldest document that you remember the name of 1139. One can imagine that the Cinque Terre, before the twelfth century, are nothing but a meeting of poor hovels.

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History – The Middle Ages (In)

The early Middle Ages is characterized by the presence in Liguria Byzantine Church and the consolidation of the organization. The island of Tinos Soviore and become important religious centers. Populations, following the invasions of the Goths and the Saracen, retreated to the hills and mountainous areas where agriculture, practiced even with primitive means, guaranteeing the existence. Until the tenth century, then claimed an organization with major centers pievana (“churches”) located in Marinasco (La Spezia), Pinion and Montale (Levanto). The villages of the Cinque Terre have originated later, eleventh century, when the people of the middle Val di Vara, passed the watershed of the coastal mountains that separated from the sea, came to live permanently near the sea shore, settled in the narrow valleys or on rock outcrops along the existing stretch of coast between the tip and the tip of the Masco Montenero, forming the five countries.

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History – The Roman period

Surely the Ligurian tribes represented a major obstacle to the Roman that it's probably the Romans, reached the eastern limits of the Cinque Terre, gave up a real conquest territory and rugged dell'impervio; instead concentrated their activities in '”Agro Lunense”, the productive lowlands of the river Magra, where there are numerous archaeological- first of all the ancient city of Luni, with its famous amphitheater- Roman place names and land.

It is not unlikely that some of the Augustan age population to abandon the uncomfortable Ligurian mountain village to join in the work of Roman settlers sprang up around farms in Luni. Safe, even the Roman presence in Portovenere (mentioned by Strabo 50 AC), port city is not devoid of villas such as the breast of which are still vestiges Varignano. Finding no material or documentary evidence is instead come down to us to prove any of the towns of Roman origin Cinque Terre, as we know it today. The absence of such evidence can not absolutely deny the possible existence of settlements in the area at that time. Some predict that the Romans, completed the conquest of the Ligurian (177 aC), have used and developed the ancient road prehistoric coastal; you think that this track arise around small towns where they were changing horses, supply and any night of the caravans and travelers. In this context, there is the interpretation of the names of many towns of the Cinque Terre: Volastra, “Vicus oleaster”, il “land of olive trees” built next to one of the post stations; Manarola, “Manium Arula”, la “little altar of Hands”; Corniglia, il &the220;Cornelius fund”; Vernazza, “hibernacula”, maritime station of the Roman fleet. Riomaggiore and Monterosso are derived from the Latin forms in all likelihood “More Rivus” and “Mons Ruber”

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History – The pre-Roman

The first evidence of human presence in the far eastern Liguria are made from the deposits of the Cave of Pigeons Palmaria Island. This is the remains of human burials together with bones and fossils of animals, mixed with

hundreds of artifacts made of flint or jasper red (boxcutters, raschiatoi, arrowheads, etc..) and pieces of bone, especially deer, made-to tips, punteruoli, daggers and ornaments (perforated shells, teeth). Although with many doubts, it was stated that the fossil remains and artifacts belonged to hunters and farmers lived in the Upper Palaeolithic, when the island was still attached to the mainland. Of course, the cave was used for burial purposes in the earlier age of metals (3.000-2000 AC), when the island had already separated. In this period were made by the human remains and shell necklaces found in the upper layers.

The Neolithic (5.000-3000 AC) Instead it is witnessed by polished axes of a particular green stone, the “nephritis”. This is a variety of actinolite, which is in Liguria East at the outcrops of serpentinite (Libiola, Monterosso). All these data suggest that the area was inhabited from the Upper Palaeolithic hunters with permanent or temporary residence in caves or rock shelters; Neolithic is instead due to the development of pastoralism (bovine, ovine, pigs) while it is believed that agriculture (barley, wheat, etc. spelled.) has developed nell'eneolitico. Hunting, favored by extensive forests and environments rich in wild game, represented for millennia, possibly even to Roman times, a primary source of resources. Other events, definitely old, but not easy to date are the menhirs, large stones that were stuck vertically into the ground. One of these is present in the Sunset at the Chapel of S. Antonio and another on the ridge near Mount Capri. According to some scholars have calendar function, while others represented the precursors of the stele-statues, large stones engraved with anthropomorphic representations, widespread throughout the Lunigiana and dating from the Iron Age periods dall'eneolitico. With the Bronze Age (1.400-1.000 AC) states that the social organization “pagense”, common to other sectors of the Ligurian: centers, elementary, “vici”, were gathered in small districts, in “morning”, belonging to “castles”, situated in dominant positions and prevailing for defensive. The castle as close to the Cinque Terre is located on Mount Castellaro (Pinion Valley) and excavations have unearthed a large quantity of vases decorated fragment indicating a stable settlement and important. About the lines of communication used in pre-Roman times has assumed the existence of two main routes: the first from Portovenere halfway across all Cinque Terre and was probably used for transport of materials and activities related to agriculture. The second was to coincide with the ridge and used instead for a faster mobility and hunting. These were connected with the longitudinal axes aligned in the rearmost position castles. The road network does not exclude the existence of some pre-Roman times already landing on the coast of 5 Earth and then the local maritime trade.

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A little’ History of the Cinque Terre…

We decided to publish the story of Cinque Terre, that, as ancient, is little known because of the scarcity of documents found.
There are the first two chapters; it will be published every two weeks a new…

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