RIOMAGGIORE, Riomaggiore

Hi, my name’s Marcy, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: Riomaggiore.

Riomaggiore stretches out along the steep valley of the former Rio Major torrent that gives the little village its name. Some time ago, the torrent was covered over, and where it once flowed is now the main street of the village.

Riomaggiore was founded towards the end of the first millennium. Before that, the coasts of Liguria were overrun with Turkish pirates, so the people lived up in the hills for fear of falling prey to them. It was not until Genoa became a major seafaring power that the seas here became safer and villages began to spring up along the coastline.

All the villages were fortified, however, because the risk posed by piracy remained high, so in 1260, a small castle – now seat of the local government – was also built in Riomaggiore....