Green Blue Path (Sentiero Verde Azzurro): one-way on the Monterosso-Vernazza stretch during the weekend for the Anniversary of Italy’s Liberation
From 22 to 25 April, from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m., one-way traffic on the SVA path from Monterosso to Vernazza confirmed and path management measures defined
One-way access will be adopted from next weekend on the Green Blue path, in the stretch from Monterosso to Vernazza. The restriction will only apply during certain time slots that registered significant peaks in crowding over the past Easter weekend.
Entrance to the path will be allowed from 22 to 25 April, in the time slot from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m., only with access from Monterosso.
Technical inspections, performed at the beginning of the weekend, defined the details of the one-way access to the Monterosso — Vernazza stretch of the Green Blue path announced last week, with a view to the high number of people expected over the forthcoming weekend, to improve the use of the hiking trail. From Saturday 22 to Tuesday 25 April, the Cinque Terre National Park is introducing it on an experimental basis as an initial measure to manage flows, and it will only affect the central hours of the day, in the time slot from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.
The initiative adopted arises from the twofold need to meet the requests of the operators of the Park’s reception centres and of the staff working on the paths. This because, during the last Easter weekend, they had to deal with the inconveniences caused by the high number of visitors on this stretch of the Blue Path and will make it possible to reinforce the control of presences by regulating access.
The coordination of the garrisons on the path network, directed by the Park, will see the presence on all stretches, in particular on the Green Blue one, of the women and men of the Cinque Terre Park Carabinieri Department, the Voluntary Ecological Guards of the Province of La Spezia, volunteers from the National Carabinieri Association, the Italian Alpine Club, and the Mountain Rescue Service, as well as the Park’s employees in charge of the protection on the paths of the ATI 5 Terre Consortium.
During today’s meeting, with the attendance of President Bianchi and Director Scarpellini, the control and coordination procedure was defined, in anticipation of the 25 April long weekend. This is the access management mechanism that will promote effectiveness and efficiency also in terms of the intervention timing of the rescue teams, in the event of accidents or injuries.
Controlled access will also allow real-time verification, control and management of the passages already controlled by the people counters on the main paths.
The first control at the entrance of the Green Blue path will take place from Monterosso, with two garrisons, one near the historical centre (in the former railway signal box) and the other in Corone, when the Park’s information point is already present. On the Vernazza side, the garrisons will be installed along the three access points to the path in the main street of the village (Via Roma) and at the Park’s information point in Lama.
The Green Blue Monterosso Vernazza path, while waiting for the reopening of Via dell’Amore and the Manarola-Corniglia stretch of coastline, remains the favourite destination for most excursionists, who choose the Cinque Terre for their holidays. It is an evocative stretch of coastline of about 4 km, entirely facing the sea, characterised in some places by narrow passages and high steepness.
Access to the stretch will therefore only be allowed with departure from Monterosso and exit at Vernazza, in the time slot from 10 a.m. to 2.00 p.m., to avoid the crossing of flow of walkers that could cause critical situations if they were gathered during the busiest time slot.
Prevention, awareness, control and protection are the key words related to the initiative introduced by the Park, following the analysis of the flows recorded by the monitoring systems during the previous Easter holidays, as well as of the peak of presences detected on this stretch and the forecast of arrivals for the upcoming long weekends. Information aimed at the enhancement of alternative routes will also be focused on. The information service will be then reinforced to assist and guide visitors towards the different excursion itineraries.
Safety remains the main objective and will also be ensured by checks on appropriate clothing and footwear at the main path entrances. It will be provided by the Park’s Foresters, the Voluntary Ecological Guards, the La Spezia CAI, the volunteers of the National Carabinieri Association, and the ATI 5 Terre Park operators. The latter are already present in all the information points at the Cinque Terre railway stations, including La Spezia and Levanto.
The La Spezia Mountain and Speleological Rescue Service will, as always, be busy with its teams, trained to operate with medical personnel even in accessible areas. This is to prevent and intervene in the events of accidents throughout the Park’s hiking network.
On the other stretch of the SVA path from Corniglia to Vernazza, hiking will be allowed in both directions, as well as on the Park’s entire path network, which includes about 130 km of coastline, hillside and ridge trails, as well as their vertical connections: a real gateway to the mosaic of the protected area’s scenic and natural beauty, to be tackled with awareness of your abilities, appropriate clothing and respect for the habitats and the work of the farmers.
