Italy’s famous ‘Love Path’ reopens after more than 12 years

CNN
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One of the world’s most famous and romantic trails — Italy’s Via dell’Amore (“Love Path”) — will reopen on Saturday, July 27, after a lengthy renovation and a total investment of more than $24 million, Italy’s tourism ministry announced Friday.

The 900-metre (2,950-foot) panoramic seaside road is located in the municipality of Riomaggiore, in the northern region of Liguria in the heart of the natural paradise of Cinque Terre, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.

The road has been closed since September 2012 after a landslide injured four Australian tourists.

Reopening the trail was extremely complicated due to its precarious location on the edge of the cliff. It posed an engineering challenge due to its precarious position carved into the rock between the sky and the sea, the Ministry of Tourism said in a press release sent to CNN.

Restoration work began on January 14, 2022 and was completed on July 19, 2024. Specialized companies worked on site using helicopters to transport materials and install stainless steel mesh and deep bolts, and rock climbers moved equipment up the walls suspended from ropes and steel cables to special anchors.

The total investment amounted to approximately 24 million euros (about 26 million dollars) divided between several ministries in Italy.

The trail will be managed by the Municipality of Riomaggiore as an open-air museum.

From July 27 to August 8, the trail will be open exclusively to residents of the Cinque Terre as well as Levanto and La Spezia, former residents and owners of second homes in the municipality of Riomaggiore and their families.

Starting August 9, the route will also be available to tourists. Visitors will have to book in advance on the website www.viadellamore.info (still under construction) and pay an entrance fee. Fee is 10 Euros (about $11). Guides will be present during visits.

Entry will be limited to a maximum of 400 people per hour, divided into groups of 100 people every 15 minutes, Riomaggiore municipality said on its website on Friday.

Tourists will enter from Riomaggiore towards Manarola via a one-way road.

The “Love Path” was officially opened on Friday evening by government officials and local authorities.

“It is a source of great pride for us to be able to return Via dell’Amore, in all its beauty, character and complete safety, to the population, Ligurians and tourists from all over the world,” said Giacomo Giampedroni, Commissioner for Safety Works.

Giampedroni said the Liguria region financed and was responsible for the work to restore the integrity of the track.

“It was a complex and fascinating task, carried out just like restoring a priceless work of art, with the utmost protection and respect for the surrounding environment,” Giampedrone said.

“My invitation to you is to come to Liguria to enjoy the Street of Love: let yourself be dazzled by this unique place, suspended between sky and sea, set in the rock, in the heart of a natural paradise. You will be dazzled by its beauty.”