The Built Landscape of the Cinque Terre

This paper addresses a case study of the Cinque Terre, whose territory, thanks to the condition of geographical marginality that has characterized the area for centuries, has been slowly shaped by man over time, giving birth to a particular landscape. Thanks to this particularity, the Cinque Terre area was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. In 1999, this was followed by the creation of the Cinque Terre National Park, with the goal of managing and preserving the landscape. Soon after, the site began to be known worldwide as a main tourist destination. As a consequence, the slow pace of evolution through which the landscape had been built gave way to a fast metamorphosis of the individual places. This paper discusses the contemporary paradoxes which have ensued in the Cinque Terre in relation to the UNESCO nomination, the transformations which affect the places due to the increase in tourist flows, and the role a project might have in this context.