The Cinque Terre is a jagged stretch of coastline of the Ligurian Riviera of Levante in the province of La Spezia, between Punta Mesco and Punta di Montenero, where you'll find five (cinque) villages or as they were called in ancient times "terre", listed here from west to east: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore. Thanks to the geographical and anthropogenic features, the Cinque Terre are one of the main tourist attractions of the La Spezia Riviera, and Liguria in general, for their hilly terrain, naturally harsh and rugged, mellowed by the building of terraces for cultivating the land, that slopes down steeply to the sea. The villages follow the natural curves of the hillsides rising from the tiny inlets washed by the sea.