Lardarina Staircase & Via alla Stazione
The Lardarina is not just a means of getting up to Corniglia — it is one of the most photogenic approaches in the Cinque Terre, a broad, bougainvillea-draped stairway of 382 terracotta-edged steps that rises steeply from the train station through terraced lemon groves and olive trees. By the time you reach the top, lungs burning, the sea behind you is already a postcard.
The Climb
The staircase is divided into ramps separated by small landings where stone benches invite you to stop, catch your breath and look back at the turquoise water below. Each landing offers a slightly higher, slightly more dramatic slice of the coastline.
The surrounding terraces are planted with Vernaccia grapes, the local white variety used to make Sciacchetrà, the prized Cinque Terre dessert wine. In September and October you may catch the harvest in progress — small tractors and hand-picking teams working the near-vertical slopes.
History and Character
The name Lardarina is thought to derive from the Ligurian dialect word for a long, narrow passage. The steps themselves date back centuries and were the only land connection between the village and the outside world before the railway arrived in 1874.
Local children still race up and down these steps to school, and elderly residents descend them with the casual confidence of mountain goats, a reminder that in Corniglia, vertical is simply the default direction of travel.
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