Monterosso and Vernazza were the first two villages which sprang up in the 11th century among the set of five in present times connected by narrow cliffside natural trails which are collectively known as Cinque Terre literally meaning five towns lying across the Ligurian Riviera which wasn’t connected externally till recently by vehicular road and were dependent on only mules & water at first and through railways at a later stage of its development. The other three human settlements (Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore) shaped themselves during the military and political supremacy of the Republic of Genoa which are also responsible for the development of Corsica from around 1300 to 1700. The attacks of the Turks in the 16th century forced the local population to reinforce their old forts and built new defence towers which subsequently also led to the decline of the settlement on a comparative scale till the 19th century when railways connected it with other parts of the region which allowed people to escape the isolation of their region

on one hand leading eventually towards

the abandonment of the local traditional activities in some healthy manner on the other.