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(CNN) — One of the most iconic and romantic trails in the world — Italy’s Via dell’Amore (“Path of Love”) – will reopen Saturday, July 27, after a lengthy refurbishment and an overall investment of more than $24 million, the Italian Tourism Ministry announced Friday.
The 900-meter (2,950-foot) panoramic route overlooking the sea is located between the municipalities of Riomaggiore and Manarola. That’s in the northern region of Liguria at the heart of the natural paradise of the Cinque Terre, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.
The trail had been closed since September 2012 after a landslide that injured four Australian tourists.
The path’s reopening has been quite complex because of its fragile cliffside location. It has been an engineering challenge because of its precarious perch dug into the rock between the sky and the sea, the Tourism Ministry said in a news release sent to CNN.
Refurbishment work started on January 14, 2022, and finished on July 19, 2024. Specialized companies worked on site, using helicopters to transport materials and installing a stainless steel net and deep bolts. Rock climbers moved the equipment on the walls while suspended with ropes and steel cables to special anchors.
The overall investment was almost €24 million (about $26 million) split among several ministries in Italy.
The path will be managed by the Municipality of Riomaggiore as an open-air museum.
From July 27 to August 8, the path will be open exclusively to residents of the Cinque Terre as well as Levanto, La Spezia and former residents and owners of second homes in the Municipality of Riomaggiore and their families.
Starting August 9, the path will also be accessible to tourists. Visitors will need to book in advance on the website www.viadellamore.info (which is still under construction) and pay a €10 (approximately $11) fee. Guides will be present during visits.
Access will be limited to a maximum of 400 people an hour, divided into groups of 100 people every 15 minutes, the Municipality of Riomaggiore said Friday on its website.
Tourists will enter from Riomaggiore going toward Manarola on a one-way route.
On Friday evening the “Path of Love” was officially inaugurated by government officials and local authorities.
“It is a source of great pride for us to be able to return the Via dell’Amore, in all its beauty, uniqueness and in complete safety, to residents, Ligurians and tourists from all over the world,” said Giacomo Giampedrone, commissioner for the safety work.
Giampedrone said the region of Liguria financed and was responsible for the work of restoring the path’s safety.
“It was a job as complex as it was spectacular, carried out exactly like the recovery of a work of art of inestimable value, with the utmost protection and respect for the surrounding environment,” Giampedrone said.
“My invitation is to come to Liguria to admire the Via dell’Amore: let yourself be amazed by this unique place, suspended between the sky and the sea, set in the rock, in the heart of a natural paradise. You will be left breathless by its beauty.”
The-CNN-Wire
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