Italy's 'Path of Love' reopens for visitors with paid reservations along Cinque Terre coast

Italy's "Via dell'Amore" trail reopens this weekend after restoration. Locals get first access, with tourists allowed from August 9 by reservation only.

Offering extraordinary views along Italy's Cinque Terre coast, the celebrated "Via dell'Amore" or "Path of Love" trail reopens this weekend, first for locals and then visitors -- but only with a paid reservation. The path, which runs more than 900 metres between the colourful coastal villages of Riomaggiore and Manarola on Italy's northwestern coast, was closed in 2012 after a landslide. It has been rendered safe and remade as part of a 23-million-euro ($25 million) restoration project, which required a helicopter to transport materials and saw workers suspended by ropes and cables off the cliff.

It will be opened to residents of the surrounding areas and holiday home owners from Saturday, with tourists allowed in from August 9 -- but only by reservation. Visitors must buy a five-euro ticket in advance, which includes a guided walk and entry to the Castle of Riomaggiore, with access limited to 400 people per hour. Tourists will only be able to walk in one direction, from Riomaggiore to Manarola, although locals can move freely, as they have since the path was built in the 1930s.

A daily ticket has long been required to hike the trails in the Cinque Terre, a UNESCO World Heritage site made up of a network of five villages on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. But ticketing the "Via dell'Amore" is a new idea, which comes amid a surge in visitor numbers to the region. Last year four million visitors were recorded by the municipality of Riomaggiore. "We want to ensure a more sustainable experience with a guided path," Fabrizia Pecunia, mayor of Riomaggiore, told AFP.

"The goal is to manage tourist flow, not to reduce the number of tourists, because we need to find a balance between tourism, the territory, and agriculture. “We are not opposed to tourism, rather, we have come to understand that it needs to be managed.” Tourism accounts for 13 percent of GDP in Italy, although there are growing concerns about visitor numbers on certain sites, including the Cinque Terre but also the cities of Florence and Venice.

Venice this year trialled a system of requiring tickets during peak periods, in a bid to persuade tourists to visit at quieter times. Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche has dismissed warnings of overtourism in Italy, writing on social media last week: "Let's not complain about too many tourists. They also have the right to see what we enjoy all year round."