The Cinque Terre try to defend themselves from the onslaught of mass tourism with one of the most severe restrictions ever adopted in Italian villages. After years of congested alleys, endless queues and noisy groups blocking stairways and passages, the municipalities of the Ligurian territory have decided to intervene with new rules designed to ease the pressure on the historic centers and restore liveability to residents. Driving this change are above all Vernazza and Riomaggiore, which in recent months have experimented with anti-overtourism measures during spring long weekends. The result convinced the administrations to transform the tests into real rules. As anticipated by the newspaper La Nazione, from 1 January 2027 new limitations will come into force for organized tourist groups that visit the UNESCO heritage villages.
Small groups, compulsory earphones and no megaphones
The most obvious change concerns the size of the groups. Each accompanied group may consist of a maximum of 25 people, excluding children under six years of age. Exemptions will also be provided for school groups and for simple embarkation and disembarkation operations from land or nautical vehicles. However, above all the way of visiting the villages will change. Groups of more than ten people will be obliged to use radio guides with earphones, while the use of megaphones and voice amplifiers will be prohibited. A measure that aims to reduce the noise pollution generated in the famous carrugi, the narrow alleys that characterize Vernazza and the other villages of the Cinque Terre. In fact, the problem of noise has become one of the most discussed issues by residents in recent years. The narrow medieval streets function as a real sounding board and the continuous chatter of the groups has made it increasingly difficult to coexist with the enormous influx of tourists.
No parking in alleys and controls on pedestrian flows
The new regulation will not be limited to noise. The Municipality of Vernazza will also introduce a real ban on pedestrian parking for tourist groups in some of the most congested areas of the village. In certain points, the simple transit of organized groups will even be prohibited when the passage risks blocking the flow of pedestrians. The streets affected include via Agostino del Santo, via Carruggetto, via San Francesco, via Mazzini, via San Giovanni and via Pensa, considered particularly delicate during tourist peaks. In other sensitive areas – such as the area under the train station or the routes towards the Doria Castle, Monterosso and Corniglia – it will be allowed to pass but not stop. Tour guides will also have to respect a sort of “safe distance” between groups. If multiple groups arrive at the same point, the one arriving last will have to stop at a distance to avoid gatherings and human traffic jams.
A model that could change tourism in Italian villages
The new rules were created with a specific objective: to protect the quality of life of residents without giving up tourism, which remains a fundamental resource for the area. The intention is to better distribute visitors and make the stay in the villages more sustainable, avoiding scenes that have now become habitual during the high season. At the same time, the administrations are also working on the valorisation of alternative routes such as the Sentiero Azzurro and the inland itineraries, in an attempt to ease the pressure on the most famous areas of the Cinque Terre. It is not the first measure adopted in the area. In recent months, bans against dangerous selfies near cliffs and overhangs had already arrived, introduced for public safety reasons. Now, however, the squeeze enters the heart of the daily tourist experience and could become a model carefully observed also by other Italian destinations struggling with overtourism.
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