The Lig­uri­an coast between Cinque Terre and Por­tovenere is a cul­tur­al land­scape of great scenic and cul­tur­al val­ue. The lay­out and dis­po­si­tion of the small towns and the shap­ing of the sur­round­ing land­scape, over­com­ing the dis­ad­van­tages of a steep, uneven ter­rain, encap­su­late the con­tin­u­ous his­to­ry of human set­tle­ment in this region over the past mil­len­ni­um.