Understanding Monterosso

April 25th marks 6 months since the devastation of last October’s flood occurred. Monterosso has made a miraculous recovery, mostly thanks to the residents’ personal  efforts to reconstruct their town as quickly as possible. We have heard people say that they had no idea that something so drastic had happened so recently- that the village looked ‘normal’- until they reached a certain corner of town or realized that the coffee-colored stain on the church wall was where the water level rose to. That is how much progress has been made.

Some have said that if any people could handle a disaster of this sort, it would be the Monterossini. A thousand years of history testify to obstacle after obstacle faced and overcome. Monterosso has known war and domination, pirates and famine. It, along with the other four villages of the Cinque Terre, has physically created a landscape from rocky cliffs in order to plant grapevines and olive tress. The Monterossini have survived and thrived in hostile geographic and political times. A flood is not strong enough to break them.

There are still many projects in Monterosso that will need to be completed before the town is fully restored to its pre-flood state. The schools are still closed, much work must be done on the roads and landslides that surround the village and small farms and vineyard of locals need extensive work to rebuild the drystone walls and terracing. All of this will take lots of money and time to complete. Therefore, even though the village apparently looks and feels ‘normal’, we are still in need of funds and support. Please see how you can help by clicking here.

Rebuild Monterosso has decided, at the 6 month mark of the flood, to start alternating stories and photographs of post-flood progress with articles about the history, traditions, food culture and hidden corners and stories of Monterosso. Most of the Rebuild Monterosso readership consists of people who, either having visited the village or dream of visiting one day, love Monterosso. Rebuild Monterosso would like to help you better understand and appreciate this extraordinary spot of Italy and this community that has repeatedly accomplished the impossible.

Thanks to Emanuela Quattrone for this lovely photograph (posted on our Facebook page)