It's a place of unspeakable, pictorial beauty.

In a striking landscape, the houses are settled like precious stones in the rocky wall, perpendicular to the sea.
The quay, a wonderful landing place in a narrow gorge, was called "the red door" in memory of the furious struggles against pirates and Saracens in defence of the extreme bulwark.

Roman settlers founded the first small group of houses (today's Volastra and Porciana) which overlook the area where nowaday we can see Manarola.
Here Sinisbaldo Fieschi, Pope Innocent IV, was born.