Monterosso boasts a centuries-old tradition of lemon growing and today still maintains its record as the village of the Cinque Terre Natural Park with the greatest number of acres of land cultivated as lemon groves.
Sadly, as times change these no longer enjoy the leading role they shared along with fishing and viticulture from the 17th century onward as a cultural mainstay of Monterosso.
Their former glory was described by Matteo Vinzoni in 1700 when he referred to “the wonderful citrus groves”, and it is typical of this rugged coastline’s horticulture that every nook and cranny of land was put to use, although the locals tried to keep their lemon trees down in the valleys where there was plenty of water and less wind.
The footpaths and mule trails all around the village including Fegina inspired the Nobel prize winner Eugenio Montale’s poem “The Lemon Trees”. This precious fruit is celebrated every spring with Monterosso’s Lemon Festival: “8000 steps through the scent of lemons”. It is a food, wine and culture walk that takes you through secret and unique places in Monterosso that tell a story while tasting food and wine along the way!
