Vernazza’s small harbour – the Cinque Terre’s only secure landing place – has long been its raison d’etre, but it is Piazza Marconi with its sea-facing amphitheater of pastel houses that brings on the sighs. The village’s trademark caruggi (narrow lanes) rise almost vertically from here, a maze of stairs and tiny terraces, with big blue sea views popping at every turn. The population of Vernazza is slightly more than 1000 people.