The Via dell\u2019Amore (Lovers\u2019 Lane) is a 1 km long coastal path linking Manarola with
Riomaggiore, the two eastern villages at the \u201cCinque Terre\u201d. Realized at the start of the
nineteenth century as a service road for the modernization of the railway, it\u2019s now considered
as one of the highlights of the Cinque Terre National Park. The trail has been historically
affected by rockfall phenomena: the bedrock is made up of heterogeneous rock masses; blocks
diameter ranges from 0.5 to 2 m, determining high speed values during their fall. The
probability of a fatal event to occur is high, as recently proved by the four Australian women
injured in September 2012: this occurrence caused the closure of the trail up to the present.
The actual risk level is not acceptable, taking in consideration also the elevated vulnerability
values. The main goal is to decrease both rockfall hazard and vulnerability: in the first place,
through passive slope protection methods such as rockfall shelters and protecting wire meshes;
in the second instance, through an early warning system connected to the civil protection corp
and an environmental education program involving tourists and inhabitants
