Patron saint festival In 253 days
Feast of Saint John the Baptist
📅 Every year, on 24 June
On 24 June Riomaggiore celebrates the Baptist in the church that carries his name, above the village of vertical houses that opens the Cinque Terre.
© Thank You (24 Millions ) views · CC BY 2.0edited by BigItalia · Request removal
Until the late nineteenth century Riomaggiore could be reached only by boat or on foot: the Genoa-La Spezia railway broke the isolation of the Cinque Terre, and a carriage road arrived only in the 1960s. It is the easternmost of the five, and its Genoese tower houses climb in parallel rows along the Rio Maggiore, the Rivus Maior that gives it its name.
People came down to the sea after the year 1000, once Genoa had the better of the Saracen pirates; the castle dates from about 1260 and the church of San Giovanni Battista was begun in 1340. Around it, the terraced vineyards grown under Genoa: today the village, 1,669 residents, lies in the national park and the UNESCO site.
The Riomaggiore guide
What to see 6
Via dell'Amore · chiesa di San Giovanni Battista · chiesa di San Lorenzo and 3 more
What to eat here 1
Pesto alla Genovese
Where to stay 24
24 places to stay · top rated: Locanda Il Carugio 9.9 · The Sunset Line 9.8
Events & festivals 1
Next up: Feast of Saint John the Baptist, Thursday 24 June
Getting there
Nearest airport: Pisa Galilei, 70 km away
Riomaggiore is part of 🏖️ Seaside
Tours, tickets and experiences
Bookable on GetYourGuideExperiences in Riomaggiore
🎉 Festivals and feasts in Riomaggiore 1
No events match these filters.
What to see in Riomaggiore
Via dell'Amore A one-kilometer pedestrian path overlooking the sea, linking Riomaggiore and Manarola in the Cinque Terre Nati 
chiesa di San Giovanni Battista Riomaggiore's parish church, founded in 1340 and rebuilt in neo-Gothic form after a collapse. 
chiesa di San Lorenzo Manarola's parish church of 1338, with a Carrara marble rose window dated 1375. 
santuario di Nostra Signora della Salute A twelfth-century Romanesque church above Manarola, where a crowned Madonna is venerated. 
castello di Riomaggiore Squat round towers, a quadrangular wall and a past as the village cemetery. 
santuario di Nostra Signora di Montenero Reached only on foot up a mule track: three naves, a fresco and an Agati-Tronci organ. Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
Near Riomaggiore
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Places to see within 25 km
Outside Riomaggiore, but an easy day trip away.
Castello Sanfelice 📍 Bagnoli del Trigno · 4.1 km At 783 metres above Bagnoli, the fortress that guarded the Castel di Sangro-Lucera drove road. chiesa di San Silvestro 📍 Bagnoli del Trigno · 4.5 km A church with no façade, wedged between two rocks, and a crucifix with jointed arms. Castello d'Evoli 📍 Castropignano · 9.4 km Legend gives it 365 rooms: the d'Evoli stronghold above the Biferno valley Santuario italico di Pietrabbondante 📍 Pietrabbondante · 11 km The theatre and temples where the Pentri Samnites gathered their senate, above the Trigno. castello D'Alessandro 📍 Pescolanciano · 11 km A drawbridge finished in 1691, relics in the ducal chapel, German officers in 1943. torre di Oratino 📍 Oratino · 12 km A doorway high above the ground and a ladder to haul up: the Norman tower of Oratino.