A trail described as one of the world’s most romantic is about to finally reopen fully, 12 years after it was closed due to a rockslide.

The trail – nicknamed Via dell’Amore or Path of Love – is carved into the cliffs overlooking the Ligurian Sea along Italy’s Cinque Terre.

It has been closed since a September 2012 rockslide injured four Australians. There was a trial reopening in 2023 but numbers were kept strictly limited.

In the 2012 rockslide, one tourist had her chest crushed and spleen removed, and another suffered a broken pelvis and legs. Two others reportedly suffered minor injuries.

The path overlooks the sea, linking the villages of Riomaggiore and Manarola. Photo: Getty

In the aftermath, then-mayor of Cinque Terre village Riomaggiore, Franca Cantrigliani, said the shocking incident was a “complete anomaly” given the region was in a drought and landslides usually occurred after significant rainfall.

Since the rockslide, a €22 million ($36 million) restoration effort has focused on securing rocks above and below the the Path of Love with steel netting, adding more than 8000 plants to strengthen the hillside, and covering handrails with a special coating to keep them cool to the touch.

Via dell Amore
Tra Manarola e Riomaggiore
Cinque Terre
La Spezia pic.twitter.com/9zTKrNqB27

— 🦋CARRY (@anto8301) July 6, 2024

The Path of Love dates back to the 1920s, when it opened as a connection between Riomaggiore and Manarola, two of the five coastal villages in Cinque Terre’s UNESCO World Heritage Site listing.

Legend – or effective PR spin – says the path soon became a meeting place for lovers from the two towns.

The Path of Love, about a kilometre long, is known as one of the most romantic walks in the world and attracts couples keen for a picturesque stroll.

But authorities still aren’t willing to open it to an unchecked flood of tourists.

To limit overcrowding, no more than 400 people will be allowed on the path each hour. Anyone who isn’t a local will have to buy a ticket.

The trail will also be closed at night, and its two entrances will be monitored with CCTV.

Authorities are keen to keep the Path of Love free from the burden of overtourism – a sentiment carried over to Cinque Terre overall.

In 2023, the region had three million tourists, dwarfing the local population of 4000.

The excess of tourists has already led to safety issues, such as clogging up a key tunnel between a train station and a village.

Over the years, tourists have engaged in unseemly behaviour such as tying underwear in lieu of locks on the Path of Love’s railing, littering, and crowding an ancient cemetery for picnics and photoshoots so much that it was closed to the public in 2022.

Riomaggiore mayor Fabrizia Pecunia told National Geographic that turning the Path of Love into a museum would contextualise the famous stretch of coast, as day trippers usually arrived without knowing anything about the area.

“We can tell the story of Cinque Terre in a different way,” she said.

“We have everything – culture, history, agriculture, landscapes, the sea – it’s unique.”