A turquoise sea sparkling in the sun, pastel-colored houses clinging to steep cliffs, and a plate of pasta with fresh pesto: is this paradise? The 3.5 million tourists who visit Italy’s Cinque Terre every year certainly seem to think so.
The 4,000 residents themselves are no longer so sure. Every summer, their five villages on the Ligurian coast are swamped with tourists. Yes, people are making money, but at what cost? The infrastructure is buckling under the strain, garbage bins are overflowing, and young people can no longer afford a house in their own village.
An Irish film crew spent a season in this besieged paradise to see how mass tourism affects a place like this. With a gently ironic but affectionate gaze and a sharp eye for detail, they follow a beleaguered restaurant owner, a winemaker, a philosophical fisherman, a frustrated mayor, an American influencer. Everyone in their own way (and with varying degrees of success) is trying to strike a balance between economic interests and quality of life.
Stills
