18/05/2025
I'm already ready for Harvest! 😅🍷
When, in 1979, in the surroundings of Volastra, near Manarola, thanks to the PSR funds, the first monorail trains were installed, someone must have rubbed their eyes: finally, kilos and kilos of grapes or agricultural tools and instruments could be transported without making an immense Sisyphean effort. Their arrival transformed viticulture in these parts: until then, all the operations, including the grape harvest, were carried out by hand, on the shoulder, with a great waste of time and energy.
The trains are managed by the Cooperativa Agricoltura delle Cinque Terre, which coordinates an area of about 46 hectares spread over 15 km of coast. It produces about 200 thousand bottles a year, of which 100 thousand are of the basic DOC and the other half of the sub-zones, including the Cinque Terre DOC white and Sciacchetrà, the passito king of wines in these parts. The cooperative is made up of 189 members. Their average age, 79, says a lot about the importance of the trains. The members ask to use them when they need them, especially during the grape harvest, but also for pruning, fertilizing or all other agricultural activities during the year.
But who drives the trains? Here comes the fun part. You climb into the carriage! Thanks to the cooperative we meet Sauro, the “Ferroviere dello Sciacchetrà“. Sauro is the typical jack-of-all-trades, the figure of the Ligurian of the past
