MANAROLA, ITALY - 31 MAY 2017: A view of Manarola, one of the five villages of the Cinque Terra - a rugged portion of the Italian Riviera in the Liguria region - is seen here in Manarola, Italy, on May 31st 2017.<br />
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Given its jagged coastline and manifold mountainous chains, Italy is believed to hold a record in Europe with an estimated 300,000 hectares of terracing, and 170,000 kilometers of dry stone walls— 20 times the length of the Great Wall of China.<br />
Liguria, the narrow half-moon shaped region along the northern<br />
Thyrrenian sea, has the highest concentration, and terracing is in<br />
poor shape there. In Vernazza, almost half of the terracing is in<br />
ruins.<br />
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Terraced vineyards, apple and lemon groves horizontally run around the green slopes of the Cinque Terre. The stone walls have allowed such vital cultivation in the area and prevented land slides. Since the 1960s, the ancient walls have been largely<br />
abandoned, posing hydro-geological threats to the same villages during<br />
heavy rains and, in general, as time passes.<br />
<br />
Since the 2012 flood - when tons of mud invaded the<br />
village’s main road, shops and and homes, isolating the area and<br />
taking three lives - Margherita Ermirio has agreed with the various land lords to take<br />
over 6,000 square meters of land parcels that needed to be cleaned up,<br />
in order to fix them and thus prevent land slides, but also to show to<br />
the younger generations that agriculture is still possible in the<br />
Cinque Terre.