The Lovers’ Lane (Via dell’Amore) rockfall events: a history of dangerous collapses

This research describes rockfall events affecting the so called “Lovers Lane”, a path that runs along the Cinque Terre rocky coastline. Realized at the beginning of ‘20s century as a service road during the construction of the railway, starting from the ‘60s has become the most visited trail of the Cinque Terre National Park, being used by over 2 million tourists per year. The path runs along the bottom of a steep rocky cliff and is historically subject to rock collapses, which led to its frequent closure over the years. Cases of injuries in the last 25 years have been registered in 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2006 and 2010; the last of these accidents occurred on September 24th, 2012 causing the injury of Australian tourists and the subsequent closure of the trail until now.