The people of Cinque Terre, Italy are open-hearted and strong spirited. It's a little paradise on earth.
I lead the Italy Retreat for Women to live la dolce vita in Cinque Terre, and I must say, it charms all of us every time.
Shockingly, on Tuesday, October 25, mudslides and flash floods turned beautiful Monterosso and Vernazza upside down (along with other towns in southern Liguria and northern Tuscany). Cinque Terre, a World Heritage Site, consists of five pictueresque villages, where annually tens of thousands of tourists hike the connecting trails, and visit the quaint stores, restaurants, and hotels. Even more distressing is the idea that hundreds of the local people are homeless.
Before and after photos of Monterosso can be seen in The New York Times in an excellent article, or you can see videos posted in The Telegraph from London.
FOR DONATIONS: The Red Cross has made it possible to donate using a credit card. Any amount, small or large, is appreciated. The Cinque Terre is very dear to many of us, and if you haven't been there yet, please do yourself a favor in the future and go! One way to help them, is to vacation there, in the future.
Please see Kate's blog at Little Paradiso. You can view photos of the devastation. Mud and debris have filled the ground floors, six feet of mud left behind against first floor doors and windows of the buildings.
Vernazza is the beautiful town next to Monterosso, and it looks like Pompeii. Rick Steve's has a slideshow on his site that is heartbreaking to watch, but maybe if more of the world sees this, they will rise to the occasion to help bring back this delightful town.
Any small donation is hugely appreciated and put to good use, like buying wheelbarrows, gloves and rubber boots.
Photo Credits: After the flood, CNN.com of rubble in Cinque Terre
Photo Credits: Before the flood, Lenora Boyle
IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE OF ITALY AND WOULD LIKE TO DONATE-
