A PESTO CLASS IN CINQUE TERRE: A LITTLE TASTE OF LIGURIA
If you’ve never been to Italy or the Cinque Terre, you probably have a few things on your wish list already: colorful seaside villages, hikes along coastal trails, boat trips, a swim in the sea, and a wander through the old, colorful lanes known locally as “caruggi.” Add good food and a glass of wine with a view, and you’re off to a pretty good start. Here’s one more thing to add: learning to make traditional Ligurian pesto. You may have already tried pesto elsewhere on your trip around Italy, but Liguria is where it all began. Here in its home region, tasting traditional pesto—and learning to make it yourself—is worth saving a little room in your itinerary for.
Pesto is a big part of life here in Liguria. Fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan, Pecorino, extra virgin olive oil, and salt come together to make something simple and full of flavor. Traditionally, it’s prepared with a mortar and pestle—and once you start crushing the basil, the smell alone will make you hungry.
Joining a pesto class in Cinque Terre is a lovely way to get to know the place beyond its colorful villages and coastal trails. You get to slow down, work with local ingredients, and learn a skill you can actually bring home. Things might get a little messy, and your technique might need some help, but that’s part of the fun. The best part comes when you finally taste what you’ve made.
If you’re planning a honeymoon in Cinque Terre, a trip with friends, or your first Italian vacation, put a pesto-making class on your list. Between train rides, boat trips, and all those steps, it’s worth taking some time to sit down and enjoy the flavors of Liguria. As Cinque Terre photographers, we love capturing these moments: the laughter, the concentration, the little looks across the table. They’re as much a part of your trip as the views. And when you make pesto back home, you’ll have a good story to go with dinner.
For more information, feel free to email us at: lovviamemories@gmail.com
HOME | KIND WORDS | CONTACT | PORTFOLIO | PROPOSAL IN CINQUE TERRE
