A seaside home in Riomaggiore, in the Cinque Terre.
Explore the apartmentWe have looked after this home the way you would look after a wooden boat: patiently, and with respect for what was already there.
Il Barcaiolo is an 80 m² apartment on Via Colombo, the main street of Riomaggiore. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a bright living room and a balcony overlooking the colourful houses of the village.
It is a place to slow down, even for just a few days, and live at the pace of the coast.
For generations along the Ligurian coast, wooden boats took shape in the hands of the maestro d’ascia, literally the “master of the adze”: the craftsman who built and repaired them with measurements and skills learned as an apprentice. He chose the timber, shaped it with the adze that gives the trade its name and bent the hull planks into place one by one, until the boat was ready for the sea.
Il Barcaiolo takes its character from a painting of an old shipwright at work, bent over his planks beside a window open to the sea. In him we found what we wanted the place to say: the time it takes to do things properly, materials shaped by hand, and the sea always in the background.
Inside, the colours of the coast return. The pale blue of some walls recalls the morning sky, the floor suggests wood bleached by salt, and the blue and white bathroom tiles hold the deep colour of the water.
Paintings of sails and boats furnish the rooms without crowding them. We wanted a bright, uncluttered home, made with a craftsman’s care, where the sea still feels close when you come back in the evening.
A home we know inside out.
When we began, the apartment still held the furniture of another era. It had been a family home, arranged for everyday family life rather than for welcoming guests. We set out to renew it with respect for the building and its history.
Months of careful work followed. The layout was rethought, and the bathroom grew into a generous space with a freestanding bath, a shower and handmade blue and white tiles. Every choice was made with our future guests in mind.
In 2024, with the work finished and the paperwork in order, Il Barcaiolo welcomed its first guests. We have been looking after it ever since, improving it little by little, often thanks to suggestions from the people who stay with us.
Eighty square metres, simply arranged, for up to four guests.
Via Colombo is the village’s main street, running down towards the little harbour. Everything is within walking distance: the station, with trains to the other Cinque Terre villages, the shops, the restaurants and the sea. The apartment lies within the Cinque Terre National Park.
Via Colombo 104
Il Barcaiolo can be booked on Airbnb and Booking.com, where you will find the up-to-date calendar, prices and reviews from our past guests.