Photo spot in Cinque Terre
Il Gigante and the Fegina beach at Monterosso
A fourteen-metre concrete statue of Neptune holding up a ruined terrace at the end of the only real sand beach in the Cinque Terre.
About Il Gigante and the Fegina beach at Monterosso
Get directionsMonterosso is the flattest of the five villages and the only one with a proper beach — a long strip of grey sand at Fegina, backed by a promenade of palms. At its western end, built into the cliff in 1910 as part of a seaside villa, stands the Gigante: a colossal concrete Neptune, battered by war and storms, still holding a broken terrace on his shoulders.
He is an extraordinary thing to put behind two people. Weathered, half-ruined and enormous, he gives a frame nothing else on this coast can. Shoot from the sand looking up so the statue fills the background, or from further along the beach so that he becomes a strange silhouette at the end of the bay. The beach faces south-west, so the light is best in the last two hours, coming down the sand along the row of umbrellas.
Monterosso is the easy village: level, with a real promenade, a station on the beach and step-free access along the front — the one place in the Cinque Terre a session can include a pushchair or a grandparent without difficulty. In season most of the sand is paying lidos, with free stretches at each end; out of season the beach is empty and the umbrellas are gone, which suits the statue better anyway.
Best time to shoot
The last two hours of light, coming down the beach from the west
Tips
Level and step-free — the one Cinque Terre village that works with a pushchair. Out of season the umbrellas are gone and the statue reads better.
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Real reviews from Cinque Terre photoshoots
Martina B.
Much more than a photographer — where his photographs end, the memories begin! I've known Marco Miglianti since I was a child. He photographed my First Communion and my Confirmation, so when the time came to choose a photographer for our…
Marco M.
Photographer
Juliette Z.
Choosing the photographer is without doubt one of the most important — and most difficult — decisions for such a unique day. You want someone talented, reliable, discreet yet present, who can capture the essence of the moment… and with…
Marco M.
Photographer
Other spots in Cinque Terre
Manarola from Punta Bonfiglio at blue hour
The postcard of the Cinque Terre — coloured houses stacked on a black rock above a boat ramp, seen from the headland across the inlet.
Vernazza from the Doria castle
A round watchtower above the harbour, looking down on the only natural port in the Cinque Terre and the church built on the rocks.
The Terrazza di Santa Maria at Corniglia
A small stone belvedere on the only village of the five that has no harbour, a hundred metres straight above the sea.
Riomaggiore harbour slipway at sunset
A concrete ramp between two rock walls where the fishing boats are pulled up in the street, with the village stacked behind them.
Ready to book?
Our concierge team will hand-pick 2-3 photographers who know Il Gigante and the Fegina beach at Monterosso — free of charge.