Yesterday news arrived that the vacancy for the position of president of the Cinque Terre National Park has finally been filled. The president’s seat has been empty since 2017 when President Vittorio Alessandro’s term ended. Since that time, the acting vice president (who also happens to be Vernazza’s mayor, Vincenzo Resasco) covered the duties but he unexpectedly resigned last week. This move by Resasco is thought to have sped up the notoriously slow appointment process which is through Italy’s Ministry of the Environment.

The newly appointed president is Donatella Bianchi, a well-known journalist, TV personality and president of WWF Italy. Bianchi is actually from nearby Lerici, making her a pseudo-local (which gives her a leg up when it comes to winning the approval of Cinque Terre residents). She is also the first female president of the Cinque Terre National Park (the national park was formed in 1999 and there have been two male presidents prior to Bianchi’s appointment). Cinque Terre locals are crossing their fingers and hoping that President Bianchi will take the Cinque Terre’s issues to heart and advocate for the area’s protection, conservancy and proper management with a focus on sustainable tourism.

The Cinque Terre National Park’s newly appointed president, Donatella Bianchi