Wender·Vista
Monterosso al Mare
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileItaly
the northernmost of the Cinque Terre, on the Ligurian coast

Monterosso al Mare

where a hard coast finally softens into sand.

Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
Above the bench, in a warm oak surround.
Above the bench, in a warm oak surround.
Beside the kettle, propped on the counter.
Beside the kettle, propped on the counter.
Above the linens, in a slim black surround.
Above the linens, in a slim black surround.
On the nightstand, on a light oak stand.
On the nightstand, on a light oak stand.
On a picture ledge, where the light comes in.
On a picture ledge, where the light comes in.
a note from the studio

The first of the Cinque Terre coming down the coast from Genoa, and the only one with a real beach. The old town and Fegina sit on either side of the Capuchin hill, joined by a tunnel cut through the rock. A concrete Neptune has stood at the edge of the sand since 1910, what's left of a villa terrace the sea took piece by piece. Lemon trees, salted anchovies, a sweet wine called Sciacchetra pressed from terraces that climb straight off the water. Eugenio Montale spent his boyhood summers here and never quite left it on the page.

from the studio
shown in a slim black floating frame · 6 × 6 in
shown in a slim black floating frame · 6 × 6 in
— bring it home

Monterosso al Mare, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

comes gift-ready
comes gift-ready

Each tile ships in a kraft box, tied with cream ribbon, with a handwritten note from the studio if you'd like to add one.

or build a grouping
or build a grouping

Three or five different vistas, hung together — a chapter of places you've been, or want to go.

about Monterosso al Mare

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
the place

Monterosso al Mare is the largest and northernmost of the five villages of the Cinque Terre, on the Ligurian coast in the Province of La Spezia. Around 1,300 people live here, on a shelf of land barely twelve metres above the water. The town splits in two: the medieval centro storico and Fegina, the newer seafront quarter to the west, separated by the Colle dei Cappuccini and joined by a pedestrian tunnel. Trains have stopped here since 1870 on the Genoa–La Spezia line, which still runs in and out of the cliffs. The Sentiero Azzurro, the coastal footpath linking the five villages, begins its climb toward Vernazza from the eastern edge of the old town.

— informed by Wikipedia
the stone

The Church of San Giovanni Battista anchors the old town, built between 1282 and 1307 in the Ligurian Gothic manner, its facade striped in white marble and dark stone. Higher up the Capuchin hill stand the Convent of the Capuchin friars and the church of San Francesco, raised between 1619 and 1622, which holds a Crucifixion attributed to Anthony van Dyck from the years the Flemish painter worked in Genoa. The Aurora Tower on the same hill is what survives of the medieval walls thrown up against Saracen raiders. Down at Fegina, a fourteen-metre Neptune in reinforced concrete by the sculptor Arrigo Minerbi has guarded the beach since 1910.

the water

Monterosso has the only true sand beach in the Cinque Terre; the other four villages meet the sea on rock. The main strand runs along Fegina below the railway, with the old harbour tucked under the hill on the far side. The water here has fed the town for centuries: salted Monterosso anchovies, cured in the village, are prized all along the coast, and the steep terraces above give the dessert wine Sciacchetra and the lemons the town is known for. The whole shoreline falls inside Cinque Terre National Park, founded in 1999 and protected as a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape since 1997.

where
Italy · Cinque Terre, Province of La Spezia, Liguria
within
Cinque Terre National Park
elevation
12 m · 39 ft
position
44.1458° N · 9.6542° E
the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
3 km SE
Vernazza
coastal village
2 km W
Punta Mesco
headland
3 km NW
Levanto
seaside town
5 km SE
Corniglia
clifftop village
7 km SE
Manarola
coastal village
8 km SE
Riomaggiore
coastal village
N
Monterosso al Mare
Vernazza
Punta Mesco
Levanto
Corniglia
Manarola
Riomaggiore
common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Monterosso al Mare — and about bringing the piece home.
about the place

Monterosso al Mare is the northernmost and largest of the five villages of the Cinque Terre, on the Ligurian coast in the Province of La Spezia, Italy. It sits about twelve metres above the sea between Levanto and Vernazza.

Monterosso has the only extensive sand beach in the Cinque Terre, where the other four villages meet the water on rock. It is also the largest of the five and the only one clearly split in two, the old town and the seafront quarter of Fegina.

The Giant, or Il Gigante, is a fourteen-metre figure of Neptune in reinforced concrete at the Fegina end of the beach. The sculptor Arrigo Minerbi built it in 1910 as part of the seaside terrace of Villa Pastine; storms and wartime bombing later stripped away its trident and arms.

The Church of San Giovanni Battista stands in the old town, built between 1282 and 1307 in the Ligurian Gothic style, its facade striped in white marble and dark stone. A marble rose window sits above the main door.

Monterosso has its own station on the Genoa–La Spezia railway, in service since 1870, with frequent regional trains linking all five Cinque Terre villages. Cars are kept largely out of the centre, and the coastal Sentiero Azzurro footpath connects the village to Vernazza on foot.

Monterosso is known for salted anchovies cured in the village, for its lemons, and for Sciacchetra, a sweet wine pressed from grapes dried on the steep coastal terraces. Pesto and other Ligurian dishes are local staples as well.

The poet Eugenio Montale, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975, spent his boyhood summers at a family villa in Fegina. The Cinque Terre landscape runs through his 1925 debut collection, Ossi di seppia.

about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for many of our customers with ties to the coast. Monterosso is where many travellers first reach the Cinque Terre, and its beach and painted houses are the image people carry home. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well.

The warm, saturated colour of the artwork sits well in coastal-modern, Mediterranean, and jewel-tone interiors. It holds the eye against a pale plaster or limewashed wall, and grounds a room built on deeper blues and terracotta.

Yes. Mediterranean and coastal-modern interiors have moved toward real place and warm pigment over generic seaside motifs, and a specific Ligurian harbour reads as considered rather than themed. The Medium and Large work as the anchor piece on a feature wall.

Above a sofa, a single Large or a four-tile Mural holds the wall without crowding it. Above a console or a bed, a Medium or a nine-tile Mural sits in proportion. For a shelf or a desk, the Keepsake or a Small is the right scale.

Yes. For a bathroom, a shower, or a kitchen backsplash, choose the Dura Satin or Matte finish, which is scratch-resistant and made for damp, vertical installations. The Glossy finish is better kept to framed wall pieces in dry rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth and plain water are all it needs. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface and sits beneath a thin glossy finish, so it will not fade or lift with ordinary cleaning. Skip abrasive pads and harsh solvents.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is created in-house by Reid Wender and produced in our Knoxville studio, with no licensed or stock imagery. Each tile is hand-finished, with the colour infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure.

if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

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— a collection

The Italian Dolomites,
painted slow.

The valleys between Cortina and Val Gardena, the tarns you walk an hour to see, the towers that turn the colour of a banked fire just before dark. Wander the collection by valley, by season, or follow the path Reid walked.

Tre Cime
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Misurina
Sorapis
Cinque Torri
Sassolungo
Marmolada