What should you know about healthcare and emergencies in Cinque Terre?
Emergency number
112
Police: 113. Ambulance: 118.
Updated July 2026 · Sources cited: visitcinqueterre.eu, lecinqueterre.org
Covers only named hospitals with ER/trauma capability — Cinque Terre itself (the five coastal villages) has no hospital; nearest facilities are in La Spezia and Levanto.
Good to know
Good to Know
- 112 is the single number to remember for any emergency in Cinque Terre — it works even without a local SIM or credit, and connects you to police, fire, or medical services as appropriate.
- Given the steep coastal trails (Sentiero Azzurro) and cliffside villages, having GPS-based location sharing (via the Where ARE U app) can meaningfully speed up help if you're injured on a trail or in a spot that's hard to describe verbally.
- Mobile signal can be patchy on some cliffside trail sections between villages — download offline maps and consider carrying a power bank when hiking.
- The five villages are largely pedestrian and car-restricted, so if you're driving, note that roadside assistance (ACI) mainly applies to the parking areas and access roads above the villages, not within them.
- Coast Guard (1530) is a useful number to know locally since Cinque Terre villages are also served by ferry connections along the coast.
- None of the five Cinque Terre villages (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore) has its own hospital — for any real emergency you'll be taken to La Spezia (main hospital, full trauma capability) or, for minor issues, the smaller Levanto facility.
- Dial 118 for medical emergencies (or the EU-wide 112) — dispatch will decide whether you need Sant'Andrea in La Spezia or can be handled locally by the guardia medica (on-call doctor service).
- The villages are connected mainly by a single train line and narrow coastal roads with switchbacks, so travel time to La Spezia's hospital can be longer than the straight-line distance suggests, especially by car from Vernazza or Corniglia.
- If it's not urgent, local pharmacies and the 'guardia medica' (out-of-hours doctor service for the whole Cinque Terre zone) can often handle minor issues without a trip to La Spezia.
- Red, yellow, and green triage codes in Italian public ERs are free of charge for everyone; only the lowest-priority 'white' code carries a ticket fee.
Official Safety Apps
Where ARE U (112 Where Are U)
- Cost
- Free
- Publisher
- Developed by Lombardy region's AREU, adopted nationally and promoted on the official 112.gov.it portal run by Italy's Ministry of the Interior
- Description
- Free app for iOS and Android that places an emergency call to 112 while automatically transmitting precise GPS location to the responding PSAP; useful in the steep, cliffside terrain around Cinque Terre where verbal location description can be difficult. Supports silent/text-based chat communication for those who cannot speak.
Service Specific Numbers
Police (Polizia Di Stato / Carabinieri)
- Number
- 113
- Notes
- Direct line for crime, theft, or any incident needing police presence; also reachable via 112.
Fire Brigade (Vigili Del Fuoco)
- Number
- 115
- Notes
- Fires, gas leaks, structural incidents; also handles broader technical rescues.
Ambulance / Medical Emergency (Emergenza Sanitaria)
- Number
- 118
- Notes
- Direct medical dispatch line; also used to coordinate mountain/trail rescue for hikers on the Cinque Terre coastal paths.
Coast Guard (Guardia Costiera)
- Number
- 1530
- Notes
- Relevant for Cinque Terre given its cliffside trails and ferry-served villages; used for maritime emergencies, sea rescue, or incidents involving the coastal ferry/boat routes.
Roadside Assistance (ACI)
- Number
- 803.116 (or +39 06 491115 from abroad)
- Notes
- Automobile Club d'Italia breakdown service; note that most Cinque Terre villages are car-restricted, so this is mainly relevant for the access roads/parking areas above the villages.
Hospitals
Ospedale Sant'Andrea (ASL5 La Spezia)
- Hours
- Emergency Department (Pronto Soccorso) operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Address
- Via Vittorio Veneto, 197, 19124 La Spezia (SP), Italy
- Emergency Entrance
- Pronto Soccorso entrance via Via Mario Asso, alongside the main hospital building
- Trauma Level Designation
- DEA di I livello (Level I Emergency Department / Dipartimento di Emergenza-Accettazione) — the main acute-care hospital for the La Spezia health district, with full emergency medicine, trauma, cardiology (Unità Coronarica), and surgical capability
- Distance From Cinque Terre
- This is the closest full-capability trauma hospital to the five villages; by regional train it is roughly 10–25 minutes from La Spezia Centrale station depending on which village (Riomaggiore is closest, Monterosso furthest)
- Notes
- This is the flagship hospital of ASL5 (Azienda Sanitaria Locale n.5) and the facility residents and visitors are typically transported to for serious emergencies from the Cinque Terre villages.
Ospedale San Bartolomeo (ASL5 Sarzana)
- Hours
- Pronto Soccorso operates on a continuous basis as part of the district emergency network
- Address
- Sarzana (SP), Italy
- Trauma Level Designation
- Struttura Semplice Dipartimentale Pronto Soccorso — a simpler-tier emergency department (not full Level I) under the same acute-care presidio as Sant'Andrea
- Distance From Cinque Terre
- Further from the five villages than La Spezia; reached via La Spezia by train/road, generally not the first-choice ER for Cinque Terre visitors
- Notes
- Part of the Presidio Ospedaliero del Levante Ligure together with Sant'Andrea; used as backup emergency capacity for the district.
Ospedale San Nicolò (ASL5 Levanto)
- Hours
- Staffed as a first-response point; not a full round-the-clock trauma ER
- Address
- Via N. S. della Guardia, 19015 Levanto (SP), Italy
- Trauma Level Designation
- Struttura Primo Intervento — a low-intensity-of-care first-intervention point, NOT a full emergency room or trauma center; serious or complex cases are stabilized here and then transferred to Sant'Andrea in La Spezia
- Distance From Cinque Terre
- Levanto is the closest town with any medical facility to Monterosso al Mare (a few minutes by train), but this facility cannot handle major trauma or serious emergencies on-site
- Notes
- Best thought of as an urgent-care/first-aid point rather than a true ER — do not rely on it for major trauma.
Pharmacies
- General Info
- Pharmacies (farmacie) identified by green plus sign; over-the-counter medicines available without prescription but require asking pharmacist. Prescription medicines require valid prescription from Italian doctor.
By Village
Farmacia Ivani Dr. Angela
- Address
- Via Fegina 42-44
- Village
- Monterosso
Farmacia Monti Dr. Marco
- Phone
- +39 0187 812396
- Address
- Via Roma 2
- Village
- Vernazzo
Farmacia Del Mare
- Phone
- +39 0187 920160
- Hours
- Monday-Saturday 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM, 3:30 PM - 7:30 PM
- Address
- Via Colombo 182
- Village
- Riomaggiore
Pharmacy of the Sea
- Phone
- +39 0187 920930
- Hours
- Monday-Saturday with variable afternoon hours
- Address
- Via Discovolo 264
- Village
- Manarola
Dispensario Corniglia
- Address
- Via alla Stazione 7
- Village
- Corniglia
How 112 Works
A dialed 112, 113, 115, or 118 call is routed to a centralized Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) operator, who can see the caller's location and dispatches the appropriate service.
Language Support
Operators can communicate in English and other languages via multilingual interpreter access, though English fluency may be more limited outside major cities.
Universal Emergency Number
- Number
- 112
- Description
- The single EU-wide emergency number, valid throughout Italy including the Cinque Terre villages (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore). Free to dial from any phone, including foreign mobiles with no SIM, no credit, or a locked screen; an operator routes the call to police, fire, or medical services as needed.
Healthcare
- System Type
- Public healthcare system (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale - SSN) accessible to foreign visitors
- Emergency Contact
- 112 (European emergency number) or 118 (Italian medical emergency)
- Access For Visitors
- Foreigners can use the public healthcare system; emergency first aid is free of charge
- Emergency Description
- For life-threatening situations, call 112 or 118. Mountain rescue with helicopter available on terrain.
Hospitals Nearby
- Note
- For serious medical emergencies requiring hospitalization, patients are transported to La Spezia or Levanto public hospitals
- Description
- No full-service hospital within Cinque Terre; nearest are in La Spezia and Levanto
Local Urgent Care
- Name
- Guardia Medica (On-Call Medical Service)
- Contact
- +39 0187 920777 (Riomaggiore)
- Operating Hours
- 10:30 AM - 7:30 PM (Riomaggiore location)
- Description
- Non-emergency urgent care available daily
Locations
- Riomaggiore: Via Colombo 68
- Vernazzo: +39 0187 821086
- Levanto: +39 0187 800973
- La Spezia: +39 0187 026198
Typical Fees
- Non Urgent ER Ticket Fee
- €25
- Fee Note
- Italy's public ERs triage by color code (Rosso/Giallo/Verde = free; Bianco/non-urgent = a flat ticket fee applies to everyone, including Italians).
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this emergencies research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Cinque Terre
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.