In La Cinarca, overlooking the Gulf of Sagone, hamlets are built in terraces up the side of the basin formed by the Liscia valley, which is dominated to the east by steep hills. This is a small fertile region with plenty of lovely surprises in store in its forgotten little villages, where locals make a living from the vineyards and orchards and from rearing animals – a life at once so near to and yet so far from the bustling coast.