Ranked as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, Vernazza is a small and charming fishing village, founded around AD 1000, and home to the medieval castle of Belforte in the mid-16th century that was intended to protect the village from pirates in the first place. First, it is surrounded by steep olive groves said to produce some of the best olive oil in the country, and its rocky beach is an ideal place to watch the sunset.