Rustico in Carro

The cluster sits in the inland hills of the eastern Ligurian Apennines, in the upper Val di Vara. The Vara river valley is the main landscape feature within this area, with wooded slopes, small ridges and scattered hamlets. The nearest coast is the Levante Riviera around Levanto and Bonassola, but it is beyond the immediate 15 km landscape radius for scoring. The Cinque Terre National Park is farther south-west and not inside the local area. Varese Ligure is the nearest small town of note inland, with a preserved historic centre and services; Sestri Levante and La Spezia are the larger centres used for wider shopping and rail connections. This part of the Val di Vara is known for mixed woodland, pasture and small-scale agriculture in an Apennine setting.