August 2020. The first summer after the outbreak of the global pandemic. On the rocks of Cinque Terre, people were sunbathing. Boats sat in small harbours. Somewhere above the cliff, someone was laughing.

Five villages carved into the Ligurian coast, reachable only by boat, train, or steep path. A landscape that has always demanded presence. That summer, simply being there felt like the most radical thing in the world.

These photographs are a Sehnsuchtsort: a longing so specific the German language gave it its own word. A coastline that insists, quietly and without argument, on celebration.