The main five villages of Cinque Terre date back to the later Middle Ages. Criterion (v): Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto) is a remarkable cultural landscape created by human endeavour over a millennium in a rugged and dramatic natural environment. 12/1995 designated the area as part of the Regional Natural Park of Cinque Terre (Parco Regionale Naturale delle Cinque Terre); this brought with it compliance with the provisions of the national Law No. A first Plan for the Cinque Terre Park was adopted in 2002 and introduced some specific restrictive regulations to protect the site. The introduction of the Regulation of the Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area in 2005 aims at the protection of the sea area.