The first church in Kainuu province was built to Manamansalo in 1559. This church was burned by the Karelians and Russians in 1578. The church bell was stolen and carried as a war booty to the Russian monastery in Solovetski, the White Sea.
The memorial church, designed by Tuomas Väyrynen and Eero Huotari, was built in 1959 to the site where the original church have probably been. The memorial is an outdoor church with bell tower, altar and fixed benches.
Close to the church is also an old Christian cemetery, which was used in the late 1500’s.
Manarola is a small town, a frazione of the comune of Riomaggiore. It is the second-smallest of the famous Cinque Terre towns frequented by tourists, with a population of 353.
Manarola may be the oldest of the towns in the Cinque Terre, with the cornerstone of the church, San Lorenzo, dating from 1338. The local dialect is Manarolese, which is marginally different from the dialects in the nearby area. The name 'Manarola' is probably a dialectical evolution of the Latin, 'magna rota'. In the Manarolese dialect this was changed to 'magna roea' which means 'large wheel', in reference to the mill wheel in the town.
Manarola's primary industries have traditionally been fishing and wine-making. The local wine, called Sciacchetrà, is especially renowned; references from Roman writings mention the high quality of the wine produced in the region.