Vernazza is a town and comune located in the province of La Spezia, Liguria, northwestern Italy. It is one of the five towns that make up the Cinque Terre region. Vernazza is the fourth town heading north, has no car traffic and remains one of the truest "fishing villages" on the Italian Riviera.

Vernazza's name is derived from the Latin adjective verna meaning "native" and the aptly named indigenous wine, "vernaccia" ("local" or "ours"), helped give birth to the village's moniker.

First records recognizing Vernazza as a fortified town date back to the year 1080. Referred to as an active maritime base of the Obertenghi, a family of Italian nobility, it was a likely point of departure for naval forces in defence of pirates.

Over the next two centuries Vernazza was vital in Genova's conquest of Liguria, providing port, fleet and soldiers. In 1209, the approximately 90 most powerful families of Vernazza pledged their allegiance to the republic of Genova.

The first documented presence of a Church dates back to 1251, with the parish of San Pietro sited in 1267. Reference to the Church of Santa Margherita d'Antiochia of Vernazza occurs in 1318. Some scholars are of the opinion, due to the use of materials and mode of construction, that the actual creation of the Church of Santa Margherita d'Antiochia took place earlier, sometime in the 12th century. The Church of Santa Margherita d'Antiochia was expanded upon and renovated over the course of the 16th and 17th centuries, and thereafter was erected the octoganal bell tower that rises from the apse.