You said you are seeking off the beaten path and talked about Cinqueterre, while Cinqueterre is a wonderful area I think that the Tigullio peninsula (that is a regional Park) is as nice as cinqueterre but far less touristy (I mean Americans tourists aven though it is full of Italian and German tourists). The walking paths are far less crowded than in Cinqueterre and landscape are as nice as in CT. There is also a formar monastery that is reachable only by walking path in the bush or by boat. This peninsula is closer to Genova than CT and is located between Santa Margherita Ligure and Camogli.

If you have a car, consider some of my itineraries in Italy that I posted a while ago and are now in the Travelzine Database (or write me privately for a copy).

Ciao, Marco in Milan - Italy