NIGEL'S RAMBLES: Rain Stops Play

This year summer refuses to arrive. It has been one of the rainiest July’s I can remember. So the week in July that I usually dedicate to walking in the Apennines has been a disaster.

Seeing that the weather in the Apennines was impossible, I decided to head north into the area around Monte Baldo at the border between Veneto and Trento. I wanted to visit two places that I had seen in passing whilst on the way to somewhere else, but had never stopped to visit.

Leaving the Autostrada at Affi, I took a long winding road up to the Sanctuary of the Maddona della Corona a church that has been built halfway up a cliff face. The idea of a Sanctuary is that pilgrims to a sanctuary come to pay their respects to the remains or relic of a saint or to celebrate some supernatural happening, in this case a statue of the Virgin Mary which transferred itself miraculously from Rhodes in Greece to here in Veneto. The sanctuary has its roots in ancient Greek religious practices.

Madonna della Corona, Ferrara di Monte Baldo, VR

These Sanctuaries are often to be found in spectacular locations. Inside they are often rather spooky often with the bones of long dead saints on show. It is a part of Italian Catholic culture that I think I will never get to understand.

Madonna della Corona, Ferrara di Monte Baldo, VR

After a long climb back up from the Sanctuary I decided to take the long winding road that runs below the crest of the Monte Baldo chain of mountains. I was surprised at the beauty of this place. I stopped for lunch in a refuge where I had a magnificent view whilst enjoying some good local Tentino food.

Monte Telegrafo

Rifugio Fosce, San Valentino, Bentonico TN

Now it was time to descend down to Rovereto where I wanted to visit Castel Beseno. This castle is one of many that dominates the Adige valley. But this is one of the most spectacular.

Castel Beseno, Beseno, TN

As often with these old castles ,they are more interesting seen in their stetting than what one sees inside. The view from the castle walls however were incredible. To finish the day I paid a visit to a local wine maker where after letting me sample some very good wine I then bought very cheaply considering the quality several bottles to remind me of my day out.

Castel Beseno, Beseno, TN

I finally got round to doing a walk that I had planned for some time. I wanted to visit two small isolated villages below the almost vertical face of the Apennines between Passo Cerreto and Passo Lagastrello on the Tuscan side.

A stiff climb from Sassalbo took me up to the pastures Campi di Camporaghena. Here I encountered a herd of horses each with his cow bell.

Prati di Camporaghena MS

Taking the CAI 100 footpath that runs along the base of the mountains I arrived at Camporaghena, my first destination. Like most villages in the high Apennines it has suffered from a a tragic depopulation due to its isolation and the decline of agriculture in these parts.

The thing that makes a visit worthwhile to this village is the quality and quantity of carved stone decorations to the buildings. This and the other village I wanted to visit were famous for their stone masons.

Camporaghena, Cormano, MS

The village has a rather sad monument to a priest who was executed by the Germans who wanted to massacre the inhabitants of the village. The priest rang the church bell as a signal of danger allowing the inhabitants to flee the village. This part of the world suffered endlessly during the second world war from the ferociousness of the German army.

AdCamporaghena, Cormano, MS

Camporaghena, Cormano, MS

It was now time to push onto Torsana, a village even more isolated than Camporaghena. Here there remains just one inhabitant, the other houses are unoccupied or are second homes for the summer. The single inhabitant greeted me by asking me how many people I had met on my walk today. I had to respond that he was the first person I had seen in 4 hours of walking.

On reaching Torsana after taking a look around the village I then retraced my steps back to Sassalbo.

Torsana, Cormano, MS

To return home in the car I took a detour that would take me to Passo Pradarena from Fivvizano.

From this road one has some superb views of the Alpi Apuana. Time was short, but I will do this road again with more calm as there are many interesting things to see.

My only walk along the Crinal this July was a disaster best forgotten. By 8 o clock the sun had almost disappeared and I was presented with a horrible cloudy day.

My destination was Sella di Buffanaro part of a savage part of the Apennines called “Groppi di Camporaghena” via the 657A footpath from the Sarzana Refuge. It was one of those walks that can be classified as “done for completeness”.