- AREA_5
- T_FEBBRAIO
- T_MARZO
- T_APRILE
- T_MAGGIO
- T_GIUGNO
- T_SETTEMBRE
- T_OTTOBRE
- PASSION_TREKKING
- SKILL_FACILE
- T_GENNAIO
- T_LUGLIO
- T_AGOSTO
- T_NOVEMBRE
- T_DICEMBRE
Crossroads of history
- Status Open
- Area Levante
From the Iron Age to the World Wars
Gola di S. Elena: a medley of roads and stories. A communication hub that has witnessed the passage of Ligurian Sabates, Romans, medieval shepherds, Napoleonic troops, partisans ... all of whom have left an indelible mark.From Gola di S. Elena, there are several possibilities for those who want to walk, thanks to the Sabates and the Romans who outlined their main thoroughfares in this area (Herculea, Aurelia, Iulia Augusta). Following the paved road heading north for about 200 meters, you come across the Sentiero Botanico (Botanical Trail) that leads to M. S. Elena, home to a fort dating back to the Iron Age.
Surrounded by the scent of the Mediterranean scrub and browsing through the descriptive panels that illustrate the scrub’s main trees and bushes, you soon find a flat dirt road. Turning left, you reach M. Rocchetto and what used to be the S. Elena Fort, destroyed in 1921 by the explosion of the powder magazine. From here the view is amazing, it runs over the whole Ligurian arc! The greenery around you is a hint that this is also a paragliding launch spot.
Rejuvenated and intoxicated by the breath-taking view, you can now go back towards M. S. Elena following the Sentiero Botanico seaward side through a holm oak and chestnut tree mixed forest, interspersed with old “fasce” (terraces sustained by drywalls, typically used in Ligurian agriculture), a testimony to the work of man. Once you get near a farmhouse, turn right onto a trail that climbs up into the woods. You will then come down on to the dirt road you were walking on on the way there, nearby a stone that recalls the partisan sacrifice.
