Embedded between the Apennine peaks that separate eastern Liguria from Emilia Romagna, the Val di Vara is an emerald arena teeming with enchantment and harmony where natural habitats (flora and fauna composing a multicoloured tapestry) cherish the ancient traces of man’s work, coppice and rural architectures. The valley (the widest of the region) develops around the banks of the Vara river, thread for centuries by merchants and wayfarers travelling from the coast to the Parmense. Today, the river acts as the landmark of tourists and trekkers during their explorations through historical villages and intriguing loop itineraries. A few kilometres from the blue of the Cinque Terre, this verdant valley proudly boasts the memory of its past and traditions – rurality representing the key of contemporary (and future) local development. Thus, the Val di Vara represents the perfect holiday destination for an immersion into nature, architecture and genuine gastronomy.
This border area, which has been dwelled by man since Prehistory, represented for centuries a seat of trades and exchanges. In the Middle Ages it was provided with a network of military settlements (fortresses and castles) you are soon to discover in the course of your tours. The growth of sea transport saw the progressive isolation of the valley – a process that implicitly fostered the preservation of rural customs, as well as of the tokens of the labour of man. The Val di Vara, in fact, can be read as an open air rural architecture treatise, whose chapters match with the stages of your itinerary among prairies, woods, mountain passes and medieval villages: square houses huddling over in a protective embrace against enemy threats; dry stone walls and terraces, the Ligurian cunning method to obtain tillable soil from the mountain; oil mills and water mills, run by vigorous streams; shelters for livestock and seccherecci stone huts where chestnuts were dried (the cycle completed by the abovementioned mills, which produced the characteristic grey flour).
Nature, history and rural heritage do not exhaust the subject of local assets. The Val di Vara is in fact known as the “organic valley”, a small kingdom where quality of life rules. This forerunner of innovation (and a benchmark for other European areas) relies on the joint efforts of administrators, breeders and farmers, working together on the theme of sustainable development. Commitment has been acknowledged by certifications and international rewards (the more recent concern clean energy sources). Put this choice to the test at mealtime, too: meat, dairy products (cheese and yoghurt), honey and earth produce are skilfully interpreted in mouthwatering recipes.
Start your tour in Varese Ligure, an ancient market and defensive centre set at the heart of a maze of remote tracks heading to Emila Romagna through the Apennine passes of Cento Croci and Bocco. Varese Ligure will present you with the magic of its Borgo Rotondo, built by the Fieschi in the 13th century. The elliptical piazza is surrounded by an uninterrupted palazzata, originally intended to host craftsmen and traders, by a graceful Baroque church devoted to San Filippo Neri and Santa Teresa d’Avila, and by the imposing proportions of the castle. Pay a visit to the Borgo Esterno, too (lack of space is definitely as old as civilization…), and do not miss the tiny hamlet of Grecino, built on a slope along the banks of the Crovana stream and connected to the centre by a touching one-span stone bridge.
From Varese Ligure follow the river and the course of its several tributaries, flanked by green side valleys rich in forests, meadows and stimulating itineraries (ecological means of transport will all do – feet, mountain bike, horse) fit to meet the expectations of excursionists of any age and skill.