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.
From the source of the river to the border with Lunigiana you will thread along the most pleasant of routes (Monte Zatta loop, the Monte Dragnone Site of Community Importance and the Passo Alpicella only to cite a few) a stone’s throw from the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri. Take plenty of time to discover peaks and ridges, wonderful balconies towering over the Apennines and the sea, a cobalt ribbon decorating the horizon. Trails for all seasons – even in the hot of Summer the verdant flanks of the mountains will be the freshest of havens. Trails crossing forests (beech and chestnut), high pastures, streams and rivulets. Trails of remarkable geological and botanic interest crowded by an unexpected variety of fauna.
Paths and mule tracks lead to a dense pattern of villages. Get into field investigation, we limit ourselves to a selection of hints. Valletti echoes in its name the abundance of water of the area, testified by the traces of mills. The intact beauty of Rio and Groppo comes as a surprise in the middle of the forest. Rio proudly shows its unaltered defensive layout, houses huddling around the remains of a castle. An ancient possession of the Malaspina, Groppo is a nice Medieval village rich in porticoes, vaults and steep stairways. Sculptures and reliefs decorate the buildings, silent stone sentinels protecting their dwellers by the threat of evil. The Romanic bell tower of the rural church of Zignago tells a tale of ancient devotion showing in the whole valley by a multitude of sanctuaries, churches and sacred shrines.
The houses in the hamlets of Cornice and Mangia narrate the hard work of those who built them with river cobbles, planning vaults, porticoes and terraces as a shelter for passers-by. The lower Val di Vara is the land of expert craftsmen and stonecutters, who have decorated the village of Casella with a mosaic of portals, fountains and votive shrines. Close by, Serenella presents its compact centre, gathered around a tiny piazza, and the souvenir of its mills.
But this rural land was also a military presidium, as demonstrated by the ruins of the Madrignano castle, built in the Middle Ages high on a hill overlooking the village and the surrounding valley roads. The stately castle of Calice al Cornoviglio – one of the reasons of the legendary dispute between Fieschi and Malaspina – controlled the ancient tracks towards Lunigiana. Nowadays, its rooms houses an interesting museum dedicated to apiculture.
A hill centre in the greenery, Carrodano too seems to play a protective role over the beautiful passo del Bracco, once the only connection between the province of La Spezia and the Tigullio. An emblem of the riviera entroterra, it offers the tranquillity of pastel houses, gardens, stairways and shady archivolts.
Your tour towards La Spezia now reaches Riccò del Golfo, a rural centre made up of numberless hamlets – do not miss the ancient streets of Carena and the medieval defensive settlement of Ponzò.