Leonardo da Vinci wrote about Monte Bracco in a letter in 1511, maybe following a trip there, searching for appropriate material for his sculptures. Today - after five hundred years - the same suggestions, and others make Monte Bracco (1306 m) a unique mountain: a balcony facing Monviso and the Po and also a great geological, botanical, faunal and historical laboratory.
A great “book” where marks left by man can be read: from the fascinating rocky incisions (most important sites are indicated), to the gneiss and quartzite caves, to the thick, network of rural pathways. The housing settlements (barme or balme) are attractive, real villages built under the shelter of prominent rocks.
History of art lovers will find surely interesting the Trappa convent (in the community area of Envie and Barge), the Balma Boves Village Museum (Sanfront), the Devesio Sanctuary and the restored female Monastery (Rifreddo), the circuit of ancient walls and the historical centre of Revello. The rock gym in Sanfront and the ethnographic museum “La Brunetta” in Barge must also be noted.
The pathway is well indicated and notice boards with historical, botanical, geological and literary notes can be found. A complete map is available at the “Comunità Montana Tourist Board” in Paesana and at the Town Halls.
IN SUMMARY
Place of departure / arrival: it is a ring of about 18 km practicable on foot, but also by mountain-bike or on horseback (in some places). It can be started in different places (from the areas of the towns of Paesana, Sanfront, Rifreddo, Revello, Envie and Barge) for the whole length, or single stretches. Gradient: about 1500 m uphill Time required: 8 hours
(18 km ring)
Degree of difficulty: medium
Access:
•from Turin: A6 motorway, exit
Marene; follow along the SP 662 road to Savigliano-Saluzzo and then along the Po Valley provincial road as far as the towns included in the itinerary.
• from Cuneo: take the SP 589 Laghi di Avigliana road as far as Saluzzo. Follow like above.
MORE...
...about the Po, Bronda and Infernotto Valleys
The territory of the Comunità Montana* Valli Po, Bronda e Infernotto is dominated by the unmistakable pyramid of the Monviso. This is the Queen mountain of the Cottian Alps which, with its height of 3841 m, makes it a great summer and winter tourist attraction and a classic destination that every mountaineer must reach sooner or later... especially because the Italian Alpine Club was founded here in 1863, following Quintino Sella’s will. The Po, the longest Italian river, originates from Monviso, so giving its name to the valley.
The Po Valley has numerous paths that have been used since ancient times for exchanging trade with the French territory or for armies passing. Just under the Colle delle Traversette in 1480, the Marquis of Saluzzo, Ludovico II had the first alpine tunnel built exac- tly to facilitate the trafficking of goods, and also for the commodity between Marquisate and Dauphiné: the tunnel – which is still in use - is called “Buco del Viso” and is situated along the ancient “Via del Sale” (Salt Road). Legend has it that Hannibal, with his army and elephants crossed the Alps exactly at Traversette.
Nowadays the same paths are used by heedful hikers searching for uncontaminated green areas, fascinating landscapes, still intact alpine villages, testimonies of the mountain people’s work, culture, art, language and local cuisine. At the sides of the main valley, the less known Bronda and Infernotto offer to the hiker relaxing and unusual paths through green woods.
*(consortium of communes in mountain areas)
For further information about other itineraries, nature trails, mountaineering programmes, summer and winter excursions please contact:
Comunità Montana Valli Po, Bronda e Infernotto Tourist Board Via S. Croce, 4 - 12034 Paesana (CN)
Tel. +39.0175.94273 - fax +39.0175.987082
www.vallipo.cn.it - e-mail: info@vallipo.cn.it
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