San Pietro in Varatella

Our departure is from a clearing located on a hairpin bend just before the
before the Giogo di Toirano.

With us today is Anna, Vale’s mother. A really nice person,
energetic and always cheerful. Her liveliness is surpassed only by her gab, without
unmatched. Now put yourself in Luca’s shoes. A poor camel who carries with him
not two, but three backpacks, stunned by an incessant all-female chatter!
chatter! Luckily, this is a short itinerary!

At the beginning of the route we notice the sign that announces “San Pietro in
Varatella”. It is a flat dirt road with the sign “equal red”.
“equal red”. After about 15 minutes, we come to a first fork in the road,
we continue on the main road to the right. The dirt road continues and ends up in a
a large square, where there are wooden tables and benches. We take, on the left
on the left a stony cart track, which we will leave near a fork to take, again on the left, a
to take, again on the left, a path flanked by a metal pipe. The
path, reduced to a classic pedestrian path, climbs up the mountainside.
uphill.

We cross a small brook on our right and enter the vegetation.
vegetation. On the way we meet some traces of the “Sentiero Liguria”, and we follow them.
and we follow them, reaching a rocky ridge that separates Monte Ravinét from Monte Varatella.
Monte Varatella. We still keep to the right along a wide path that climbs diagonally among the trees.
between the trees. The presence of the metal tube is certainly more
more evident than any horizontal signposts and, having arrived at an esplanade at the summit of Monte
Varatella, at about 890 m, we find ourselves in front of the abbey of San Pietro dei Monti.
Monti.

Its origins date back to the 8th century. A medieval legend has it that St Peter,
escaped from Antioch, before going to Rome, stopped in this place and found the ideal conditions for
ideal conditions for prayer and meditation. The present structure,
The present structure, which has been considerably modified, consists of a stone building with a painted sundial on the façade.
façade with a sundial painted in the 1980s on the model of an existing
model of a pre-existing one that has been lost. The interior of the abbey is divided into several rooms,
some of which are used to accommodate pilgrims. The church consists of a
vaulted nave supported by Romanesque lowered arches. In the area of the
In the presbytery there is a 15th-century fresco depicting St Peter in pontifical clothes with the
In the presbytery there is a 15th-century fresco depicting St Peter in pontifical robes with an altar in front made of Finale stone, consecrated in 1937.
On the lawn in front of the abbey there are several tables and benches perfect for a pleasant picnic.
a pleasant picnic.

We also find some handcrafted wooden swings installed in recent times
which Vale never misses a chance to test! Pushing yourself harder and harder, higher and
higher and higher gives you the sensation of plunging into the blue Ligurian Sea,
enjoying a breathtaking view that is definitely worth the journey so far.
the journey so far. With our hearts full of wonder, backpacks on our shoulders, we are going to return quickly to the car in about
back to the car in about 50 minutes, following the route backwards.
back.

Fonte: Due zaini e un camallo.