After reflecting on which route to take during one of my free days coinciding with the Easter break, I decided on a hike through the hills of the Saluzzo area—also as a continuation of my previous walking trip in the historic part of Saluzzo's hill.
The departure was set for 8:15 AM on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, equipped with a backpack and trekking poles. My Garmin Fenix watch, with a GPS track for navigation, provided me with a clear path to follow.
The most "tedious" part was the approach to Saluzzo, but as soon as I reached the beginning of the first climb towards the hill, everything changed—the landscape became rich with details to observe.
I crossed the entire hill, passing in front of Casa Cavassa, and eventually emerged near the Palazzo di Città. My first stop for a quick snack was in front of Castiglia, where I paused for just under five minutes.
Continuing along the hill, I headed toward Manta, where at one point I merged onto the bike path. I reached the center of Manta and then made my way toward Via Santa Brigida, heading into a steep ascent.
I move forward step by step until I reach the Chapel of San Leone, where I pause for a quick exploration and to fill up my water bottle.
This is the first of the three "silent" chapels I come across on this hilly adventure. I continue for a few kilometers, suddenly finding myself deep in the dense forest! Dirt roads and pathways roll beneath my shoes until I reach the first major "obstacle" of the day—a private property. I manage to bypass it somehow and reconnect with the public trail.
A few more kilometers of climbing take me toward the Verzuolo woods, where I encounter another private property. I navigate around it once again, losing quite a bit of time in the process.
After overcoming this hurdle, I finally reconnect with the planned route. Along the way, I unexpectedly step over a small viper basking in the sun!
After a few kilometers through the forest, I spot the Chapel of Santa Cristina in the distance, standing alone in the greenery.
Here, I take another quick snack break and take advantage of a fountain to refill my water bottle—water is always a precious resource not to be wasted, as it can often be many kilometers before finding another source.
From Santa Cristina, a remarkable descent begins, leading me to the third significant chapel of this beautiful ultratrail journey: San Bernardo.
At San Bernardo, an absolute silence reigns. I explore the area, capturing a short video. What stands out is the presence of the religious house adjacent to the chapel—I wonder who was the last priest to have actually spent the night there.
Looking up at the small bell tower, I immediately notice a sundial with a Sun drawn to the side, a peculiarity I had never seen anywhere else before!
From this point on, it's all downhill to Verzuolo, where I take a coffee break at a bar (a little longer than usual!), before setting off again along the bike path toward Saluzzo, passing through Manta once more.
I find myself admiring the historic streets and houses, until I finally complete the crossing of Saluzzo.
The most "tedious" stretch remains the one through the countryside separating Saluzzo from Envie (both on the way there and back): long, monotonous straight roads, plus the extended section required to circumnavigate the Po River and reach the bridge that connects me to Via Vecchia Barge. Unfortunately, this adds quite a few kilometers to my route.
Throughout the journey, I was able to appreciate the details of the chapels I encountered, with special praise for San Leone and San Bernardo, without taking anything away from Santa Cristina, which I had never visited before.
This excursion is part of my new passion for the hills of the Saluzzo area and its historic center.
As for the numbers, it covered 48.5 km in 9 hours and 15 minutes, with a positive elevation gain of 800 meters—an adventure made possible by the Weekly Single-Workout Technique, described in the book published by Fusta Editore, Ultratrail con il Monoallenamento.
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