Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
HIKING IN THE MARITIME ALPS
Northern Italy, crowded? Not if you bring your hiking boots. Shoehorned between the rice-growing
plains of Piedmont and the sparkling coastline of Liguria lie the brooding Maritime Alps - a small
pocket of dramatically sculpted mountains that rise like stony-faced border guards along the frontier
of Italy and France. Smaller yet no less majestic than their Alpine cousins to the north, the Maritimes
are speckled with mirror-like lakes, foraging ibexes and a hybrid cultural heritage that is as much
southern French as northern Italian.
Despite their diminutive size, there's a palpable wilderness feel to be found among these glowering
peaks. Get out of the populated valleys and onto the imposing central massif and you'll quickly be
projected into a high-altitude Shangri La. Whistling marmots scurry under rocky crags doused in mist
above a well-marked network of mountain trails where the sight of another hiker - even in peak sea-
son - is about as rare as an empty piazza in Rome. This is Italy at its most serene and serendipitous.
Not 20km to the south lie the swanky resort towns of Portofino and San Remo, where martini-supping
celebrities wouldn't be seen dead without their expensive handbags and private yachts. Yet up here in
the high country that straddles the invisible border between Italy and France, all you need is a map, a
decent pair of shoes and enough cheese and ciabatta to keep you going until dinnertime.
The main trailheads lie to the south of the city of Cuneo in a couple of ruggedly attractive regional
parks: the
Parco Naturale delle Alpi Marittime
and the
Parco Naturale dell'Alta Valle Pesio e
Tamaro
. The Lago di Valscura Circuit (21km) starts in the airy spa of
Terme di Valdieri
and follows
an old military road via the Piano del Valasco to an icy lake near the French border. It loops back past
the Rifugio Questa before descending via the same route. For a two-day hike try the Marguareis Cir-
cuit (35km), which begins in the small ski centre of Limone Piemonte and tracks up across cols and
ridges to the
Rifugio Garelli
( 0171 73 80 78; dm €36; Jun-Sep) . Day two involves looping
back through a small segment of France to your starting point in Limone. For more information on
both hikes check out Lonely Planet's
Hiking in Italy
guide or consult the APT offices in either Terme
or Limone.
Saluzzo
POP 16,877 / ELEV 395M
Like Asti and Alba, Saluzzo was once a powerful city-state and its historical importance -
while now diminished - has left a stirring legacy etched in red terracotta bricks.
The town is divided into 'old' and 'new' quarters, and the two sections are a short walk
apart. Once a medieval stronghold, the town maintained its independence until the Savoys
won it in a 1601 treaty with France. One of its better-known sons was the Italian writer
Silvio Pellico (1788-1854). Imprisoned for his patriotism against the Austrian occupation,
he wrote parts of his novel
Le Mie Prigioni
(My Prisons) by cutting himself and using his
