PENNAVALLEY Trek

A trek in 4 stages and 17 itineraries

The book is published in Italian.

In the ravines of the rocks, among the stones of ancient buildings, along the surface and underground course of the waters, in the endless woods, the Pennavaire Valley hides a thousand-year-old history, and proudly keeps it hidden from most. It tells it, revealing it slowly, only to those who decide to travel it with respect, at a slow pace, capturing its soft voice with respectful silence.

A history woven of colossal geological events, of the first prehistoric inhabitants who chose it as a safe home, of armies and lordships, of populations who found a way to live in symbiosis with it, of coexistence of extremes. Yes, because it will not be easy to find a territory where the antithesis finds a synthesis: the marmot digs its burrows a few kilometers away from olive groves, edelweiss and lavender share the same meadow, a stream that starts in Piedmont flows into the Ligurian Sea, thyme and opposite-leaved saxifrage (a species that lives in Greenland!) are cohabitants of the same rocky crevice.

This guide has the ambition to lead us to the discovery of an extraordinary place, where wild nature and ancient culture merge to create a unique experience, to be lived by walking along ancient paths, to be rediscovered with a careful and respectful walk. Caves inhabited by prehistoric man, waterfalls, panoramic mountain peaks, ancient settlements, ancestral traditions, an astonishing flora and fauna, ancient fortifications, long rides up and down open ridges, magical woods, ancient sacred places await us, to reveal their mysteries.

Giovanni Amerio, an ophthalmologist by profession, loves to walk slowly along well-known itineraries, suggest less frequented ones or discover new ones. He left years ago for the Camino de Santiago, and upon his return his debut book, In cammino per Santiago – Storie, pensieri, incontri (L’Età dell’Acquario, 2015), was born. In 2018 Lindau published Nell’occhio del fotone. A luminous journey from the Sun to consciousness, the story of a fascinating and mysterious journey: that of light. How to invent a path (and ruin your life) (Edizioni dei Cammini, 2024), co-authored by Dario Corradino, is a humorous dissertation on the world of hiking. He has also published the hiking guides: La Via del Sale. Up and down the Apennines from Varzi to Recco (Morellini Editore, 2020); Altravia. The official guide to the AltraVia from Turin to Savona (Morellini Editore, 2022), co-author Dario Corradino; Wicklow Way. The Irish Way (Phasar Editore, 2023), co-author Dario Corradino; Morainic Amphitheater of Ivrea. The Alta Via (Morellini Editore, 2023), co-author Dario; The Marguareis Tour. The hidden mountain (L’Escursionista Editore, 2024).