Start from the ample parking area just to the west of the village of Santo Stefano Roero, where there is an information panel (and fountain) and a view of the area’s rock formations (Rocche). Go past the conference centre along a brief section of highway until you reach the picnic area. Across from the picnic area, take the narrow, paved road uphill to the right (red-and-white sign: “414 Santuario dei Piloni e Percorso del Gioco”).
- for who: children 6 and older
- non suited to strollers (small children should be in backpack carriers)
- when: spring, autumn, winter without much snow
You will soon find one of the information panels set up for this “Trail of Play” about the games of the past. Climb to the top of Bricco Bissoca, the highest point of the itinerary and which features an old aqueduct tower, then continue on down the hill to a crossroads (signs). Keep to the right and continue downhill. At the next crossroads, continue straight and head slightly uphill to a vista point delimited by a wooden guard rail.
Head down and then back up to a few small chapels at another vista point (fountain). Here, you will follow a section of the “Sentiero dei Piloni” (“Trail of Shrines”), which starts in Montà and features a series of 13 chapels erected in 1906 and which represent the Stations of the Cross. Here, the itinerary turns to the right and begins to descend towards the final chapels, which conclude, if you take a brief detour, with the 17th-century shrine of the Holy Sepulchre, the form of which recalls Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, from which it gets its name.
Returning from this detour, continue steeply downward along a number of vineyards and keep to the left at the first crossroads. As you head into the woods, stay on the widest, most evident road until you reach a stream that marks the lowest point of the itinerary. At the intersection of four roads here, continue straight and you head constantly uphill into an area of vineyards. When you find a white house, turn to the left and head downhill. (Important: The sign may be hidden in foliage.) Right after the house, take the paved road to the right, which winds along the crest of the hill through the vineyards. If you look to the right, you will be able to see the shrines you encountered earlier.
Past a farmhouse, you will find a shrine with a fountain and benches. Continue down along the paved road to the edge of the village. Head up a steep ramp to the right, which will take you quickly to behind the parish church. Past the church, you will find a number of rock formations, where a final descent will take you back to the starting point.
PLEASE NOTE: Responsibility for the maintenance and practicability of the various trails lies with the municipalities where the routes are located. The Tourist Board, therefore, cannot be held responsible for any inefficiencies, but is willingly available to collect your reports so that they can be forwarded to the authorities concerned.
