In 970 Emperor Otto I crossed these lands and described them: “Transivimus per deserta Langarum et reliquimus ea, sine tributo” (Latin words for “we crossed Langhe desert lands and we left without asking to pay any tribute”). The Association in charge of managing and promoting the trails tracked in the most inaccessible Langa was named after the Emperor’s words – lands that almost descend toward Liguria region. Walking in wild nature, listening to the great silence of local woods, and enjoying the majestic view on the plain crowned by Alps, hikers discover enchanting places, which are undoubtedly worth visiting.
5 trails have been tracked, stretching in the municipalities of Igliano and Torresina, to connect local art, culture, and nature. All trails are distinctively poled and colour coded according to trail theme. They can be enjoyed on foot, by bike or by horse as well. Do not forget to visit the website www.desertalangarum.org to collect all the news about the trails and the association.
Deserta Langarum - Art Path
Colour: red
The Art Path ring trail starts from the Pietra dell’Appuntamento (literally, the appointment stone) in Monterotondo, the preferred location for joyful summer feasts and highly suggestive place thanks to its historical chestnut tree grove, renowned for its delicious fruit.
Along the red-coloured signs, the ancient tratturo, a cattle track pointing west along the edge of a chestnut tree grove. After having reached the paved road, the trail takes hikers leftward, then rightward, to descend along the ridge, among cultivated lands and accompanied by a panoramic view, to Bric della Croce, one of the most panoramic places in Langhe. Keeping the left, the path takes hikers into a pine tree wood down to Cappella di San Grato, a chapel dating back to the 15th century. The path descends steeply to Rua Barone and Case Fenoglio, and then ascends toward the wood up to Cappella della SS. Trinità, a chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity.
Back into a paved road, the trail stretches into the Li Piani basin up to a junction to reach Assunta hamlet. The perched Torresina village overlooks the surrounding countryside made of cultivated fields and meadows spotted by livestock. Following the signs, hikers arrive at the village, after a worthy visit to Cappella della S. Croce, a chapel dating back to the 19th century. The trail goes on toward the Napoleonic cross, which witnesses a battle which took place in 1796, and then descends to Pilone delle Sette Vie, to its starting point.
Deserta Langarum - Culture Path
Colour: yellow
The Culture Path trail starts in Torresina from the Pietra dell’Appuntamento (literally, the appointment stone) at km 2.3 of SP 352 province road. It ascends eastward over Monterotondo tiny hill and descends to Sette Vie, with its recent votive pillar. Leaving the paved road, hikers can descend leftward down to an ancient oven at Rafel farmstead.
The path ascends across woods to the place where Piedmont troops barricaded to face the Napoleonic invasion from Millesimo during the cruel battle in Pedaggera on 16 April 1796. Some traces of trenches still witness the battle. The trail becomes a paved road at the Napoleonic cross, then turns right into SP 352 province road for fifty meters approx. and enters the dirt road on the left descending along the ridge toward Paroldo. Plenty of spontaneous orchids blossom here in their fascinating colours in spring.
Once refreshed among the pine tree forest with a rest area, hikers can go on walking to get to the lowest trail point and then to ascend to the paved section up to the crossroad to Assunta, entering a hamlet that used to be densely populated. Hikers can then ascend along the old tracked pathway to Torresina, a village hiker can go across. After having passed the village, Fontana Canaretta is absolutely worth visiting: leave the road for a hundred meters to enjoy the ancient village water reserve, whose light blue-green water flows in a natural tuff cave.
Back on the trail, hikers can cross Canaretta wood to Scaffe, an uninhabited hamlet, and then ascend to Sette Vie, and walk back the trail last meters to the trail starting point.
Deserta Langarum - History Path
Colour: blue
The Art Path ring trail starts in Torresina from the Pietra dell’Appuntamento (literally, the appointment stone) at km 2.3 of SP 352 province road. It ascends eastward over Monterotondo tiny hill and descends to Sette Vie. Leaving the paved road, hikers can turn leftward down on a long descent in the woods, until they come to cross Cusina brook and reach Giuliani hamlet (the hamlet is misnamed Giuttoni in several maps). After having crossed the hamlet, the trail smoothly ascends on the sunned side, where it is worth noticing wonderful dry-stone arches used to support land terraces.
After having reached the votive pillar, it is worth leaving the trail for 100 meters approx. to visit the fascinating Chiesa di S. Ludovico (the church dates back to the 16th century). As an alternative, it is possible to descend leftward along the ancient road connecting Murazzano-Igliano-Castellino, and cross SP 115 province road to get the trail lowest point: The Ancient Bridge on Cusina brook, probably dating back to ancient Roman age. The trail ascends to Igliano to make hikers enjoy S. Andrea parish church (dating back to the 16th century) in the main piazza. On the church façade an ancient Roman gravestone outstands (dating back to the 1st century): it had been found on the occasion of some excavation works in the 19th century. The nice bell tower from 1950 has been built according to local style.
The trail ascends again crossing Igliano giving hikers the occasion to rest at Funtanas fountain, a natural marl cave full of fresh water in Summer as well. Further on, hikers can leave the paved road to take a steep dirt ascent to Langa hamlet, and then turn left. After having passed the cappella di S. Sebastiano e S. Rocco (a chapel dating back to the 16th century), with its beautiful frescos depicting Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch, to whom the chapel is dedicated, the trail enters the dirt road beside the chapel and stretches back to Pietra dell’Appuntamento, the trail starting point, almost plain.
Deserta Langarum - Nature Path
Colour: fuchsia
This short ring trail mainly stretches in Igliano territory, along a dirt road crossing chestnut tree and conifer woods. Definitely fascinating from a naturalistic point of view, the trail let hikers enjoy typical Alta Langa vegetation.
The Nature Path ring trail starts in Torresina from the Pietra dell’Appuntamento (literally, the appointment stone) at km 2.3 of SP 352 province road. After having passed the starting point, the trail descends rightward to casa Paludina, a farmstead which has been uninhabited for over sixty years now, and smoothly goes down to enter the wood to reach Igliano.
After a 50m paved section, the trail steeply ascends along meadows for 500 meters, then turns left at Fontana Monasterola and goes back into the wood. Wood fauna is wild here: it happens to see roe deers, foxes, wild boars, badgers, squirrels, and plenty of birds. The path goes up again to Fontana Boscogrande, which the trail leaves on the right, and takes hikers to cross an enchanting wood (i.e., Boscogrande, which literally means the large wood) and back to the trail starting point.
Deserta Langarum - Great Hiking in Val Cusina Path
Colour: green
The trail stretches toward Cusina brook valley, along the edging heights to descend to the brook, making hikers enjoy breath-taking nature: from a view on majestic Alps, to the coolest secret clefts of the brook and the surrounding woods.
The Great Hiking in Val Cusina Path trail starts from the Pietra dell’Appuntamento (literally, the appointment stone) and stretches eastward, along an almost plain section skirting a beautiful chestnut tree grove. The trail accesses the SP 352 province road, crosses Langa hamlet, and then enters the SP 115 province road at the votive pillar. Nearby a tiny pine forest, the trail leaves the paved road to point rightward: the Colle del Ginepretto hill beautifully overlooks this point.
The trail descends to enter the wood surrounding the hill and takes hikers into the delle Coste municipal road, from which it is worth enjoying a view of the 16th century Marsaglia castle.
Nearby Coste Sottane the trail turns right into a tiny road to Fontana dei Tredici Monti, a tiny water source. Keeping the path on the right and following the green signs, hikers abruptly descend until they can hear the gurgling Cusina brook, which they can easily cross up to the brook right shore. The trail ascends to take hikers among brook vegetation where water smoothly flows among Langa Pietre. For thousand years this brook has been used as source for materials to build all buildings in the valley.
At km 8 of the trail, hikers are suggested to leave the trail rightward for a while to enjoy the remaining s of the ancient Igliano mill, the only local mill up to 1950s. Back to the track, the trail takes hikers to Cusina hamlet, passes by it and gets to a bifurcation, where it is worth taking a rest at the ancient bridge (a legend tells it dates back to Ancient Roman age). From here, hikers can choose to walk along the short path or the long one.
The short path smoothly ascends along the river, until it comes across the long path; then it goes on along the paved road at the valley bottom to Castello farmstead and goes on skirting the brook to the Giuliani hamlet. The path passes by the hamlet, and, across cultivated fields and meadows, it gets to two abandoned farmsteads. Then the path turns leftward and starts its ascent up to the long path.
On the other hand, the long path, after having passed by Cusina hamlet, gets to a bifurcation and leftward steeply ascends along the ancient road from Igliano to Murazzano. After having crossed the SP 115 province road, the trail ascends up to the terraced land to reach the votive pillar and then turns leftward along a plain road. Beside the plain track, an imposing tree outstands with its straight trunk – a rare erro sughera, one of the thirty trees in Piedmont region, which is a botanic anomaly as it is a hybrid between an oak and a cork tree. It is the only broad-leaved tree in this area to have green leaves in winter: for this reason, local people call it the “Alta Langa magic tree”, accompanied by numberless legends.
Hikers can go on to San Luigi hamlet, where the beautiful Chiesa di San Ludovico dei Francesi (the church dates back to the 16th century) is definitely worth visiting. After having crossed the SP 115 province road, the trail ascends along a 150m paved road, which turns into a “creusa”, i.e., a narrow dirt road along trenches up along the hill ridge to get to Cornati hamlet. From the hamlet, the trail descends leftward into the wood to the tiny Rio dei Boscazzi brook (from which Cusina brook is originated) to come across the short pathway.
Hikers turn left and go on ascending in the wild forest up to Cima di Costamagna, which will make them enjoy a breath-taking view on Monviso. Here, nearby Pedaggera, the 1943-1945 Civil War showed its astonishing brutality. The trail descends to get to SP 32 province road, and then skirts it along a conifer wood, to make hikers access SP 352 province road along the hill top to the cross dedicated to the battle on 16 April 1796 between Piedmont and Napoleonic troops. The descent on the right gets to a votive pillar, and then the trail ascends again rightward onto Cima Monterotondo, before going down again to the Pietra dell’Appuntamento.
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.
