A good island in the mountains of Liguria: A weekend in Ronco Scrivia
A mountain-high 920 yards, topped with a lovely sanctuary and a comfortable and equipped refuge. Viewed from the valley, the heights of those dark blue mingles with the blue sky reflects the color of the sea about twenty miles away, and the church at the top seems very small and very distant.
Instead, to get up there just deal pleasantly challenging hike, suitable for adults and children, and once on, the breathtaking view of the effort pays off immediately.
During the first day of our weekend in Ronco Scrivia, we went up there, on Mount Royal, and we admired the wider panorama of the Valley Scrivia: you see the mountains of Antola Park, Castle Stone, the mountains of Genoa, the sea, but also the Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa, to the Dolomites Adamello and Brenta. On the way we met several other hikers, some of whom have told us that on a clear day from Mount Royal Corsica can be seen even with the naked eye.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto, which stands at the top, was built between 1858 and 1868, and although there seemed to be down small, in fact it is a church of considerable size. Between the XI and XIII centuries up here there was also an important castle, which now all that remains are some ruins.
Once back down, after a short rest in our comfortable air-conditioned rooms at the Bed and Breakfast Isolabuona annexed to the Trattoria, located in the village, along the road leading to Genoa, we do a walk through the picturesque streets of this common with a thousand year old history behind it. The village was created in Roman times, the center of a plain on the Via Postojna. We are, in fact, a few kilometers from the famous Roman city of Libarna, now a fraction of Novi Ligure. During our tour through the streets of Ronco discover a beautiful monumental bridge with three arches, built in the fifteenth century, through the Scrivia surrounded by thick vegetation.
In the center we visit the Parish Church of St. Martin, built in 1641 on the site of an ancient church, the old parish. Inside it preserves valuable works of art including a painting by Orazio De Ferrari. After visiting the Oratory of St. James, we move in the hamlet Borgo Fornari, where we admire the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta, a church dating from the twelfth century and rebuilt in the seventeenth century.
But we also reserve Borgo Fornari a real excursion into the Middle Ages, thanks to the visit to the Castle. The ancient castle, built in the twelfth century, is located about ten minutes walk from the main road, along the alley called Rian-na, all uphill. Its impressive tower semicircular brick can be seen from afar, and is also fairly well conserved part of the building originally intended for the garrison. The "Castle Valley write," so named by definition, is also home to numerous events throughout the year, including the colorful pageants.
We are pleasantly tired and hungry when we return to our accommodation, crowning this beautiful day with a delicious dinner at the Trattoria Isolabuona. "We run this place a dozen years, and everything was born from a passion for good food that we share myself, my daughter Elisa, graduated from hotel school, and even Grandma Rina, that helps us still preparing the delicious pies, loaves of , porridge, as well as other ancient specialties, "he tells the owner, Mr. Max, while we sit at the table. In one corner of the room we see a big barbecue that makes us want to be quickly grilled meat.
We start with the area of ??mixed meats, and since we arrived over the weekend, we can also enjoy the seafood appetizers, Ligurian in style. We continue with the pasta with pesto sauce, with green beans and potatoes, ravioli with meat sauce and pansotti with walnut sauce. Some of us enjoy a nice minestrone alla Genovese. In the space between the second choice of braised beef, codfish, stuffed anchovies, tripe stew, in addition to the excellent game, made with mushrooms in the area. Let's water these goodness of the wines of Southern Piedmont and Liguria and conclude the day with the delicious sweets of the Ligurian tradition, including the tart with homemade jam.
The weekend of hiking, art and good food that we have spent in Ronco Scrivia was relaxing and very pleasant, and we shall soon come back here, but maybe when we are planning a day of shopping at the Outlet of Novi Ligure.
Bertha Frances
FOR INFORMATION:
www.comune.roncoscrivia.ge.it
www.monte-reale.it
www.castelloborgofornari.it
Trattoria Isolabuona
Via Isolabuona, 32 Ronco Scrivia (GE)
Tel.: 340/3500139