Last week, we went in search of the Holy Grail – the Holy Grail of Riviera Easy Hiking, that is.
Did we find it? Well, probably not if you apply the most rigid of standards (angelic voices from above, wounds that suddenly close after festering for decades, 1000-year-old guardians who fall down on their knees to pray), but we were pleased enough with what we uncovered.
If it was not The Grail (In Capital Letters), it was probably good enough to pass it off as such, provided you were not fussing over each and every detail and the lighting was a bit dim.
The thinking had been something like this: the most popular day trip for all visitors of the western Riviera coast is Ventimiglia. This is what nearly everybody wants to do: hop over to Italy for a day.
Unfortunately, Ventimiglia is not Venice, and there is not much to see or to do. What better to fill this space than a brief, half-day hike, something that people can decide to do on the spur of the moment: in their ordinary, comfortable walking shoes of the day, with no extra preparations needed (no need for a hiking backpack or a proper map).
Wanted: the easiest, most Italian-bang-for-your-Italian-buck hike around Ventimiglia that man may be capable of finding.
To be honest, we approached the trailhead with mixed feelings. Initially, I had been full of optimism, having identified a brief loop to the north of Ventimiglia that appeared to fit the bill perfectly. Going by a hiking map of the area, that is, because that is all we had at this stage.
Not having any idea of what the trail actually looked like, all one could say was that it looked short (perhaps 5 or 6 kilometres in total), was not obviously difficult to navigate and appeared to climb relatively steeply, raising the hope of a quick escape from the dreary suburbs into nature and the mountainous back country.
Leaving Ventimiglia station in the direction of the sea before turning right and right again into Via San Secondo behind the large roundabout, however, our optimism soon turned into gloomy premonition.
After all, there was no guarantee that this would not bring more of the same: which is north-western Italy’s typical blend of the not-quite-urban with the not-quite-rural featuring endless rows of hothouses, front yards full of discarded toys and agricultural machinery and residential side streets that are filled with the frenzied barking of dogs who have been left alone for the day.
Finding the Holy Grail of Riviera Easy Hiking
In the end, however, the trail was much better than that. If not quite the Holy Grail, a revelation nonetheless.
Turn left behind the railway underpass and right up the hill to find yourself almost immediately surrounded by a picture-book Italian landscape …
… where, the higher you climb, Ventimiglia at your feet quickly fades into a series of ever more distant views …
… while, on the other side, the Alps come into view.
On a clear day, you can probably see some snow-peaked mountains until late in the spring (the summits in near-by southern Piemonte reach into the 3000-metre range), although on the day of our walk much of the scenery was covered in haze.
The trail turned out to be a Calvario route of pilgrimage, lined with votive chapels (that are dedicated to the various stops of the Way of the Cross) and leading to a sanctuary in the hills.
Every Italian town appears to have one of those (as does Menton on the other side of the border), but this one is a little longer and a lot more attractive than most.
When in Italy, do like the Italians do: stop at the individual chapels which are spaced in intervals of a few hundred meters or so – if not to pray, then to take in your environment a bit …
… and to enjoy the views.
The path is not marked but easy to navigate since there are virtually no forks or junctions anywhere along the way. The only place where you could possibly go wrong is on the approach towards a small hamlet of residential homes roughly one hour into the walk.
This is where you must turn straight into the gravel path rather than uphill towards the houses.
As a general rule just bear in mind that, if you – for a period of ten minutes or more – have failed to spot one of the (in total 15) votive chapels that line the trail, you have probably taken a wrong turn somewhere.
To be absolutely certain that you are on the right way, you will have to wait until well past the half-way mark of the hike. It is only then when you see the first signpost with the name of your destination on it: the Santuario della Madonna delle Vertù.
Soon after you spot that, you will already see the cliffside …
… into which the Madonna delle Vertù grotto church was hammered during the 14th century.
More recently, pilgrims have placed a more modern statue outside the grotto – which, in its listless absence of artistic flamboyance, appears to suggest that any feeling that this may be a special place is rooted in something other and older than Christian belief.
For your descent back to Ventimiglia, we recommend you walk back down the hiking trail up to the near-by fork with the asphalted road and then change over into this quiet country lane for the rest of your walk.
This will allow you to approach Ventimiglia from a slightly different angle with equally attractive views.
