CELLE LIGURE: Trekking among the hamlets.

The route of the 7 Churches of Celle and the Sanctuary of Castagnabuona in Varazze.

A beautiful balcony on the sea where we can travel among history, nature and traditions. We will discover the most characteristic corners of the area with wonderful views of the sea and surrounding mountains. The terraces, supported by dry stone walls, frame the Celle Ligure, composed of several hamlets, each with its own history and traditions. The churches and chapels have always been not only a place of worship, but a point of aggregation and exchange for these communities, which have lived in these impervious places for centuries. Reaching them along the ancient paths and mule tracks is a great emotion, allowing us to understand how Liguria, made essentially of stone, transforms in a few meters from domestic to wild, giving us a unique atmosphere that over the centuries has fed stories and legends.

The 7 Churches Trail, built by the municipality of Celle Ligure, is 15 km long and has an elevation gain of 550 m. It encompasses all the hamlets of Celle and is at the center of a trail network that connects it to other localities in the surrounding area.

The route proposed here covers only part of it but also allows you to reach a beautiful viewpoint on the heights of Varazze, which would not be included in the original route.

We start with the Church of the Assumption at Piani di Celle, a splendid church dating from the 1950s, a symbol of Celle's postwar reconstruction, and from here, following a section of the 7 Churches trail, we reach the Costa hamlet. This beautiful handful of houses was built in the 9th century at the time of the Saracen invasions. In fact, the hamlet is not visible from the sea, which enabled it during the invasions to save itself on more than one occasion. After visiting the church of St. John and St. Lucy we continue to the Sanctuary of Castagnabuona, already in the territory of Varazze. Here the hard work is rewarded by a beautiful view of the coast. When the sky is clear we can see the entire Levante Riviera, Genoa and the west coast as far as the promontory of Capo Noli. We descend by resuming the path of the 7 Churches and we reach the village of Brasi with its beautiful little church with a portico for sheltering pilgrims. We continue to Sanda where next to the church of St. George we also find the Oratory that introduces us to the very interesting history of the brotherhoods in Liguria. From here we reach Poggio della Fratellanza a balcony overlooking the sea to enjoy the view. We retrace our steps to descend to locality Cornaro, a cluster of houses with two ancient towers dating from the time of the invasions. An easy path allows us to reach the Ferrari locality and from there the Celle Ligure station. Having passed through the center of Celle, we can return to our starting point via the seaside promenade or continue along the beautiful Via Romana.

We also recommend our guided tour of Celle Ligure e  the guided tour of Varazze