There is a Sunday that begins differently from all the others: the one where you don’t look at the sea, but at the mountains behind Genoa. The one where your backpack fills with hiking boots instead of a swimsuit, and your thoughts turn to the chestnut woods of the hinterland, to the smell of wet earth after a summer storm, to the silence found only far from the coast. It is the right Sunday to set out on the traces of an ancient route, one of those that Genoese people know less well than Portofino from postcards but which tells, perhaps, a more authentic story of the city.
It takes barely forty minutes by car from Genoa to leave behind the traffic of Val Polcevera and begin to climb towards the Apennines. From here on, the road — the real one, the one that mules travelled for centuries — takes on a different rhythm. It is the Via del Sale, or rather one of its historic branches: the connection that for centuries linked Genoa’s port to the markets of lower Piedmont, carrying salt and precious goods towards the hinterland and, on the return journey, grain, wine and products from the plains towards the coast.
One road, many stories: what the Via del Sale really is
The name misleads those who imagine a single linear pathway: the Via del Sale is actually a network of routes that over the centuries connected Genoa with Piedmont, crossing the Apennine passes that separate the Mediterranean basin from that of the Po. The section we describe here — the one that from Genoa climbs towards Rossiglione, touches Tiglieto and finally descends to Ovada — follows one of the historic routes used by Ligurian and Piedmontese merchants for salt trade, a precious commodity before the advent of railways and modern roads.
Walking (or cycling) on these trails today means moving on a double track: on one hand, the natural beauty of the Ligurian-Piedmontese Apennines, with their beech and chestnut forests, the ridges that open onto panoramas extending to the sea on clear days; on the other, the physical perception of a commercial history that made Genoa rich and left concrete traces in the villages encountered along the way.
The route is not technically demanding — it does not require mountaineering equipment or great experience — but it does require trained legs if you want to tackle it in a day, and a minimum of organization if you choose to split it into two or three stages with overnight stays.
Rossiglione and Tiglieto: two villages that tell the story of the Apennines
The first village you encounter heading towards Piedmont is Rossiglione, a town historically divided into two nuclei — Rossiglione Superiore and Inferiore — which still preserves an ancient urban layout today, with stone houses and a network of narrow alleys typical of Ligurian hinterland villages. Rossiglione had a manufacturing vocation linked to iron working and later to paper mill activities: a detail that surprises those expecting only pastoralism and chestnuts, and which testifies how these villages were never isolated from the rest of the world, but rather nodes in continuous commercial exchange.
Tiglieto and Italy’s first Cistercian abbey
Continuing along the path you reach Tiglieto, a tiny municipality that holds a significant national distinction: here stands the Abbey of Tiglieto, recognized as the first Cistercian foundation in Italy, dating back to the 12th century. The Cistercian order, born in Burgundy with the ideal of rigorous monastic life close to agricultural work, found in this Apennine valley a suitable place to settle, and from here the Cistercian experience subsequently spread throughout the peninsula.
Visiting the abbey today means taking a step back centuries into a context that has maintained around itself a still-legible rural landscape: forests, watercourses, terracing. It is not a monument crowded with tourists — and that is precisely its value. Those who arrive on foot, sweaty and covered with the dust of the trail, experience it with an intensity different from those who visit it descending from a coach.
Ovada, gateway to Piedmont and capital of Dolcetto
The route concludes, or begins, depending on the direction chosen, at Ovada, a Piedmontese town that marks the point where the Ligurian Apennines give way to the first hills of Monferrato. Ovada has a pleasant historic center to explore at leisure, with arcades and palaces that tell of a past as a market town, a natural point of exchange between Liguria and the Piedmontese hinterland.
But Ovada is above all synonymous with Dolcetto: the Dolcetto d’Ovada DOC (with the superior denomination Dolcetto di Ovada Superiore DOCG for the more structured versions) is the wine that best tells the story of this border territory, where the Mediterranean climate rising from Liguria meets the soil and climate characteristics of Piedmont. The connection between the Via del Sale and Dolcetto is no accident: for centuries wine traveled along these same mule tracks toward the port of Genoa, while salt and colonial goods made the reverse journey toward the inland areas.
Making a stop in Ovada at the end of your journey, perhaps sitting in a wine bar in the town center with a glass of Dolcetto and a board of local cheeses, is a way to close the circle: to understand with your palate what your legs have told you during the day.
How to organize the trekking: route, stages and transportation
The Genoa-Ovada stretch along the Via del Sale can be tackled in different ways depending on the time and training you have available.
- In one day, select sections only: if you have only one Sunday, you can choose to walk only the Rossiglione-Tiglieto section, or Tiglieto-Ovada, then return by car to your starting point. This is the most realistic solution for those staying in Genoa who want to experience a taste of the route without committing to a multi-day trek.
- By mountain bike: a large part of the route, especially in the unpaved stretches through the woods, is well-suited to MTB. It’s a way to cover greater distances in less time, though it still requires trained legs for the uphill sections.
- Over multiple days, with overnight stays: for those who want to experience the full journey, breaking the walk into two stages with a night in Rossiglione or Tiglieto allows you to enjoy the villages at leisure, dine without rushing and set off the next day without pressure.
For accommodation along the route, the offer is typical of small Apennine villages: agritourism farms, small family-run inns, and a few bed & breakfasts. Don’t expect large hotels: it’s part of the charm of these places, but it’s worth booking in advance, especially in the summer months and weekends in September-October, when chestnut and porcini mushroom lovers flock to the inland areas.
When to go: the right season
Spring, between April and June, offers lush forests and ideal temperatures for walking without suffering from the heat. Summer is doable but requires an early morning start to avoid the hottest hours, especially on exposed stretches. Autumn is probably the most evocative time: the chestnut groves turn yellow and ochre, the air becomes crisper, and it’s the season when the inland areas come alive with chestnut harvesting and the search for porcini mushrooms — a sensory experience that adds another level of pleasure to the walk. Winter, except for abundant snow, remains passable but requires adequate equipment and shorter daylight hours to account for.
How to reach the starting point from Genoa
To reach Rossiglione, the ideal starting point for those who want to tackle the stretch toward Tiglieto and Ovada, the most direct route from Genoa involves traveling through the Val Polcevera and then heading inland: by car it takes approximately 40-50 minutes. It’s also possible to reach the area by train on the line heading toward Piedmont, with a change depending on connections — an option to evaluate carefully by checking schedules, useful for those without a car and who still want to attempt at least a section of the route.
For those who prefer to start from the Piedmont side, Ovada is reachable from Genoa by train with a change, or by car in about one hour, traveling along roads that cross the Apennines toward the Monferrato. Those organizing a multi-day trek can leave their car in Genoa, take public transport to the starting point and then arrange to be picked up in Ovada, or organize a circular route if time permits.
One-day itinerary: how to experience the Rossiglione-Tiglieto stretch
For those with only one Sunday available, here’s a concrete proposal. Departure from Genoa early in the morning, so as to be in Rossiglione by 9 a.m. First a walk through the village, a coffee in the square to find your rhythm for the day, then start the walk toward Tiglieto: the trail crosses mixed woods and allows panoramic stops overlooking the valley.
Arrival in Tiglieto in late morning, time to visit the abbey area at leisure, without hurry. Lunch at one of the small trattorias or agritourism farms in the area, with dishes that tell the story of inland cuisine: mushrooms when in season, chestnuts, alpine cheeses, local cured meats. In the early afternoon, those with energy left can continue toward Ovada to complete the stretch to the Piedmont town; those who prefer a more relaxed pace can return to Rossiglione at leisure, perhaps stopping to photograph the most evocative corners of the village.
The return to Genoa in the late afternoon closes the day: tired legs, a rested mind, and the feeling of having touched with your own hands a piece of history that is rarely told in the most well-trodden guides.
The detail that makes the trip worthwhile
What truly surprises you, walking these trails, is the discovery that the Ligurian-Piedmont Apennines was never an isolated or marginal territory, as it is often imagined. Every stone in the villages, every stretch of paved mule track encountered along the route, instead tells of an intense exchange of goods: salt rising from the sea, wine and grain descending from Piedmont, merchants traveling these ridges with loaded mules. The abbey of Tiglieto, in particular, is proof that even the apparently most remote places inland were part of cultural and economic networks of national reach — Italy’s first Cistercian community was born not by chance in an isolated valley, but at a strategic crossing point between two worlds: the maritime world of Genoa and the continental world of Piedmont.
Returning to Genoa in the evening, after a day spent among woods, abbeys and glasses of Dolcetto, is part of the pleasure of this outing. Those staying in one of our homes in the heart of the city find, upon arrival, not a hotel room but a house where you can leave your backpack and share the day’s stories. If this Sunday you feel like discovering a less photographed but no less authentic piece of Liguria, book your stay and let Genoa be your base for exploring the Apennines: the city will be waiting for you in the evening, with its lights on the harbor and the certainty of having truly come home. For other ideas for weekend getaways, our Genoa guide is a good starting point for every Sunday.
