Trekking, yoga, a historic library and oil tastings in the Ligurian hinterland: an alternative summer to the sea
Not just umbrellas and colorful booths. Liguria is also made up of terraced hills, centuries-old olive groves and villages that have remained out of time. To discover it, just move a few kilometers away from Tigullio. Bargonea hilly hamlet above Casarza Ligure, is a perfect example: a cozy place, with a historic garden, Casa Fracchia, and an olive grove overlooking the valley which houses the mausoleum of the writer Umberto Fracchia. Here, every year, the National Literary Award and Festival dedicated to him takes place. In this place, tourism changes pace: it becomes slow, you live outdoors, you book it as an experience rather than a stopover.
The wonders of little-known Liguria
They set off from Casa Fracchia, the home where the writer spent his summers in his maternal grandparents’ village two hiking rings accessible to all. A path leads to the source and the basins of the ancient aqueducts, up to the pillows basaltic, a rare geological formation of volcanic origin. The other leads to a medieval humpback bridge and the entrance to the historic copper mine, before returning to the village via the alley. Two itineraries capable of recounting the stratification of a territory that mixes nature and history.
In reality, at Casa Fracchia it is not compulsory to walk: you can also rest and seek inner peace. In fact, lessons are held in the historic garden outdoor yogaled by teacher Carolina Bonelli. A practice which, in a literary context like this, becomes much more than a simple physical exercise: a way to get in tune with the landscape.
From literature to food and wine
Very few know the figure of Professor Obertelloa refined academic and Anglicist, among the most attentive readers of Fracchia’s work, of which he praised the “harmony and moderation”. Like the writer, he also chose Bargone as a place of the soul, keeping a collection of books of great value there.
But in this little-known Liguria, in addition to literature, it is possible (indeed, advisable) to satisfy one’s pleasures of the palate. In the’olive grove of the Umberto Fracchia Mausoleumoverlooking the Casarza valley, extra virgin olive oil is discovered through the senses and the story of the territory. An experience that links landscape and literary memory, up to the final tasting on bread: the simplest way to understand what the Ligurian hinterland really means.
