Walking through vineyards and woods in the Lands of the Saints, then crossing Castelnuovo Don Bosco to arrive at the hill on San Domenico Savio’s trail. This stage is one of the most beautiful in the Cammino.
Technical Notes
Start: Abbazia di Vezzolano (426 m)
Arrival: Colle Don Bosco (245 m)
Distance: km 16,2
Elevation Gain: m 310
Difficulty: hiking, with initial descent and subsequent slightly undulating path
Refreshment: possible stops at the Canonica di Vezzolano square, Castelnuovo Don Bosco, and Albugnano
Water: available in Castelnuovo Don Bosco (H2O kiosk in Piazza Italia, fountains on Via Monsignor Bertagna and Via Valdocco), in Mondonio (Piazza San Sebastiano), in Morialdo (Spirituality Oasis in front of the Church of San Pietro), and 3 fountains at Colle Don Bosco
Description
After visiting the Canonica, return back to Colle della Crocetta and take a left onto Trail No. 101, which descends fairly steeply towards Castelnuovo Don Bosco, now about 5.5 km away. Continue the descent through the woods along the narrow trail, crossing the Nevissano River, passing a votive pillar, and reaching Ca di Liso in the Nevissano valley. Here, disregard the paved road on the right leading to the Bardella fraction and continue the descent towards the charming Church of San Michele Arcangelo (18th century) perched on a small hill. Passing first a centuries-old hawthorn, unique for its unusual size, then the Tarantino Houses, you arrive at the Church of Santa Maria in Cornareto (dating back to the 12th century, with subsequent renovations and a complete reconstruction in 1984), set on a hill opposite San Michele, boasting an extraordinary panoramic view. Among splendid vineyards predominantly featuring Malvasia, proceed towards the valley floor, quickly arriving—with a somewhat compromised final stretch that requires attention and caution, especially on wet ground—at the Church of Sant’Eusebio (12th-17th century) along SP16 towards Berzano. (In case of inclement weather, an alternative route for the initial part of this leg might be preferred: from Colle della Crocetta, descend to the right, keep left after 300 meters, follow the path first and then the small road for 1300 meters. At the Pogliano houses, continue straight at the junction through the village, then turn left onto a path about 400 meters from the junction. Follow the path for about 500 meters until meeting the Lis asphalt road and continue straight on the main track, shortly reaching Ca di Liso and the Church of San Michele Arcangelo. Subsequently, turn left, continuing through the Castelnuovo neighborhood along Via Vittorio Emanuele to reach Piazza Don Bosco. Here, a switchback ascent starts via Via Mercadillo, passing by the Church of Sant’Andrea on the right and continuing along Via Madonna del Castello (next to the homonymous baroque chapel alongside the renovated tower of the ancient castle) towards the Church of San Sebastiano. Keep to the right, ascending on the old road towards Albugnano, passing by the chapels of Madonna del Ròch, San Barnaba, San Pietro in Zucca (a white building), then turn right near Cascina Miretti, descending on a cart track towards the I Rosmarini farmhouse, then traverse a path amidst vineyards with a panoramic view of Pino d’Asti. After reaching a cluster of farms near the Ranello hamlet (beautiful view of Mondonio on the left), continue straight until the asphalt road veers right. At this point, instead, take the left path that enters the woods, continuing to some houses; from there, descend left along the edge of a forest and houses with gardens towards the valley floor. After crossing the fields along the edges, you’ll reach SP81 and ascend to Mondonio San Domenico Savio, arriving at the Church of San Giacomo. Descend along Via San Rocco, passing the house where San Domenico passed away, until reaching SP17 (a square near the cemetery where the Saint was buried until the Salesians transferred him to the Basilica of Maria Ausiliatrice next to Don Bosco), covering about 5.5 km from Castelnuovo. Immediately after crossing the provincial road, turn right onto the bridge, following the San Domenico Savio Trail leading to Morialdo, a flat 3 km walk amidst fields, meadows, and woods with a slight incline towards the end. In Morialdo, turn left onto SP130 (known as the Pope’s Road) to finally reach Colle Don Bosco (H) after an additional 1.5 km of walking.
In the Footsteps of Don Bosco
Colle Don Bosco
On this hill in the hamlet of Becchi in Castelnuovo d’Asti, Giovanni Bosco was born on August 16, 1815, in a modest farmhouse where the Temple of Don Bosco now stands. Son of farmers Francesco Bosco and Margherita Occhiena, he was orphaned at the age of two and endured a very tough childhood. At the age of nine, following a dream foretelling a life dedicated to the spiritual assistance of the youth, he decided to become a priest.
Capriglio
Birthplace of Margherita Occhiena (April 1, 1788 – Turin, November 25, 1856), mother of Giovanni Bosco. In this village, 2 km from Becchi, Giovannino attended his initial rudimentary elementary schooling in the winters of 1824 and 1825, learning to read, write, and perform basic calculations. Since 1988, the centenary of the Saint’s death and the bicentenary of Margherita Occhiena’s birth, gatherings of the Occhiena family, direct and indirect descendants of Mother Margherita from across Italy, have taken place. The Museo Mamma Margherita is dedicated to this figure, showcasing genealogical records, historical photos of the birth house, memories from the school in Capriglio, and narrates to visitors the geological (land of fossils and millennial stratigraphy), pedological (gypsum and tuff lands), and botanical characteristics of the area (www.museomammamargherita.com. Tel. 347 7699296).
Castelnuovo d’Asti (now Castelnuovo Don Bosco)
Giovanni Bosco was baptized in the parish church of Sant’Andrea, made his First Communion in 1826, attended catechism, and, as a new priest, celebrated his first solemn Mass on June 10, 1841. Also in Castelnuovo, in 1831, after leaving Morialdo following the death of Don Calosso, he took a Latin course, staying with Giovanni Roberto, a tailor and musician from the town who taught him his craft, along with the blacksmith Evasio Savio. After spending the summer at Cascina Sussambrino, he moved to Chieri.
Morialdo
In 1829, Giovanni Bosco went to live in the canonical house adjacent to the church of San Pietro in Morialdo (a hamlet of Castelnuovo), a guest of Don Calosso, whom he served Mass, to devote himself to the study of Italian and Latin: he stayed there until the death of the priest (November 1830). On the lawn in front of the church, the fifteen-year-old Giovanni Bosco met Giuseppe Cafasso for the first time, who was then a seminarian. Not far away is the house where Domenico Savio’s family lived from 1843 to 1853, which became a Salesian center for young people: his father was the church cantor, and the son helped him in singing. Thus, in a few square meters of this corner of Monferrato, three future saints grew up.
Terre dei Santi (Land of the Saints)
Castelnuovo d’Asti gave birth to Saint Giovanni Bosco, founder of the Salesian Congregation and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, to Saint Giuseppe Cafasso (January 15, 1811), confessor and assistant to prisoners, and to Blessed Giuseppe Allamano (January 21, 1851), founder of the Institute of the Missionaries and the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Ghost. Saint Domenico Savio, the “holy child,” was born in San Giovanni, a hamlet near Riva close to Chieri on April 2, 1842. Blessed Maddalena Caterina Morano, a pioneer in female education, was born in Chieri on November 15, 1847.
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