ANELLI A, B e C
Start and finish: AgricooPecetto – Sabena Road, 78 – Pecetto T.se (if using GPS: Virana Road)
Hiking difficulty: Moderate, easy routes from flat to undulating
Water points: At Agricoopecetto, H2O Hut near the cemetery, and fountains in Piazza Roma and Piazza S. Pietro in Pecetto
ANELLO A o ANELLO DEL PALEOPO
Length: Approx. 7.5 km Elevation: +131 m
From AgricooPecetto, turn right onto Virana Road, then right again after 150 m. Follow the road that, after 100 m, curves left and reaches SP125 after another 130 m. Cross cautiously to continue on the Ciattalina Road. After reaching a small bridge, immediately turn right following the path (Cammino Don Bosco) for 300 m, then turn left and then right after 100 m. Ascend for about 500 m (initially on gravel, then asphalt) to reach Via San Felice near a nursery. Turn left (watch for heavy traffic) and then right after 200 m onto Via Solairano. Climb until you intersect with Via del Podio after 550 m. Turn right and continue for 1.2 km, then turn right onto a gravel road just before the road turns left, near the intersection with Moglia Road. Follow the gravel road for about 200 m, cross a bridge, and reach SP125. Go around the little church and cross carefully to continue uphill on strada Tetti Marsino (3.8 km from the start, panoramic view of Villa Brea). Passing Cascina Matinè on the right, follow the gravel road for 800 m, then turn right at the junction (1) onto strada Tetti Rocco (spectacular view of the plain and the Alpine arc), continuing for 800 m along Villa Passatempo‘s wall until reaching SP123. Continue right for 600 m (heavy traffic danger), then turn left onto a gravel road (at the corner of Villa Passatempo’s enclosing wall) after covering 6 km from the start. Follow the path to reach a flat area in the valle di Vaiors (Meandro San Felice on the left,view of Pecetto and the Turin hill, and Eremo), ignore the deviation to the left, continue straight to cross Rio Vajors after 500 m Rio Vajors then immediately climb to the right to cross a meadow and resume the path. Continue straight among fruit orchards (cherries, apricots, plums, apples, figs), greenhouses, and beehives. Reach Sabena Road after 700 m. Turn right to reach AgricooPecetto after covering 7.5 km.
The limy and clayey fluvial deposits of the Meandro San Felice wreckage are traceable to the initial part of the Middle Pleistocene (dating back to around 781000 years ago), representing a trace of the river shaping done by the ancient watercourse(paleo-Po)when it flowed south of the Turin hill, heading east through the Asti hills.
Rio Vajors gets its name (derived from “Ij ri dj’òss,” meaning “bones river” in Piedmontese) from the significant number of Angevin soldiers who fell near this watercourse during the 1345 battle of Gemenario, fought between the Marquis of Monferrato and Roberto d’Angiò.
Villa Il Passatempo delle Dame di Verrua was built at the end of the 17th century. The building – surrounded by a centuries-old park, with paths among oaks, cypress trees, cedars, and water features – reveals the neoclassical taste of the era with its harmonious and severe lines. A symmetric ramp staircase leads to the noble floor, with a hall adorned with an imposing marble basin, a large fireplace covered in ceramics from ancient Piedmontese factories, and a majestic wooden sculpture representing the 1683 Battle of Vienna.
ANELLO B
Length: Approx. 8.75 km Elevation: +190 m Difficulty: Moderate
Follow the description of Ring A until junction (1) on strada Tetti Rocco, then continue straight for 650 m to the strada del Vibernone junction, turning right. Continue for 1.1 km, ignoring the deviation onto Molino Road, until reaching SP123. Turn left, covering 280 m on SP (heavy traffic danger), then turn right at junction (2) onto a gravel road near Establo sign, follow for 500 m past the building, then for another 400 m, crossing Rio Vajors and reaching a junction. Here, continue left, ignoring the path to the hazelnut grove. Climb until intersecting with the flat gravel road of strada del Bricco (Blu Way). After 130 m, reach Sabena Road, turn right to arrive at AgricooPecetto after covering 4.15 km from junction (1) and 8.75 km from the start.
ANELLO C
Length: Approx. 10.90 km Elevation: +190 m Difficulty: Moderate
Follow the description of Ring B until junction (2), then continue for another 330 m on SP123 to the Madonna della Scala hamlet. Turn right onto strada Cassano, ignore the deviation to the left (Pignani Road), and take the dirt road (trail no. 260) after 670 m. Continue for 1.15 km (beautiful panoramic views) until reaching strada Sabena and then AgricooPecetto after another 680 m.
PERCORSO D – PERCORSO ARCHEOLOGICO DEL BRIC SAN VITER
Start and finish: San Grato Chapel – Circonvallazione Street, 2 – Pecetto T.se
Length: Approx. 5 km Elevation: +206 m Difficulty: Moderate
Follow the Cammino Don Bosco from the San Grato Chapel along Via Eremo and then on Via Allason. After about 900 m from the start, at the Via Allason 9/82 junction, turn right onto the strada della Vetta following the signs for Trail 32. After an initial steep asphalt stretch, the path enters the woods among chestnuts, locusts, oaks, and maples, reaching the “Pera del Tesor“, a large rock standing over a meter above the ground, once believed to guard treasure and promote fertility. Soon after, at a crossroads, turn right along the ridge (Trail 32 marker), then right again at the next junction, then left (information panels for the archaeological site). Ascend through the chestnut and oak forest to the broad summit of Bric San Viter (Monspheratus Archaeological Site).
Return to San Grato Chapel along the same route.
In the Monspheratus or Bric San Viter archaeological site,attributed to the Celtic-Ligurian population of the Taurini, ceramic, lithic, and metallic artifacts were found – partly exhibited at the Museum of Antiquities in Turin – traceable to various phases of the site’s life, from the Iron Age (V-III century BC) to the early medieval period. The soil stratigraphy has shown how in the superimposed layers, it’s possible to distinguish prehistoric, Roman, and medieval levels. Artifacts from the various “life” epochs of the site have not altered the previous deposits.
