A VERTICAL WITH A SOUL.
What’s behind the Vertical of the Crosses? Behind a trail that is the emblem of effort? How did the idea arise to extend the path that ended at Mario Andreoli’s illuminated nativity scene to make it even bigger?
It’s 2005 in the forest, looking for mushrooms, and by chance we find ourselves on a rocky ridge that pushes us to climb; we climb curiously and after a few dozen minutes we find ourselves in front of three Crosses.
We had found the Crosses of “Gio’ Pippa.” The view was incredible, a 180-degree panorama allowed us to see from the Apuan Alps to the Bay of Silence and beyond.
On January 1, 2001, on Monte Le Croci, Ubaldo Crovara (called Giorgio, nicknamed Gio’ Pippa) and a group of volunteers from Groppo and Volastra had repositioned the central cross, self-made from a railroad rail, to protect the valley.
At the beginning of 2018, and after a quick visit to Monte Le Croci, we realize that despite the neglect, the magic is intact. We’ve decided! We need to extend the Vertical that ends at the illuminated nativity scene and make it bigger.
In July, we start to tidy up trail 6A (which mysteriously disappeared from the REL). The forest reveals a lot about our territory. We discover that along the trail there are old cableways because the forest, until the early ’70s, was still cultivated. Fertilizer for the vineyards and firewood for heating were taken from there.
It feels like being in an archaeological park, yet the people who used those infrastructures still live in the village. How was it possible to lose memory of it so quickly?
We are a National Park, the dry stone walls are a UNESCO heritage, yet in reality we find ourselves dealing with a hit-and-run type of tourism that looks for what Google’s algorithm suggests: the colorful little houses.
Aware and motivated by the desire not to lose this heritage, and overwhelmed by the beauty that surrounds us, in just a few days we clear the path leading to the saddle of Monte Capri. It’s a very hot summer, but we don’t stop because we’ve glimpsed the possibility of reaching the summit using another old trail: the direct route; so we start cleaning it, discovering more cable cars and sandstone quarries. It’s perfect, it’s the path we were looking for: the trail that starts from the sea and reconnects us to generations long past. The Vertical Monte le Croci is the soul of this territory.
The Cinque Terre are tough; steep steps, the sea, a harsh landscape, sometimes almost cruel. But the summit gives it all back and the effort turns into emotions.
On Sunday, December 23, 2018, the Vertical was inaugurated, which goes from the Manarola marina to the summit of Monte Le Croci (3.3 km, 726 meters of elevation).
The route is officially a segment on Strava, and once you’re registered on this app, you can challenge yourself and, upon completing the route, get the finisher medal made by Cinque Terre Trekking (you just need to visit them at their store in Manarola at Via Discovolo, 108).
Current standings on STRAVA (Vertical Monte Le Croci segment)
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