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Site of the Chappe Optical Telegraph Station on Monte Cucco

Site of the Chappe Optical Telegraph Station on Monte Cucco

Highlight • Historical Site

Site of the Chappe Optical Telegraph Station on Monte Cucco

Name: Site of the Chappe Optical Telegraph Station on Monte Cucco
Rating: 2

Recommended by 2 hikers

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: Parco Naturale Regionale di Portofino - Area Contigua Promontorio delle Grazie -

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Location: Chiavari, Genoa, Liguria, Italy

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Best Hikes to Site of the Chappe Optical Telegraph Station on Monte Cucco

4.3

(20)

hikers

1. Monte Telegrafo Loop Trail

20.2km

06:37

740m

750m

Historic loop through Ligurian woods to Napoleon's telegraph ruins with coastal views.

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5.0

(2)

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2. Monte Telegrafo Loop Trail

10.6km

03:34

450m

Historic forest loop exploring Napoleon's telegraph ruins with sunset views over Portofino.

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Intermediate

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3. Monte Telegrafo Loop Trail from Chiavari

15.1km

05:05

690m

Historic hike to Napoleon's telegraph ruins with sunset views over Portofino's coastline.

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Tips

Patrick

July 29, 2025

The place was known as Monte Cucco until 1807, when Monsieur Berruti, a captain in the French imperial army and appointed "Captain Inspector of Semaphores" by the Economic Society, began construction of an optical telegraph.
Chiavari was a truly important city at the time. Napoleon himself had chosen it as the capital of the Department of the Apennines, and all departmental capitals were to be connected to Paris.
The inventor of these modern optical semaphores, a system of long-distance communication using a mechanical signal (telegraph), was the Frenchman Claude Chappe.
His first optical telegraph line was built between Paris and Lille in 1792.
The Chiavari station received messages from Punta Manara (Sestri Levante) and transmitted them to the semaphore on Monte di Portofino, which we still call the "Old Semaphore" today.
The first message from Chiavari was transmitted in 1808, but unfortunately, with the fall of Napoleon, the House of Savoy demolished the entire semaphore system, and then, naturally, optical telegraphs were replaced by electric ones.
(c) instagram.com/fie_italia/reel/DJW7pcnhm6u/?hl=it

Translated by Google •

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Elevation 330 m

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Monday 10 November

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Location: Chiavari, Genoa, Liguria, Italy

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Site of the Chappe Optical Telegraph Station on Monte Cucco

1. Monte Telegrafo Loop Trail

2. Monte Telegrafo Loop Trail

3. Monte Telegrafo Loop Trail from Chiavari

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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