보르게토 디 바라 최고의 라이딩 경로

beautiful, quiet pass with picnic area

Update September 2025: Fieschi Castle is temporarily closed for renovations

A small, quiet town in the Vara Valley. A good starting point for a circular tour of Lunigiana (Rastrello Pass or Calzavitello Pass).

Road panorama out of season with little traffic

Situated at 717 meters above sea level, Santa Maria del Taro is a hamlet in the municipality of Tornolo (province of Parma), nestled in the heart of the Northern Apennines, near the border between Emilia and Liguria. Since the early Middle Ages, its strategic position along the ancient ridge road connecting the sea to the Po Valley has made it a transit and trade center, as well as a military and commercial control point. The name itself recalls the religious devotion that has permeated the town for centuries: the church-sanctuary dedicated to the Nativity of Mary, rebuilt in neoclassical style between 1807 and 1834, stands on an older structure and has been the spiritual center of the upper Taro Valley for centuries. The building, with its broad façade and stone bell tower, preserves a deep devotional tradition that is still alive. A short walk from the center is the Ponte dei Priori, a medieval humpbacked stone structure that once served as the only permanent access to the valley and symbolically marked the passage between the lands of the Malaspina and Fieschi families, two powerful feudal families of the Apennines. Over the centuries, Santa Maria del Taro has maintained an identity suspended between Emilian and Ligurian culture, evident in the features of its rural architecture, local dialects, and popular customs.

Situated at 956 meters between the Vara and Aveto Valleys, the Bocco Pass is one of the historic passes of the Ligurian Apennines, used since ancient times as a connection between the Tyrrhenian coast and the Po Valley hinterland. Already in Roman times, it was part of a secondary transit network, but it was especially in the Middle Ages and modern times that the pass assumed a central role in local traffic: a route for merchants, shepherds, and pilgrims, it connected Chiavari and the Riviera with Varese Ligure and the Emilian plains. Traces of the ancient paving are still visible today in the surrounding woods. During the Second World War, the area served as a refuge for partisan groups, thanks to its secluded location and dense forest cover. Today, the pass is a destination for cyclists and hikers, immersed in an unspoiled mountain landscape of beech and fir forests and highland meadows, at the gateway to the Aveto Regional Natural Park.

The name Calice al Cornoviglio combines two distinctive elements of the village: "Calice," of uncertain origin but perhaps derived from the Latin calix (cup), referring to the site's concave shape, and "Cornoviglio," the mountain (561 m) that overlooks the village and lends its name to the entire ridge. This toponym appears in medieval documents and recalls the village's ancient connection with the surrounding Apennine territory. Calice was long ruled by the Malaspina dello Spino Secco family, who built a strategic castle there, documented since the 11th century and modified several times over the centuries. Today, the fortress houses the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art and the Chestnut Documentation Center, two testimonies to the profound intertwining of history, spirituality, and the territory's resources. A short distance away is the parish church of Santa Maria Lauretana, an elegant 18th-century Baroque building with exquisite decorations and a polychrome marble high altar. The village comes alive throughout the year with traditional events such as the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto (September), the Chestnut Festival (October) and various summer festivals, which highlight the historical and cultural roots of the place.

A great panoramic view of the bay and the sea.