The path of the five bell towers

The many paths that intersect behind Chiavari, Zoagli and Rapallo united the splendid views of the Gulf of Tigullio and the evergreen vegetation that cross. The trekking route of the five bell towers has the advantage of being a ring, with departure and arrival from Zoagli; The five bell towers in question are, in addition to that of Zoagli, the churches of San Pietro di Rovereto, Semorile, Sant'Ambrogio and San Pantaleo.

Zoagli is the convenient starting point for those in the train; Those who are in the car, in high season will find more easily parking along the roads in the hills, for example between San Pietro and Semorile. Being a ring, the itinerary can start where you prefer! And, it can also be traveled from Chiavari or Rapallo and then resuming the train to Zoagli, as described about the Trekking from Chiavari to Zoagli and the one from Zoagli a Santa Margherita . But notice to the Ciance! Let's start with the description.

Starting from Zoagli, a small village with a beautiful beach and a short, panoramic walking to the sea, you can go up to the train station and from here to rise again, along a Cruza and then a paved road towards the village of San Pietro di Rovereto. Here is the second of the five bell towers, after that of Zoagli. The village of San Pietro, on a coast on the sea is very characteristic, and gives its best when admired from the nearby Sant'Andrea of Rovereto (whose bell tower, however, is not part of the itinerary!).

From Zoagli to San Pietro di Rovereto they are only a kilometer and a half walking, but in a discrete climb (170 meters of height difference), so there are at least 30-40 minutes of route. At this point we leave San Pietro and go up to the staircase behind him, and then take a paved narrow road on the left that becomes a path towards Cerisola and Semorile.

The path passes into the woods and after three quarters of an hour at the asphalted road towards semorile. After a while you have a beautiful view over the whole valley of Zoagli, surrounded by greenery (sin for the highway overpass in the middle, but the important thing is that it is standing and make us maintenance !!).

Still a few minutes, for a total of an hour and forty minutes from Zoagli, you arrive at the island and very quiet village of Cerisola, which has a small church, which does not count in the five bell towers of the trekking route! So there is still a bit to walk: =)

After a few minutes you reach Semorile, which has some scattered villas, dry stone walls and a church feature, the third officially the path of the five bell towers.

From here part a long trail in the woods, very pleasant, which goes to Sant'Ambrogio. First, but you cross the hamlet of Sexi, which has a wonderful name (and the SEXI SANT'AMBROGIO signboard I like a lot): you meet a chapel in the woods (this too does not count in the five bell towers!) And then Of the homes, very splendid as a panorama, but unfortunately reachable only with the long trail and not with a road and for this abandoned.

Between Semorile and Sant'Ambrogio it is used about an hour and a quarter (all times are obviously comfortable pace, without racing racing). From a kilometal point of view, the itinerary Zoagli - San Pietro - Semorile is about 5 kilometers, with 250 meters in altitude; 4 other kilometers, or less, are needed between sempro and Sant'Ambrogio, with some salts and descend.

Sant'Ambrogio is the fourth bell tower, and is the one closest to Rapallo; From here, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the promontory of Portofino. Return to Zoagli is almost completely downhill, so this relatively tiring trek, especially on hot days, is almost finished! We proceed for a kilometer on the side of the hill, about 170 meters of altitude, up to the church of San Pantaleo, the last of the Route of the five bell towers when it is path as described on this page.

From San Pantaleo, another kilometer, everything downhill, leads to Zoagli, where you can enjoy a bit of rest at the beach. For a bathroom at sea, you can also take advantage of the sea stroll that leads to rocks and cliffs immediately to the east and west of the village, where water is clearer (obviously in this area I recommend the kayak ... you see splendid places !).

In all, then the ringing itinerary of the five bell towers allows you to walk for a dozen kilometers between the green hills of the Tigullio, touching olive groves and woods and offering beautiful views of the Ligurian Sea.
As you can see from the map, there are Many other interesting trekking in the area.

This itinerary is one of the many trails between Genoa and Tuscany, all paths and all described to this Page on trekking in Liguria . To travel the entire Riviera from west to east, the previous stage is that of the Trekking in Portofino, between Camogli and Santa Margherita , while the next route leads from Zoagli a Chiavari .
good trip!
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