The 20 Most Amazing Peaks around Roccavione

Each and every one of the – always encountered by the hiker along the way – wayside crosses was erected as a sign of remembrance of the death of the God's Son Jesus Christ, who became human, but it also points far beyond – to the overcoming of death in his glorious resurrection, which is also promised to us Christians. On the occasion of the celebration of the Easter festival in 2026, Pierbattista Cardinal Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, said a few sentences to the faithful, which I would like to offer to those who linger here for meditation: + “The resurrection is a way of disobedience, a disobedience against mistrust and fear! – But we want to obey the Lord and the light! For we are celebrating the light that comes to us and not the darkness. … And this is my encouragement for everyone: There is no situation that is forever condemned to be in the shadow of death.”

A beautiful stretch of ridge that goes from Cima Rossa to Cima Besimauda. Pay attention to the weather forecast for the risk of thunderstorms. If you hike in the sun, bring water with you, as there are no fountains except at the bottom of the valley. The stretch is challenging but doable with due caution.

great view

The "Dragon's Breath" is a large cavity between the rocks protected by a grill from which a light breath of air comes out. It is a bit hidden, it took me a while to find it. Once you reach the viewpoint you have to go down the steep path marked with the sign for the "Dragon's Breath". As soon as you see a blue sign on the rocks stop going down and take this path on the left, and after a few meters you will reach your destination. On windy days you might not hear this hiss of air coming from the cavity

Hill at the confluence between the path that comes from Bernezzo and the dirt road that comes from Chiot Rosa. From here you can easily reach Mount Tamone

I was really looking forward to going up to the Santuario della Madonna del Colletto. I had been to this area several times and had not had the opportunity to go up here. So on the trip through Piedmont in July 2022 I made sure that the planned route passed through here. We went up the western slope, the one used by the Giro d'Italia when it first went up here in 1999, on the famous stage where the Fauniera was climbed, with the spectacle of Pantani climbing and the stratospheric descent of Paolo Savoldelli. I have to admit that the climb itself is not very attractive. Once you leave the village of Festiona behind, you enter a forest and there are hardly any views over the valley. You can only focus on the road, its curves, straights (which there are) and difficult slopes. The asphalt is old, with a lot of gravel and very uneven, which obviously adds difficulty to the climb. The climb up the western side is 7.1 km, 576 metres of elevation and an average gradient of 8.1%. Therefore, it is very hard!! And there are several sections above 12%, especially in the first kilometres, where the gradient is irregular, with very hard sections and small rest areas. The views of the Valdieri valley from the Sanctuary are very beautiful, and also of all the mountains covered with forests and vegetation in the surroundings. We took advantage of the porch at the entrance to the Sanctuary to take shelter from the sun and the heat, and to stock up on food and eat some spectacular sandwiches. I remember it fondly. Below is the altimetry of the climb published by @cyclingcols, the best in these matters --> http://www.cyclingcols.com/col/Colletto

Rocky peak with a view over the entire Cuneo area

Protected pit from which hot air comes out