Top 9 Mountain Passes around Coreglia Ligure

Very beautiful views of Rapallo and the bay to Portofino

From here you can get everywhere!

Climbing from Cicagna (north side) and passing through the hamlet of Dezerega, the road is mostly paved, with sections reaching gradients of over 20%. You gain 500 meters of elevation gain in about 5 km. It's very shaded, and from the Crocetta Pass, Rapallo is just a short drive away.

View of Malvaro Castle and Favale

Once I reach the Scoglina pass, at 920 meters above sea level, a table with a bench invites you to rest for a moment before continuing with the descent. Here there is also a monument to the Partisans.

February 15, 1945, La Squazza Massacre: On February 14, 1945, an Alpine soldier from Monterosa, a certain Mantovani, was in the La Squazza area (municipality of Borzonasca), heading towards the Forcella pass, where a contingent of Alpine soldiers was stationed. Some partisans recognized him as the one who had seen the mine system being laid around the Forcella stronghold. They then decided to capture him to get him to reveal the operation and exact location of the minefield and organized an ambush. But, while they were ordering him to “put your hands up!”, a group of German soldiers appeared on the road and a firefight ensued, during which Mantovani (probably shot by a Nazi) and a German were fatally shot. The partisans suffered no losses. The Nazi-fascist retaliation was immediate and ferocious and on February 15, ten partisans were taken from the prisons of Chiavari and transported on a truck to La Squazza, where they were murdered. The then deputy commissioner of the “Coduri”, “Miro” recounts that the ten partisans who were shot were left for three days in full view of everyone, with no one being allowed to attend to the funeral. The owner of the hotel in La Squazza, however, had approached the martyrs to try to bring them some, vain, help. "Miro" himself, when the news reached him, was charged, together with "Baffo", sent by the Area Command, to go to the site of the massacre to proceed with the identification of the bodies. Having arrived near La Squazza by chance, after having been targeted by mortar fire from the Alpine troops of Forcella, the two partisans took advantage of the guidance of an elderly local lady and her daughter, whom they met on the path, who collaborated with them until they got closer to the site of the massacre.

The Spinarola Pass connects the area of Recco, Avegno and Uscio with the Val Fontanabuona and over the centuries has been the first crucial point of passage from the coast to the hinterland in this area of the Levant. Today it also represents the starting point for many beautiful excursions on the ridge of the first band of mountains of the Apennines that run parallel to the coast, with open views both of the sea and of the subsequent curtains of mountains towards the interior. The pardonal bridge was recently reopened thanks to the restoration work carried out by a group of volunteers, who named it after the unforgettable actor Aldo Fabrizi, who used to holiday in the nearby Colonia Arnaldi.

The Crocetta Pass (599 m), on the road between Rapallo and Coreglia Ligure, is an important Ligurian cycling destination. Also reachable by car, it represents the ideal starting point for excursions to Monte Pegge or Montallegro.