The best walks and hikes around Leivi

A charming place steeped in history, it offers a beautiful view of Chiavari and the sea. The cobbled pavement, decorated with "rissêu" mosaics, typical of Tigullio and Liguria, adorns the churchyard in front of the church. Comfortable creuze (except for a few poorly maintained sections) allow for an easy visit, with two alternative routes back to Chiavari. From Ri Alto, the trail to Curlo di San Tommaso begins. The signposts are marked "Square Rosso Solida" (full red square) from the Ceive ascent next to the Chiavari cemetery, and the trail markers are two parallel red lines on the way down.

Behind the sanctuary, the Stations of the Cross begins, which, with a few turns through the beautiful holm oak forest, leads to the summit of Monte Rosa (692 m). The summit, topped by a repeater, is largely wooded and offers no views. (c) https://www.appenninista.it/rapallo-montallegro/

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) https://www.instagram.com/fie_italia/reel/DJW7pcnhm6u/?hl=it

It was built in 1167 by order of the Genoese consuls on a hilltop in a dominant and panoramic position, as a garrison and outpost in the lands of the Counts of Lavagna, who were hostile to Genoa. In 1178, the decision was made to create the village below, which was then surrounded by walls—of which only a few traces remain today—with three gates and watchtowers. During its first decades of existence, the Castle endured sieges, conquests, and reconstructions during the struggles between Genoa and the local feudal families, the Fieschi and Malaspina. With the expansion of the village into the coastal plain and the end of the feudal conflicts, it lost importance and was gradually abandoned until, starting in 1575, some parts of it were demolished as a "gathering place for innovators and exiles." Today, all that remains is the upstream tower with its terrace, where the Genoese flag flies, two water cisterns that were used to ensure survival during sieges, and a fortified parade ground. The castle is now privately owned but is always open for guided tours for small groups. (c) https://www.comune.chiavari.ge.it/it/vivere/castello

easy scenic route

Wonderful holm oak forest that you come across after the sanctuary of Montallegro

The paths in the area are interspersed with ancient creuze.

Around Monte Telegrafo there is a marked path that allows you to follow a ring in both directions. The route of each ring takes approximately 4 hours.