#9 - Monte Caprazoppa - Cave
Finale Ligure, Liguria, ItalyLength: 12.7 mi • Est. 6 h 7 m
This difficult mountain bike route on the Capazoppa single trek trails starts from the church of San Martino. The ring connection for bikes and possibly on foot seems to be interrupted by the new quarry, but if you want you can pass. Obviously, there are signs and signs of prohibition but it is better to pass upstream of the quarry not during the week, but on Saturday and Sunday when the quarry is not in operation.
From the ancient gate of Finalborgo, cross the Pora stream, turn left onto the provincial road and after a hundred meters you will meet on the right the beginning of the Napoleonic road, built towards the end of the 18th century to allow the transit of the artillery of the Grande Armee. In reality, the route is much older following an old medieval route set on the ancient Roman road Julia Augusta. The route takes place on dirt roads and paths, gradually climbing through the vegetation that is well suited to the arid and calcareous soil, to reach the Regina Pacis chapel with a beautiful view over the plain of Finale and its beaches; you now approach the coast line and then gain altitude passing an old quarry and reaching a vast plateau. From this excellent picnic spot you can go down to the right on a track that is initially a stairway which then becomes a path at the edge of the cycle path but spectacular. Otherwise, continue quietly towards the north, on the side that looks towards Borgio Verezzi and in the background there is the outline of the Gallinara island and the promontory of Capo Santa Croce. Continuing on an ancient cobbled ground, you come to a crossroads, turn right to reach the Old Quarry, one of the few sites for the extraction of Verezzi stone cultivated in the tunnel. Continuing on, you will find other old quarries, the work in them reached its maximum development in the twentieth century when over 100 miners worked in the different extraction sites. Continuing on the paved mule track that climbs into the woods, you reach the crest of the sum and the churchyard of the church of S. Martino and the Sanctuary of Maria Regina Mundi. From here either return to Finalborgo or, weather permitting, take a detour of 1 hour and visit the 4 old villages of Verezzi characterized by pink stone buildings and connected by narrow alleys. Or you go down towards Borgio Verezzi, you reach the asphalted road and go up again taking another beautiful paved road at a chapel revived in ancient times by an exiled countess who haunted these paths in solitude with her brushes and palette. From here you return to the Church of San Martino arriving from the opposite side. For the descent you can have fun among the different possibilities offered by the Caprazoppa trails, sometimes you end up in a cul de sac near some old quarry. Then you retrace your steps as in a labyrinth and in the end you go down to the starting point. Back at the crossroads of S. Martino through the pine forests between the Rocce di Orera and Monte Caprazoppa, we return to Finalborgo at the starting point.
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