Description of the route
Now on foot go back to the cobbled street, on the wall you will see a sign for the Santuario del Rio and a Marker for route 16, follow the cobbled road through the old village. The village is small but very pretty and very old, if you look carefully at the walls of some of the buildings you can see what look like the scars of ancient battles and if you have an imagination like mine you can transport yourself back to bygone days.
You will come to a ‘No Through Road’ sign, with a sign underneath for Santuario del Rio, follow this path until you come to the Santuario del Rio. The Santuario del Rio is a pretty little church built a shrine on the site where an apparition of the Virgin Mary was said to have left a footprint on a white stone.
You will see a sign on a tree ‘Visitate La Grotta Con La Cascata’, which translates to the cave with the a waterfall, it is a very slight detour but definitely worth it. Turn left over the bridge and right after the church and follow the path up a hundred meters and you will see why. To get back on track go back to the church take the path up to the right of the church. You will see a marker for route 16 Passo La Stacca. Follow the path up, after a short while you will come to a T-junction, turn left here and you will soon see a marker for Passo Bagnolo. Keep following the track up, it will eventually change from a gravel track to a gravel, then concrete road. You will come toa junction with a left turn up to Gazzane, but you turn right and you will see a small church an archway with a sign above for Azienda Agrituristica del Bagnolo .
Don’t go through the arch but turn left and follow the road down until you come to a marker for S.Michele 17. Follow this down until you arrive in San Michele where you can find a restaurant, a café/bar and a shop.
When you have refreshed yourself you need to go back the way you came. When you arrive back at the marker which directed you down to S.Michele instead of turning right and going back up to Bagnolo, cross the road and follow the marker for Serniga 17.
Map of the route
View Renzano to San Michele(Santuario del Rio) in a larger map
When you arrive in the village follow the marker 17 turn left (the marker will be on the wall of a yellow house, then at the end turn right and follow the track until you arrive back at the Passo La Stacca ( a crossroads with markers pointing in many directions).
Follow the markers to St.Bartolomeo 17, when you come to the village you will come out on to the tarmac road. Keep walking straight ahead and you will soon pick up the markers for route 17 Salo.
You will be taken back off the road, follow the track down until you see a gate on your right (a red and white marker is painted on the gate post. Climb over the gate and keep following the markers to down to Salo/Renzano 17. Watch out for a blue marker which reads Belvedere Amici del Golfo. At this marker there is a little track that leads up to an amazing view point of the Gulf of Salo. Don’t worry if you miss this as there is another view point a few hundred meters along the route, just watch out for the picnic table on the left and a track next to which takes you up to the viewpoint.
Once you have been overwhelmed by the amazing views you need to get back on track and start your descent back down to your car at Renzano. You will come to a junction where the marker 17 turns left down to Salo, don’t turn left but go straight ahead following the markers to Renzano you will arrive safely back at your car.
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