The Green Sea

Waves never stop, not even when the water recedes. You find them, indeed, in what remains and they draw the landscape that has emerged as a reminder of that perennial motion. That is what happened here and what you see now are not just hills, but memories of a sea that no longer exists.

A walk through the Val Sarmassa Nature Reserve is like a journey into a distant geological era: through woods, fields and vineyards you will find sand and clay outcrops of great palaeontological interest. The Mare Verde trail aims to take you on a discovery of this crystallised deposit, but also of an incredible and vivid biodiversity. These hills are loved by many and especially by the writer Davide Lajolo who made them famous through his novels and poems.

Leave Vinchio and walk (20 min) or drive (5 min) towards Cortiglione until you reach the wooden notice board that marks one of the entrances to the Protected Area.

Continue along the ridge from one hilltops to another and, as soon as the descent begins, you will come across the first stratified marine sediments, where you will easily develop a passion for geology, and you will also see the small pond heavily populated by amphibians and known, with poetic licence, as the "blue lake". As if the vibrant woodland life and the scents of wild vegetation were not enough, just beyond, after an uphill stretch you will come across the "herb garden" with an equipped picnic area.

Still slightly uphill, continue on SP 10, which will take you to the giant red bench of Vinchio, for a last panoramic look at the "green sea" that was so dear to the writer. A few more literary references and a little botany knowledge thanks to the storytelling boards, and after passing the small church dedicated to Santa Petronilla, you will be back at the starting point after having walked this engaging 4.5 km loop.