The best road cycling routes around Albareto

You arrive by bike after a well-riding climb

Situated at 717 meters above sea level, Santa Maria del Taro is a hamlet in the municipality of Tornolo (province of Parma), nestled in the heart of the Northern Apennines, near the border between Emilia and Liguria. Since the early Middle Ages, its strategic position along the ancient ridge road connecting the sea to the Po Valley has made it a transit and trade center, as well as a military and commercial control point. The name itself recalls the religious devotion that has permeated the town for centuries: the church-sanctuary dedicated to the Nativity of Mary, rebuilt in neoclassical style between 1807 and 1834, stands on an older structure and has been the spiritual center of the upper Taro Valley for centuries. The building, with its broad façade and stone bell tower, preserves a deep devotional tradition that is still alive. A short walk from the center is the Ponte dei Priori, a medieval humpbacked stone structure that once served as the only permanent access to the valley and symbolically marked the passage between the lands of the Malaspina and Fieschi families, two powerful feudal families of the Apennines. Over the centuries, Santa Maria del Taro has maintained an identity suspended between Emilian and Ligurian culture, evident in the features of its rural architecture, local dialects, and popular customs.

Situated at 956 meters between the Vara and Aveto Valleys, the Bocco Pass is one of the historic passes of the Ligurian Apennines, used since ancient times as a connection between the Tyrrhenian coast and the Po Valley hinterland. Already in Roman times, it was part of a secondary transit network, but it was especially in the Middle Ages and modern times that the pass assumed a central role in local traffic: a route for merchants, shepherds, and pilgrims, it connected Chiavari and the Riviera with Varese Ligure and the Emilian plains. Traces of the ancient paving are still visible today in the surrounding woods. During the Second World War, the area served as a refuge for partisan groups, thanks to its secluded location and dense forest cover. Today, the pass is a destination for cyclists and hikers, immersed in an unspoiled mountain landscape of beech and fir forests and highland meadows, at the gateway to the Aveto Regional Natural Park.

The singular basaltic monolith beneath the Bardi castle is located at the beginning of the Bardi - Borgo Val di Taro stage of the Via degli Abati

A pretty little village with its characteristic castle, a convenient stopover for those taking the Appennino Bike Tour.

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.

From the entrance to the municipality of Borzonasca, take the road that leads, through the towns of Sopralacroce, Zanoni and Belvedere, to the Ghiffi Pass and then descend to the Bocco Pass. The road, in many sections, is narrow and with a mediocre surface, but for us cyclists it always offers a good challenge: the first stretch of about 10 km is cycleable with gradients between 6% and 9%, but the last 4 km , from Belvedere to the Pass, are all to be "enjoyed", both for the panorama that opens onto the surrounding mountains and the valley below, but, above all, for the slope which, in this stretch, almost never drops below 12%. Doing it downhill is not advisable due to the bottlenecks, especially on the hairpin bends, both because of the asphalt which presents many dangers.

Situated on a natural hill of red jasper, the castle, of medieval origins, was initially the residence of the Landi family and later, in the Bourbon era, it was transformed into a military garrison. Subject to numerous renovations over time, the castle still retains the ancient keep, a high and off-centre square tower crowned by squared stone corbels. The castle dominates the landscape around Bardi, but it is the green hills around the small town that contribute to its charm. It is possible to visit the inside of the castle, and the view from the towers is very pleasant.