Top 14 Mountain Passes around Santo Stefano D'Aveto

Beautiful pass of the Ligurian Apennines located at 1,468 meters. Strategic point that offers various alternatives to start a walk or a long hike.

Pass of the Ligurian Apennines located at an altitude of 1,452 m, it is reachable by car and is a crossroads where various hiking trails branch off.

Relatively steep, high single digit

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.

Challenging climb, but great satisfaction

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.

Easy ascent to the top of Monte Penna. From Passo dell'Incisa, the A5 route winds through the beech forest, making it feasible even in the hot season. The slope is not slight (20-25%) but considering the limited distance it is feasible. We did this route with our 6-year-old daughter (already accustomed to mountain walks) without any particular effort. For children this is the path to take, the one that starts from Casermette del Monte Penna is not recommended due to the via ferrata which makes it decidedly less suitable. NOTE: Passo dell'Incisa can be reached by car by carefully following a dirt road (about 1.4 km from the junction on Strada Provinciale 75)

Handsome