RELIGIOUS ROUTES – Religious Trails & Votive Places

There is a trail above Sestri Levante that not everyone truly knows, even though it starts just a short distance from the sea. At first it feels almost hidden, entering the landscape quietly.

You walk along the stream, following a route that crosses a series of small stone bridges built centuries ago by the Republic of Genoa. They are not just crossings, but traces of history.

As you climb, the landscape changes almost without you noticing. The woods give way to Mediterranean scrub, the light becomes stronger and the ground more open.

When you reach the top, the view opens suddenly. The ruins of the Chapel of Sant’Anna appear among the vegetation, in a position that seems chosen for silence and contemplation.

The chapel, built between the 13th and 16th centuries on an even older site, carries stories and legends that still feel meaningful here.

Then you simply turn around and everything opens up. The Bays of Silence and Fables are below you, Punta Manara draws the coastline and, on clear days, the horizon stretches wide.

It is one of those routes that does not need too much explanation. You walk it, and when it ends you keep the feeling of having seen something real.