Alto Tanaro Tour

Among the various artists who decorated churches, houses and shrines, Eugenio Arduino is certainly worth remembering. He left numerous testimonies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is credited with having painted, among other things, San Martino on the facade of the Parish Church in Ormea.Also the art work of the Pilone delle Caranche, dated 1902 but still fairly well conserved, bears his signature.

A small ethnographic museum has been set up near the church a few years ago, the Museo dei Ricordi, where hundreds of everyday objects from the past decades are on display: tools, furniture, clothes and many other small pieces of memorabilia.

Le biancone, Circaetus gallicus (du grec "kirkos" = falco et "aëtos" = aigle, l'adjectif "gallicus" se réfère à cette région de la France appelée Gallia), est un aigle très spécial. En effet, il se nourrit uniquement de reptiles et en particulier de serpents, qui recherchent les pentes ensoleillées des régions méditerranéennes et des vallées alpines. Sa technique de chasse est également particulière à un aigle, car elle consiste à voler en l'air, dans le vol dit «saint-esprit». Migrant à longue distance, c'est une espèce originaire d'Afrique.

The Chapel of Sant'Erim (Chapel of Sant'Elmo) was built following the saint's apparitions here to groups of shepherds. Tradition has it that a mass was celebrated here every year on the day the cattle went up to the mountain pastures.The Rifugio Selle di Carnino was built from a shepherds hut by the Ligurian Section of the CAI . It was used until the Second World War when it was seriously damaged and definitively abandoned.[A. Parodi, R. Pockaj, A. Costa - Nel cuore delle Alpi Liguri, collana Sentieri e Rifugi, Andrea Parodi Editore, 2012, p.42]

Pass von großer Bedeutung in der Vergangenheit, wahrscheinlich Via del Sale, wurde er von den Hirten von Brigasque bei ihrer Transhumanz zu den Weiden am Fuße des Marguareis-Massivs häufig benutzt.Der Ortsname bezieht sich auf die "Sättel" oder "Zellen" zur Aufbewahrung von Käse, die einst offensichtlich in der Umgebung vorhanden waren. Die Sättel sind im Allgemeinen Kellergebäude aus Stein mit einem Tonnengewölbe, die mit Torf bedeckt und isoliert sind, um eine konstante Temperatur und Luftfeuchtigkeit im Inneren zu gewährleisten.

The Colle di Nava blockade was built between 1880 and 1888, to prevent transit on the easy pass that connects the Valle Tanaro with the Valle Arroscia. The square had five forts: the Central Fort and the Bellarasco Fort near the pass, the Richermo Fort on the left, the Pozzanghi Fort and the Montescio Fort on the right (at a considerable distance from the other works), as well as a series of semi-permanent field batteries. The armament was small and medium calibre in all the forts.[Le Fortificazioni delle Alpi del Mare, pp.49-50]

Migratory birds make long journeys between nesting sites and wintering sites. Many migratories reach Europe from Africa in March, some using the position of the sun and the mountain ranges as a reference (diurnal migration), and some the moon and stars (nocturnal migration). The return journey takes place in the months of September and October. The Bocchino di Semola is an important passage in the migratory routes that cross the border between Liguria and Piedmont.[On-site information panel, text by Fabiano Sartirana]