The road was built in 13 BCE on the orders of Emperor Augustus to connect Rome with southern Gaul and today is considered one of the most beautiful historic routes in the whole of Liguria. As a result, it is a protected archaeological and landscape monument, but it is still open to pedestrians.
The trail is easy, part of its is asphalted, part is a loose earth surface and the whole trail takes almost two hours to walk. A stroll along the trail gives you a real feel for the past, surrounded by the colourful and fragrant Mediterranean brush.
The walk starts at the lovely park that surrounds the Santa Croce Church; there is also a drinking fountain under the pine trees.
After passing the stone arch walls, following the trail sign , you’ll enjoy a splendid view over the harbour and Sant'Anna’s Bay as you follow the downhill path; the cliffs are home to patches of Euphorbia arborea, a toxic shrub with leaves that turn reddish in spring. The paved road passes through a settlement of bungalows leading to the next little valley where a second mediaeval Church stands; hidden among eucalyptus and cypress trees, this chapel was dedicated to St. Anne and had been deconsecrated and used as a stable by the early modern age.
The road continues with a panoramic view of the sea and the Gallinara Island. The road narrows into a path: after passing a campsite, for a short stretch you walk in the shade of downy oaktrees on an ancient cobblestone pavement featuring margines on both sides and cross cuts for water drainage.
A stream runs just beyond and at a monumental carob tree, the track widens again into a dirt road. Here is the first building of the necropolis of the Roman city of Albingaunum, dating from the 1st-2nd century AD. As you near some homes, the road becomes paved and you come to a dual crossroad, where you first turn right* and then left*. A downhill stretch leads to a small bridge now entering the municipal district of Albenga.
After another kilometre passing under the olive trees, there is a second burial ground, also covered by square blocks. The main archaeological area is just a little bit further on: there are four burial monuments aligned along the road axis here (monuments C, D, H, L). The first is a ‘columbarium’ tomb, the only one of its kind so far found in Liguria: it dates back to the mid-1st century AD.
Continue along the original road: you cross a small stream and walk through uncultivated olive groves, overgrown with alaterno, lentisk and hawthorn bushes. You come to the ruins of monument E, which is a long wall alongside the road, and further on, the remains of another two burial monuments, burial ground F and on the downhill side of the road, monument G. You come to Punta San Martino: in front of the entrance gate to the garden of the former Benedictine abbey, bypass the uphill deviation and head down* along the cobbled mule track that runs alongside the abbey property. You arrive at small paved road called “Salita Madonna di Fatima” that winds down the Monte hill, passes a small post-war Marian Church (with a fountain in the Churchyard) and finishes in the southern outskirts of Albenga, at the crossroad with Via San Calocero.
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Emerson Fortunato Marco Zanardi Mola Mola Dive Team VI Continente Diving Center Giardini di Villa della Pergola Thalasso and Medical SPA Grand Hotel Alassio Golf di Garlenda Mattia Righello Un Mondo di Colori Willie Boehmer Giannicola Marello.
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