Villatalla - San Bernardo - Passo del Maro - Monte Moro - Pistuna -Tavole - Villatalla

The starting point of the hike is the village square of Villatalla.

Climb up the narrow road (fig. 1) and turn right onto the unpaved path (fig. 2). Follow this path, cross a bridge and keep left after the bridge (fig. 3). Continue uphill. After a short time you will reach a small church (Fig. 4).  Keep right at the next two forks (fig. 5, 6). Keep left at the next fork in the road (Fig. 7). Follow the road further uphill, with views of Villatalla and the Val Prino. After approx. 1 - 1 1/2 hours you will reach the San Bernardo chapel (Fig. 8).

Turn left onto a stony path that leads steeply upwards (Fig. 9). After a few metres you will reach a fenced-in water reservoir (fig. 10), before which the path turns left. The path winds uphill in many hairpin bends, then continues uphill along the mountain flank facing Villatalla until you reach a small saddle. Behind the saddle, keep left (Fig. 11) and follow the path through broom bushes, some of which obscure the path. Be careful, in summer the path is sometimes very difficult to see as it is usually almost overgrown and has not yet been marked.

Follow the path, which always runs slightly uphill along the side of the mountain, but is barely recognisable as a path in places (Fig. 12 - 18), past a fence used for rearing partridges, and continue up the short, steep path (arrow in Fig. 19) until you reach a stone rampart. Before the rampart, turn right and follow the narrow path uphill through hedges. After a short distance, the path leads downhill into a hollow. From there, climb up the slope in front of you (Fig. 22 - 24). At the top, descend the hill to the foot of the next mountain. At the bottom right you will see a hut belonging to the "Hundefreunde" (cinofili ) (Fig. 25), to which a small road leads up from the provincial road. Above the hut, a narrow path runs slightly uphill along the mountainside (white dots in figs. 25, 26). Follow this path to the Passo del Maro (Fig. 27, 28). From the San Bernardo chapel to here you need about 1 1/4 to 2 hours.

At the pass there is a signpost for the old Strada Marenca, a trade route that connected the coast with Piedmont (Fig. 29). There the path turns left and leads uphill over rocky terrain (figs. 28, 30, 31 ). After approx. 100 - 120 metres, the path turns right (fig. 32) and continues uphill along the mountain flank. You cross a short section of deciduous forest. After a short stretch you will reach the Passo di Villatalla (fig. 33). Follow the narrow path uphill to the right (fig. 34). The path leads over a lower foothill, past a fork (fig. 35) and finally to the summit of Monte Moro (1184 m above sea level) (fig. 36). It takes about 30 - 45 minutes to reach the summit from Passo del Maro.

From the summit you have wonderful views of the surrounding mountain ranges and the side valleys. From Monte Moro, descend again to the fork and follow the narrow path to the right (Fig. 37). The path is difficult to recognise and mostly overgrown. It always leads along the slope in approx. 30 - 45 minutes to the Passo del le Tavole with the small Pistonia chapel (Fig. 38). From time to time you can still see the red and white markings. Walk around the small chapel and follow the new, still unpaved road that leads to Tavole (Fig. 39). In a sharp bend to the right just before Tavole, a narrow path turns off to the left (Fig. 40). Follow the path uphill, cross several small mountain streams and finally reach a road (fig. 41) where you turn right downhill, pass the Madonna del le Neve chapel and turn right immediately after the church onto a downhill path (fig. 42). Follow the path. After a short distance you will reach a road that leads to the village of Villatalla (fig. 43). Walk down the road (fig. 44) and you will reach the central square of Villatalla (fig. 45).

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