Discovering the Ligurian Riviera
A tour to the discovery of Andora and Val Merula
October 25, 2020
The warm season has now given way to the colors of autumn, but this does not scare us. As always, we continue to walk the streets of our territory, to discover the unusual places that are hidden a few steps from our farmholidays in Diano Marina .
We take our moped once again and start our tour through Val Merula, crossing Andora and other little known villages, such as Colla Micheri, Testico, Rollo and Stellanello.
Andora
We leave early in the morning and take the Via Aurelia towards San Bartolomeo al Mare and Cervo, in the direction of Andora. We pass through Capo Mimosa, along a stretch already partly covered in another turn towards the Ciapà Park, and continue straight ahead, without being too distracted by the view of the sea on our right. At this point we meet a sign indicating the hamlet of Rollo. The name intrigues us and we decide to go up along the hairpin bends bordered by thick olive groves.
We arrive at the top and we congratulate ourselves for our choice: the valley dominates the whole gulf of Andora, offering us the opportunity to admire a panorama without equal. After a stop we take the Strada delle Colline (Hills Road) that descends towards the town of Marina di Andora. It is a very neat and clean tourist town, with wide avenues that intersect almost perpendicularly. Around us we notice many small villas, hotels, and vacation apartments.
After a ride along the seafront and in the pedestrian center of the town we decide to continue our journey inland.
The church of SS Giacomo and Filippo in Andora
Our first stop leads us to Castello. This area overlooks the whole valley and is characterized by the presence of two churches: San Nicolò and SS Giacomo and Filippo. Not far away are the remains of the ancient castle of Andora, closed to visits because it is not safe.
But what attracts our attention is the beautiful basilical facade of the church of SS Giacomo and Filippo. We can only get close to the portal to admire the details of the capitals, where strange human figurines emerge among the plant ornaments. The medieval appearance takes us back to a distant world, yet so tangible in the materiality of the stone of Capo Mele with which it was built.
A little further on is a tower, which was also the gateway to the fortified area. Under the cross vault, we are surprised by the sight of what remains of a beautiful fresco depicting the Annunciation.
Near the Castle we then take a path that runs along the medieval ruins, leading us to an old fountain. This, we discover, provided refreshment to anyone who crossed these places after long walks.
Colla Micheri
We continue our journey towards a nearby village, Colla Micheri. The hamlet is well-known for having hosted Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian anthropologist and explorer, in the last years of his life. The center gravitates around the central square, where the church of San Sebastiano is located. On the facade of the sacred building we can see a plaque commemorating the passage of Pope Pius VII, who stopped here on his way back from exile in France.
From the small square there are many paved caruggi, where you can walk and admire the ancient houses, decorated with flowers and plants at the entrance of the small doors.
We take a path right at the beginning of the village that leads us to a wood. Here we admire the panorama of the Gulf of Andora and we meet a stone building, certainly a watchtower, which intrigues us for its shape and the great cleft inside.
Conna
We take the moped again and continue along the main road SP 13 that crosses the whole valley. We go along the Merula stream and reach a detour. We follow narrow hairpin bends until, after meeting other places, we find the hamlet of Conna. Here we rest for a few minutes on the churchyard of the parish of Sant'Andrea in Conna, a few tens of meters from the beginning of a path that from Pizzo d'Evigno goes down to the Ciapà Park, just after Cervo.
Stellanello
We leave the area and decide to return to the bottom of the valley. Along the way we notice the cultivation of basil in the greenhouse, just like the one that takes place in our farm, and we find the road to Stellanello.
This widespread municipality is inhabited by just a thousand people, and develops in hamlets that in turn are distinguished in other villages. In the hamlet of Rossi, for example, we find the town of Stellanello. Here the provincial road begins to climb towards the upper part of Val Merula.
Testico
We cross several places with curious names, probably the surnames of the owners of the surrounding land: Armati, Ciccioni, Roggio, until we reach Testico. Here we are struck by the calm and silence that dominate the valley. We rest a bit before discovering a curious place: the Museum of Remembrance. We find it closed, but from the open garden we can see many traditional tools of rural life.
We take the moped and continue towards the Ginestro Pass, just above Testico. The vegetation thickens, replacing the olive trees that have made us company on our journey, with typical trees of the half mountain. We meet some stretches of forest and the temperature drops, forcing us to stop to wear a sweater.
Just before the pass, a sign attracts our attention, inviting us to make a stop. It says: monument in memory of the massacre. What is it about? We continue on foot to the side of the road, pushed to learn more.
Engraved on the marble we find the names of the 29 people killed by German soldiers in the massacre in Testico on April 15, 1945. Common people, innocent civilians, suddenly protagonists of a wrong story.
At this point we decide to continue towards the Pass, even if shaken by the thought of this terrible episode. Here we discover we are at the top of three different valleys: the Impero Valley, the Albenga Valley, and the Merula Valley.
But now the time has come to return home, where we bring with us a new experience, still a wealth of memories, with an extra reflection on our past.
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