“La strada delle streghe” path

Rango

Just above the painted village of Balbido where the houses are decorated with mural paintings that represent ancient crafts, traditions and legends, there’s the locality: le Cross, the starting point of this tour. Here, in 1656, five iron crosses were erected to keep away the witches that it is said pestered the farmers that went to val Marcia to collect wood and hay. The crosses are positioned in the wood to form one large cross and some of them are visible from the path. The route enters the wood along a gravel path on which, in some points, there’s a beautiful view of the valley. You arrive at Rango, a hamlet that is a member of the National Club of the “Most Beautiful Hamlets in Italy” as its houses still have the typical rural architecture of the valley. After visiting the hamlet, you can return via the parallel path to the one you followed before, but lower. Here you can also notice dry stone walls, skilfully built in the past using stones found locally. The path is bordered by walnut trees, which once formed part of the dense woodland and whose fruit was a source of income for the local farmers, while today they are a typical product of the area.