Punta del Mesco, from Levanto

Access

Exit the Autostrada dei Fiori motorway at the Levanto tollgate, and drive down to the village; here the complications begin: you can't enter by car, there are several car parks, but the ones we found were all with parking discs, and no indication that the discs were also valid on Sundays... When in doubt, we looked around the station for a place where we could park freely; on 20 April 2008 there were no problems, but the season is far behind this year... I think it's different when it's warmer. Leaving the car behind, we headed towards the sea, passing through the middle of the village past the station subway and then under an arch. The arch was part of the 500-metre wall fortification of the town, walls that still exist in part, including the clock tower; in those days the harbour was much further back than it is today, then it gradually silted up and the town expanded in its place.

Introduction

The itinerary we propose is not long, and is very scenic; from Levanto we climb up to the castle, and then skirt the sea between 100 and 300 metres above sea level, with a series of ups and downs, until we reach Punta del Mesco.
In contrast to the area of the Portofino Park, there are very few signs here; we follow the red and white signs of the CAI trails, but there is practically no numbering of the paths, except sometimes at the start, except for number 1, which we found a few times, and which is the Alta Via from Levanto to Porto Venere, a 12-hour route. At the crossroads we found very few indications, on very old signs, often rusty and scribbled; if you want to take routes other than 1 and 10, which goes from Punta Mesco down to Riomaggiore, don't venture out without a good map; you don't get lost, but going up and down uselessly is unpleasant. There were a lot of foreigners, French, German, Scandinavian, and no directions in English at least.

Description

Leaving the car in the station area forces a long walk to the starting point (at least 20 minutes), but it makes for a nice stroll along the old village streets. Pass under the railway subway and go down towards the sea; trees laden with sweet-smelling lemons peep out from the gardens, and every now and then the street is traversed by beautiful catbirds, very common in Liguria. We continue until we find an arch, the arch of the pond door, through which we enter Via Garibaldi, in old Levanto, following a beautiful paved road, first slightly uphill and then slightly downhill; we arrive at the main square, cross it and follow the small road that leads to the church of Sant'Andrea, a beautiful Gothic 13th-century church, with a splendid rose window, with a black and white façade, like many Ligurian churches; the church is on a rise, below, and to the north-west, with respect to the castle, visible from below. Our path passes behind the castle, reached by a flight of steps that starts in front of the church. As we ascend, the view widens over the village. Beyond the castle we walk along low walls from which flowering clusters of wisteria peep out; we pass by beautiful houses, along terraces planted with olive trees, while below us the sea breaks on the cliffs, almost sheer in places. We climb up steps, then cross for long stretches on level ground; at a certain point we take a slightly uphill stretch on an asphalt road, which we then leave, following the signs along a small road to the right, downhill, which then becomes a path. The path enters a beautiful holm oak wood, then climbs a little stony, and then descends again into an area of sparse pines; all around us are many trunks that have probably been blown down by the wind or old fires. The path is shady, in some places overlooking the blue-green sea. The last stretch, after a picturesque resting place, is a continuous but not tiring ascent, and here we are at the Mesco pass, from which we overlook the Cinque Terre; below us Monterosso, and then Vernazza clearly visible, while the other villages are far away or behind the inlets; at the end, the island of Tino. Descend about twenty metres towards Monterosso, and then take the path to the right, slightly downhill and then level, leading to Punta Mesco and what remains of the church of Sant'Antonio; this promontory was home to an Augustinian monastery, certainly there in the 13th century, but it has more ancient origins. When it was abandoned it decayed, and the coup de grace was given to it by the Merchant Navy who used the stones to build the now abandoned lighthouse. The view of the Cinque Terre from here is spectacular (2.30 hours from the car). Retrace your steps as far as the Mesco crossroads, and instead of descending with path no. 10 to Monterosso, ascend in a northerly direction on the continuation of path no. 1; here we penetrate between arboreal heather and a beautiful carpet of yellow broom. We ascend a little, slightly to the left with respect to the ridge line, until we reach the colla dei Bagari, behind Monte Vé or Focone, whose slopes we cross to the right after descending slightly to a col; Several paths are marked on our map, but we found no deviation until the obvious one at the glue (30 minutes from the Mesco), and local people confirmed to us that some of the paths are now impassable. The section behind Monte Vé overlooks Monterosso and its partly abandoned cultivated fields; there is a fine view of the gulf below, and we can also see the railway tracks coming out of one of the tunnels in the area. When we arrive at the col, recognisable by the rescue sign, we find 3 paths: one climbs decisively (1) up to the colla di Gritta, one, the 22, crosses flatly to the right and descends to Levanto along the Costa Sopramare, the third slips slightly to the left into the gully that starts at the col sign, and is our 14, with yellow markings: the first stretch is poorly marked, then becomes more and more marked. We walked along it after a few days of rain, and it was slippery in several places, due to the carpet of needles in the beautiful woodland at the beginning, and further down due to the damp ground; at the beginning we climb over a few old felled trunks. Along the path, fragrant thyme bushes, which barely touch fill the air with a pungent aroma. We descend quickly, the sea will not be visible for a long stretch, because we are behind Monte Vé, to the north. We come to a dirt road, which then becomes asphalted, we follow it for a short distance and take care to take a right at a fork, again among olive trees, a few houses, with the sea glimpsed beyond Levanto. We descend until we enter a path between high walls, paved and slippery, and finally arrive at the village (1 hour from the junction behind Monte Vé), beside ancient ruins, passing over a small bridge and then under the arch of an old tower. In a short time, continuing southwards, we reach the square in Levanto; we can get as far as the foreshore, passing through the gardens; one last look at the beach and then we retrace our morning route and return to the car (4.30 hours in total). In reality, the tour could be done in less time, but we have taken into account the views that keep changing and attracting attention, extending the time it takes, almost without the hiker realising it... On the other hand, we are here to enjoy the scenery and not to race...