09.20 Petina - Casone Aresta

Please note: The following text is a free translation of a route description provided by the Associazione GET Vallo di Diano.

The starting point of this trail is the small but charming village of Petina (650 m above sea level), known for its cultivation of wild strawberries and chestnuts.

Take the tarmac road towards Sicignano degli Alburni and pass through the higher part of Petina. Once you have left the village behind, you will reach a reservoir at the top of the hill, from where the narrow mountain road – recently tarmac-surfaced – climbs steeply and passes through a chestnut forest.

At a fork in the road, we leave the narrow road, turn left and follow the markings along an unpaved track that climbs steeply into the woods.

At the end of the path, follow a mule track (an old route used by cattle drovers, foresters and shepherds) which climbs through the Monti Alburni, a range entirely covered in chestnut and beech forests. Numerous hairpin bends make the climb easier.

At the top of the pass, a path branches off, linking Mount Alburno with Mount Figliolo. We turn left, heading south-east towards the viewpoint overlooking the rocks of Filgiolo and Ripa Longa, at the foot of which lies the palaeontological site where 100-million-year-old marine fossils have been discovered.

We continue along the marked path towards the south-east until, after a few minutes, we come to a small white road.

We follow this road downhill to the first junction. There, we turn right and follow a path which, after a few minutes, leads to a ruin in a place called La Pila, which was once used as a shelter for animals.

We continue our walk south-east along a path that first crosses a wood and then leads through open country to a small spring at the foot of the slope.

The route continues through meadows that gradually rise towards the south until it reaches Casone/Aresta, which lies on a green plateau and was converted into an astronomical observatory a few years ago.

Last text update: 28.02.2018

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