Just outside Genoa, the Trebbia Valley cuts a narrow, winding path through the Ligurian Apennines. Follow the SS45 past Torriglia and you find yourself in a small but genuinely beautiful mountain landscape that most visitors to the Ligurian coast never reach.
The village of Montebruno is the main settlement in the upper valley, known for its Sanctuary of Nostra Signora, a pilgrimage church with centuries of accumulated ex-votos on its walls and a Roman bridge nearby that was once the passage point for Genoese pilgrims crossing the Apennines. Higher up, the hamlet of Barbagelata at 1,100 metres sits on the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri, the long-distance ridge walking route that crosses the Ligurian mountains from the French border to La Spezia.
The valley is quiet, green, and largely unvisited by tourists. In summer, Genoese families come up for the weekend to swim in the Trebbia River — the pools between the rocks are clear and cold, the exact opposite of the crowded coast below. It is a good escape for anyone based in Genoa who wants mountains instead of beaches.