Holiday apartment in Olivetta San Michele: Hiking and History

Anyone planning a holiday apartment in Olivetta San Michele is choosing a place with a distinctive landscape and multifaceted traces of the past. Olivetta is situated high above the Bevera mountain stream; the entire municipal area formally belongs to Liguria’s historic Occitan-speaking minority. In the Borgata San Michele there is a railway station on the Ventimiglia–Cuneo railway line, while San Michele lies on the state road to the Colle di Tenda. This makes it possible to take different interests into account when planning, without reducing the place to just one type of holiday.

Holiday apartment in Olivetta San Michele: Nature and culture as travel ideas

The history of the area extends into a landscape shaped by traces of borders and fortifications. The Republic of Genoa used Castello di Penna as a stronghold against the Duchy of Savoy. Olivetta was the main village, to which further villages and hamlets were affiliated and which were controlled by the nearby Castello di Penna; the fortress was built by the Counts of Ventimiglia. The remains of the medieval Penna castle are now located on a hill in French territory near Piene-Haute. A mule track cut into the rock also leads over Col di Vescovo and Piene Haute in France to Monte Grammondo.

In the Fanghetto district, the Chiesa degli Angeli Custodi was converted from an earlier oratory into a church in 1820. It houses canvases from the 17th century. Another historic trace is the parish church Chiesa parrocchiale di Sant'Antonio di Padova: it was heavily bombed in 1944 during the Second World War, partially rebuilt after the war and once again decorated with frescoes by Raimondo Barbadirame.

Hiking trails on Monte Grammondo and along the Bevera

Olivetta is a starting point for hikes on the 1,378-metre-high Monte Grammondo. The Monte Grammondo – Torrente Bevera protected area encompasses the ecologically valuable meanders of the Bevera. The Sentiero Geologico-Naturalistico del Grammondo connects Torri, Collabassa and Olivetta San Michele along the watershed between the Roja and Bevera valleys. Numerous information boards accompany this trail, where viewpoints direct attention towards the deeply incised meanders of the Bevera.

Further specific trail connections are available for different hiking days. A path begins at Ponte Roncone and climbs up the slope towards Monte Grammondo. The Anello di Bossarè is a 3.509-kilometre route in the municipality of Olivetta San Michele. These different routes can serve as a guide for personal day planning, without equating their length or course with one another.

Local traditions and choosing your accommodation

Traditional local activities include winegrowing and olive cultivation. Another local tradition is the gathering of medicinal and essential-oil plants for lavender distillation. When choosing your holiday apartment, you can use your preferred daily rhythm as a starting point: Monte Grammondo, the Sentiero Geologico-Naturalistico and the paths at Ponte Roncone offer different points of focus than churches, traces of castles, linguistic history, as well as winegrowing, olive cultivation and the gathering of medicinal and essential-oil plants for lavender distillation. A historically significant Roman bridge is associated with Olivetta San Michele.

If you would like to consider other places for your travel planning in addition to Olivetta San Michele, you can find Poggi, Pieve Di Teco, San Romolo, Pantasina, Tavole, Praelo, Trucco and Costa D'oneglia here.

For the higher-level travel overview: Imperia.