GE_25 The Guidovia della Guardia

from Gaiazza looking towards the mountain, the track of the old Guidovia is visible on the left of the main road. Following it you join the paved road which goes up to Sareto (417 m), another hamlet of Ceranesi located on a panoramic slope. From Sareto the suggested itinerary entirely follows the track of the old Guidovia, ignoring the pathway indicated by two red circles, more direct and quicker. Following the road between the houses and the fields of Sareto, you reach a crossroads. Walk straight on and, after a barrier, you join the track of the Guidovia again. Walking on the track you pass the narrow little valley of a brook by a bridge and then you do a wide bend. The Guidovia rises towards south-east under the woods which cover the northern side of the Monte Figogna. Ignoring the footpath indicated by two red circles which crosses the trail, carry on walking gently uphill on the tracks. Some open areas offer beautiful views on the upper Polcevera Valley with the Figne, Taccone and Leco mounts firsts and then on the lower Valley and the Diamante, Fratello Minore, Sperone and Begato forts. Once you reach the eastern side of Monte Figogna there is a large bend to the right and immediately after is the Galleria Arpexella tunnel, roughly 50 metres long. Carry on walking diagonally in the woods of the north-eastern side, passing the Galleria Ca' Bianca, tunnel, 25 metres long. A little farther on, after a hairpin bend, walk by a derelict house where you find the red circles footpath another time. Carry on walking cutting through the north-western side of the Monte Figogna as far as a panoramic point (740 m) where you find the footpaths from San Carlo di Cese and Sestri Ponente. From here the Guidovia proceeds along the southern side as far as a widening at 770 m where the old upper station was. After the station, near the chapel Cappella dell'Apparizione you reach the paved road which you follow leftwards as far as the Madonna della Guardia Sanctuary on the top of Monte Figogna (806 m). You can return to Bolzaneto by the same itinerary or by public bus.