In search of the Giant Bench

Follow the red and white signs with the official Big Bench symbol indicating the Giant Bench.

Áno

Comfortable boots suitable for dirt are recommended.

There are several drinking fountains along the road. The road leading to the Giant Bench is accessible only to agricultural vehicles and property owners so it has little traffic from cars. Railings have been installed at the most exposed points along almost the entire route for safety reasons.

To reach the trailhead, one must follow the Big Bench signs starting from the junction for Bianzone on State Road 38 following the entire Via Roma up to Piazza Vanoni.

Available parking lots are in Vanoni Square, by the church of San Siro on Teglio Street, under the garden of Bianzone Primary School on Roma Street, and on Selva Street near the Altavilla Hotel.

T1

It is not recommended during the hottest hours of summer because it is completely in the sun, unless the loop tour is done, which takes walkers through the second part of the trail in semi-shade.

Instead of returning from the outward road, it is possible to lengthen the walk and turn it into a loop tour that from the Panchina Gigante climbs toward the now uninhabited hamlet of Curta Alta. Just above the houses the road splits: on the left it leads toward Teglio, while on the right it climbs and enters the woods until it reaches the Valene road, a semi-flat dirt road largely in the shade that ends at the driveway. Descending from the upper part of the village, one can admire some evidence of rural life in the past, such as the Contrada di Selva Vegia with its cobbled streets and houses close to each other all made of stone, and the dilapidated Palazzetto Besta in Bianzone.