A Sacred Vertical Pilgrimage
For those wanting and willing to see the Sacra di San Michele and experience this great church and its views, one must hike the three or so kilometers and one kilometer ascent in order to really enjoy what the builders had accomplished here. Not only is it a feat of Middle-Ages engineering and stubbornness, its shear existence defies rationality, and so may I add hiking up to it. Well maybe not exactly, but you should be prepared. We saw many individuals when we were descending wearing the wrong type of shoes, etc. More on that later.
Sant’ Ambrogio – Getting There
A thirty three minute train ride from Turin’s train station Porta Nuova will get you to Sant’ Ambrogio and the beginning of your climb. Let me add, before we begin, that you may drive up to the church; but then you would be among the majority of people there and just mere tourists.
The train station is spartan and leaves you off on track one to enter this small town or hamlet directly. Returning you will have to find the stairwell to the right of the train station and walk under the tracks.
We arrived the day after Easter Sunday, or as the remembrance in Italy has it for Roman Catholics, Pasquetta [1]Also called, Lunedì dell’ Angelo, which is meant to remember the women of the sepulcher, including Mary Magdalene, who were comforted by an angel when they returned to Jesus’ tomb and found it … Continue reading The town was more or less empty, so our ideas about a quick climb up and back and an early lunch soon vanished.
The walk through the town was short and without incident, in fact, we were mostly accompanied by the individuals who left the train with us, residents of the town having already left for the long weekend or enjoying amenities inside and their extra day off.
Parco Naturale Orsiera – Sentiero Trail 502
Using the Sentiero Trail 502, or TOS 502, we quickly left the town and started our ascent up the most north-eastern mountain or hill of the Parco Naturale Orsiera. An almost one kilometer ascent for three kilometers with slopes ranging in steepness of three to twenty percent, and I would conjecture most were in the double digits.
The trail was for the most part cobbled with round and larger stones, some which have a remarkable green color, are shiny and very slippery. Proper shoes are important, though it is possible to navigate the trail with tennis shoes or sneakers.
Upon exiting the trail at a collection of houses, and an interim point in the hike, you will find a large commemorative stone.
Then you will make a hairpin turn and look up, only to see that your hike up is STILL NOT OVER!
Checking the signs indicate approximately another kilometer to hike, which took us about twenty minutes.
After the last more modest climb you will walk onto a road, where all the other tourists are walking into from the parking lot. The attraction has a large sign explaining the layout of the church and its grounds.
Sacra di San Michele
Once near the church of Sacra di San Michele, the magnificent views are apparent. With its perch high on a rocky crag, the church has a commanding view of the valley below.
Walking up to the church you will find a small building to the right that sells postcards, other tourist paraphernalia and entrance tickets. Once purchased, a turnstile to the left has a QR code reader that will let you enter, then you must start climbing stairs, an unwelcome sign after our long journey.
The remainder of our visit consisted of just enjoying the church and the beautiful views. My wife chose this day because the weather promised to be wonderful, we were not disappointed, it was sunny and in the low 60°s Fahrenheit, perfect for hiking.
Leaving we took our last look up at the great church and descended along the more difficult trail, due to its increase in steepness, it promised to cut some time off our descent, which it did.
However, the first part of this trail is VERY steep and not for anyone ill-prepared or wearing the wrong hiking apparel, so caution! We were actually having second thoughts until we realized it was more difficult to go back up, then to press on and continue downward.
We arrived back in Sant’ Ambrogio almost five hours later, hungry and fairly tired from our experience. Once on the train, we relaxed and started to compare which part of our legs hurt more. However, we were both happy we were able to meet our sacred vertical pilgrimage with a great sense of accomplishment. It was our first big hike of the season, hopefully not our last and if anyone is thinking of doing this or a similar hike, keep the following in mind, we will next time.
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- Prepare for your hike, research the route and understand how technical it is
- Bring a water bottle, the trail has two or three places to refill, this is especially important
- Bring lunch or something to eat, there is nothing above except some vending by the ticket counter, but do not count on that
- Wear the correct clothing (light and layered) and shoes, hiking shoes would be preferred but thick soled tennis shoes or sneakers will do
- Pace yourself, unless you are young be mindful of your body and do not over-exert, you do not want to get into medical trouble on that trail, it will take some time for them to get to you
- Go in good weather, unless it’s your intent as an experienced hikers not to
- And last but not least.., enjoy yourself, there are amazing things to see and hear on the trail, the flowers and birds are in abundance.
References
| ↑1 | Also called, Lunedì dell’ Angelo, which is meant to remember the women of the sepulcher, including Mary Magdalene, who were comforted by an angel when they returned to Jesus’ tomb and found it empty. |
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