A Hike to Maresana for Lunch

Overview | Notes | Flora

Left: A small waterfall on the Torrente Tremana in Bergamo, Italy.
Right: A primrose, Primula vulgaris along the trail.

Overview

Length:  ~14km

Duration: 3.5 hours (without counting lunch)

Elevation: Max elevation 681 m (2230 ft). Min elevation 262 m (860 ft).

Location: Italy, Lombardy, Bergamo - Ponteranica

Notes

Our first hike of 2021 and it's to Maresana. During lockdown restrictions, a walk to Maresana is not a bad substitute to going deep into the Orobie or the Dolomites like we usually do. From the center of Bergamo, Maresana is a hop, skip, and a jump away. Today being a "yellow" day we could eat inside Trattoria Maresana, one of our favorite places to walk to and eat at.

Today, we walked as far as Villa Pighet and turned around when our stomachs told us it was time for lunch. Not too long ago in 2017, we were headed for Selvino and mistakenly got off of trail 533 and ended up at Villa Pighet. We did make it eventually to Selvino, but lost an hour backtracking because Pighet is in the wrong direction. So for us Villa Pighet invokes images of that day when we realized how far off track we were. There is a beautiful view north into the Val Seriana from Pighet so for that reason alone, it's worth a look. (The restaurant there was closed today.)

For a description of getting from Bergamo to Selvino walking, see our post Roundtrip Bergamo to Selvino on Foot, Cable Car, Bus, and Tram.

One of the many trails climbing Maresana starts at Via Monterosso here. It runs roughly north-south just east of the usual way up, trail 533.  The Via Monterosso trail wasn't one we had taken before and we were pleasantly surprised taking it today because it runs along the charming Tremana stream (torrente Tremana), with small waterfalls of smooth limestone. The stream springs out of the mountain halfway up to Maresana at a point called "il Fontanino di Monterosso".  All considered, a pleasant discovery and path up to Maresana.

Views along the Torrente Tremana trail to Maresana.

Left and center: Hike details and track. Right: View north from Pighet over Monte Zuccone toward Salmezza.

Flora

Left and center: [Liliaceae] Ruscus aculeatus. Common name: Butcher's broom. In Italian: pungitopo.
Right: [Ranunculaceae] Hepatica nobilis. Common name: Liverwort or Common Hepatica.

[Ranunculaceae] Helleborus niger - Christmas rose.