Arrival in Santhià. Departure for the first stage of the walk.

From Santhià we will walk a piece of the Via Francigena, the famous and ancient Italian way that reaches Rome. After passing through the village of Cavaglià we reach Roppolo, where there is an imposing castle with a beautiful view of Lake Viverone.

The stage is easy but not very shady, so in hot weather we will protect ourselves well by taking a good supply of water with us, as the only water supply point and presence of bars and supermarkets is in Cavaglià.

On the second stage we will ride through the wooded hills of the Serra d’Ivrea, Europe’s largest moraine amphitheatre. Our first stop is at the Ricetto di Viverone, the ancient fortified village from which there is a beautiful view of the Ivrea moraine amphitheatre and Lake Viverone.
After ascending to the village of Zimone, we will stop and visit the Monastery of Bose, continue on to the ancient village of Magnano, with another well-preserved Ricetto, and from here along paths hidden in the woods to Torrazzo.

In the summer season there may be many mosquitoes at this stage, while water supplies and bars can be found in Zimone, Magnano and Torrazzo.

We are on the third stage. We take the tarmac road again in the direction of the centre of Sala Biellese. Near the provincial road to Torrazzo, we take a path that leads into the woods, and after a few kilometres we can admire the beautiful Cossavella lake.
From here we leave the Serra Morena to reach Donato, where it is possible to refuel with water and do some shopping, before tackling a series of rather demanding gradients that lead to the Sanctuary of Graglia, on the slopes of Mombarone, the watershed between Piedmont and Val d’Aosta.