The Alta Via dei Monti Liguri (www.altaviadeimontiliguri.it) is a 440 km footpath stretching from the French border (Ventimiglia) to the border between Liguria and Tuscany (La Spezia). The Monti Liguri are mountains that range between 1,000 to 1,500 metres in height and the footpath is always quite close to the top. Clouds coming in from the sea hit this mountain chain. In addition, the meeting of warm air from the sea and cold air from inland causes frequent weather changes. The good news is that it's very breezy and as a result never really hot even in August.
5 of the total 43 stops are roughly 30 km from La Sosta di Ottone III.
The following is a description of a 4 day family hiking holiday taken in August 2004.

We had done some preparation by taking some of the walks around Levanto. We all had good walking shoes, inadequate rain gear (next time we will be better equipped as the weather changes often and quickly) and we tried to keep our rucksacks as light as possible. Fabio had booked some accommodation near the trail so at the end of a walking day we knew exactly where to go.

This is a fairly easy walk without too many hills. The view over Lunigiana and the Alpi Apuane in the distance is as spectacular as the view over the La Spezia gulf. The trail is mainly through pastures and 4 hours does include our lunch stop and many other stops to admire cows, horses, sheep, various birds, flowers, butterflies etc. etc.

This walk goes through summer pastures, pine woods, up bare hills and down again. It's quite arduous and hard on your legs if you have not done a lot of hiking. The weather changed several times during our trek. The most amazing thing we saw (which of course I didn't photograph because I was too tired) were exceptionally large ant hills for about 2 km.

This was our longest and most demanding trek. Towards the end we were all very tired and happy to reach what turned out to be our best stop: Ranch Camillo. Apart from the length, the tough part of this hike is right at the beginning because you have to go from 1,000 to 1,450 metres. This first part is through wood and at the end of the climb, there is the Passo dei Tre Confini, where the borders of Liguria, Tuscany and Emilia Romagna meet.

Calzavitello - Casoni
6 hours - medium difficulty
Dinner at La Trattoria dei Cacciatori

Passo del Rastello - Passo delle Cento Croci
1 hour - easy
Visit and dinner in Varese Ligure

Alternatively, if you would like to spend more time on the Alta Via, we can help you with your planning and make arrangements for luggage to be driven to your next stop. If you'd like to know more or would like some help in planning a hike, please contact me.

Rapallo/Santa Margherita/Portofino
These are all well known resorts of the Italian Riviera.
All three are worth visiting mostly for shopping and a taste of the easy going Riviera life with huge boats anchored just a few metres from the Port's busy cafés and huge villas with meticulously kept gardens full of palm trees and Mediterranean pine trees.
An unusual way to see some of this and maybe a little bit more is by visiting the Santurario di Montallegro. Perched high on a hill it offers a spectacular views of Rapallo , the bay, Santa Margherita and Portofino .
The way to get there is by cable car, which is found not too far away from Rapallo railway station.
The ride is about 10 minutes long.
The Santuario is where locals and pilgrims come to pray for help or thank the Madonna di Montallegro for help that has been granted and miracles.
The interior of the church is covered with signs of gratitude which tell many stories: men saved at sea, railway men saved from trains, children saved from a car accident and many more.
Some are paintings, some are pictures but most are elaborate silver hearts pinned to the wall which shimmer with the light of the chandeliers and the candles placed by the altars.

Daniela Spaggiari has a passion for medieval art.
She paints medieval scenes, coat of arms and patterns on different surfaces: glass, china, slate, wood and silk.
At La Sosta di Ottone III we have asked Daniela to paint some bedside tables with scenes of Otto III's life. In addition, Daniela has painted on silk Otto III's portrait and people close to Otto III.:
Teofano,
Otto III mother
Adelaide
Otto III grandmother
Sylvester II, close fried of Otto III, nominated Pope.
We framed these and used them as names for the four suites.
You may purchase items decorated with these painting s on: http://www.cafepress.com/lasosta