San Damiano Macra: Mountain Trails, Festivals and Culture

San Damiano Macra between mountain landscapes and the Maira Valley

San Damiano Macra combines striking elevations, trails through hamlets, a local cycling route and festivals with historical details. As a destination, the village therefore offers several distinct approaches: you can give different weight to the mountain landscape and the cultural themes of your trip, consider circular routes according to their course or incorporate regional traditions into your planning. When choosing your accommodation, it is advisable to define your focus: hiking days, a long cycling tour or a stay during a seasonal festival will lead to different travel ideas.

Elevations and water south of the town centre

To the south, the area of San Damiano Macra extends to Rocca Cernauda, which lies at an altitude of 2,282 m. At the same time, with Lago di San Damiano Macra, San Damiano Macra offers another aspect of the landscape.

The lake is a small artificial basin south of the town centre. It was created by damming the Maira River. Thus, both high mountain points and a body of water shaped by the river and its impoundment are among the town’s prominent landscape features.

Circular routes through hamlets and valleys

The Puy Trail is a scenic circular route that passes through several hamlets of San Damiano Macra. The “Giro ad anello a San Damiano” circular route, on the other hand, runs through the hamlets of Cogno and Biancera to the Chapel of San Chiaffredo in the hamlet of Roi in San Damiano Macra. This difference is important for your planning: the Puy Trail emphasises the sequence of several hamlets, while the Giro ad anello also includes a specific chapel as its destination.

Another circular route between the Poca and Combamala valleys follows old paths and a service road to the hydroelectric facilities of the power station. In addition to paths through the hamlets, historic routes and technical installations thus emerge as distinct themes.

The Strada dei Cannoni for cycling plans

The Strada dei Cannoni is a 43 km high-mountain cycling route with 1,875 metres of ascent. At Borgata Chesta in the municipality of San Damiano Macra, it is connected with the town. The information on the route length and elevation gain provides two specific figures if you consider a cycling tour the focus of your trip.

Festivals and cultural sites

The Festa dell’Autunno “Fiero di Quatre” is a market featuring local products from mountain tradition and takes place in San Damiano. It is held on the fourth Sunday in October and includes dancing and the distribution of “Mundai”. The market, festival tradition and autumn date therefore form a clear cultural focus.

The patron saint’s festival of Saint Anthony of Padua takes place on the penultimate Sunday in June in the chapel of the same name above San Damiano. In spring, the choral gathering “Chanten Mai” also takes place, organised by the “La Reis” choir. In Pagliero, a hamlet of San Damiano Macra, the festival of Saint Anthony is a recurring tradition. It includes an auction of donated products and objects.

The cemetery chapel in Pagliero preserves a Roman funerary inscription. In the hometown of the Zabreri masters, a baptismal font dating from 1450 and the capitals in the parish church are also worth seeing. These sites and details complement the trail and landscape themes with a specific historical dimension.

More destinations for your travel planning

For further travel planning, you can also find Valle Talloria, Piozzo, Casa Fornace, Spinetta, Gorzegno, Casalgrasso, Magliano Alfieri and Castino here.

For the higher-level travel overview: Cuneo.