Valprato Soana between San Besso, mountain trails and Piamprato

Mountain landscapes and sacred sites

Valprato Soana combines high-altitude mountain landscapes with sacred sites and traces of life in small settlements. The range extends from the Santuario di San Besso and the parish church of San Silverio to educational trails, hiking paths, wildlife observation, climbing and winter sports.

The Santuario di San Besso

The Santuario di San Besso is a very ancient place of worship beside a rock face that may already have been venerated in pre-Christian times. It is located at the upper end of the Campiglia Soana valley, at an altitude of 2,019 metres, at the foot of Monte Fantono. The site therefore combines a striking high-altitude location with a religious tradition.

The Santuario can be reached from Campiglia after around one and a half hours on foot. The route initially follows an unpaved section of the former royal hunting road and then continues along an easy path. A longer and more scenically impressive route also leads there from Piamprato. The two access routes therefore offer different options when planning a day in the mountains.

Village history and religious traditions

In the main village of Valprato Soana, the parish church Parrocchiale di San Silverio is dedicated to San Silverio San Silverio. In front of the entrance is a Sator Square palindrome known as the “Quadrato magico di Pompei”.

The ethnocultural open-air educational trail “Lo Prà: tra storia, memoria e natura” leads through the streets of Piamprato. Information panels, historical photographs and stories explain life in the village. These include old stone houses, the communal oven, the school, former crafts and religious traditions such as the celebrations in honour of San Grato and the Madonna delle Nevi.

In Campiglia Soana, the visitor centre “L’uomo e i coltivi” presents the history of local agriculture and the relationship between people and the natural environment. The Santuario del Beirano is also associated with an annual festival: on 5 August, the celebration in honour of the Madonna della Neve is held there.

Trails, wildlife and winter sports

For wildlife observation, there is the Campiglia–San Besso–Grange Arietta route across the Azaria high plateaus. In spring, one of the largest concentrations of chamois in the entire park can be observed there; marmots are also relatively easy to spot. For sport climbing, Gran Paradiso National Park recommends the climbing wall at Pianprato. Piamprato is also a small ski resort offering numerous winter sports activities as well as relaxing days in the snow.

The seventh stage of the Giroparco leads from San Besso in Valprato Soana towards Piamprato via the Colle della Borra and onwards to the remains of a small nearby mine. Different interests are therefore relevant when choosing your accommodation: sacred culture, village history, wildlife observation, hiking, sport climbing or snow.

More destinations

For further travel planning, you can also discover Cebrosa, Caselette, Sestriere, Coassolo, Trofarello, Turin, Balme and Montalenghe.

For the overarching travel overview: Turin.