Genoa, everything is ready for the 20th edition of Rigantoca: marching from Righi to Monte Antola

The 20th edition of Rigantoca, traditional hiking event which will be held on Sunday 9 June, was presented yesterday in the Transparency Room of the Liguria Region. The non-competitive march will connect Righi, inside the Urban Park of the Walls, Antola, the peak of the mountain to reach, and Caprile in the Municipality of Propata as the arrival location. The event, organized by the Section of the Italian Alpine Club of Sampierdarena, it is slightly longer than a classic marathon but with considerable differences in altitude, with methods of free and open participation to all.

"The highest point of Rigantoca, namely the cross on Mount Antola with its 1597 meters - explains the interim president of the Liguria Region-, it well represents the spirit of this event which develops in isolated environments of extraordinary beauty, between meadows and woods, ancient trade and pilgrimage routes, therefore on paths that no human intervention can realistically think of making artificially smooth. Particular attention must be paid to the tools to deal with Rigantoca with awareness, from the route map to the protective devices, as repeatedly mentioned in the recent Io Cammino Sicuro campaign. Rigantoca was born close to the second millennium by two members of the CAI: Vittorio 'Gino' Vichi and Giuseppe 'Giuse' Burlando who continued to organize it every year in collaboration with other organizations and associations. My thanks go to them, all the volunteers and participants for keeping this tradition alive."

"The Rigantoca, organized as every year by the CAI of Sampierdarena, is one of the most eagerly awaited running events in our area - declares the councilor delegated by the Municipality of Genoa to the Protection of the Valleys - and draws an arabesque of botanical and scenic beauty that testifies to the very high environmental value of our valleys together with the development possibilities. The work that we as the Municipality of Genoa are doing in recent years to improve the accessibility of the hinterland, through the design and construction of new infrastructures, and the strengthening of the natural access routes to the valleys through the restoration of the first Forts and the construction of the Strada dei Forti, aims precisely to give a future of sustainable development to our territory. Drawing inspiration from the Rigantoca, the Municipality of Genoa, in agreement with the Liguria Region and the Metropolitan City, intends to develop and enhance a path that will permanently connect the newly created Strada dei Forti with the Antola Regional Natural Park, through the panoramic ridge that from the Trensasco pass reaches the slopes of Monte Alpe and then on the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri, passing by Sella di Montoggio, Crocetta d'Orero and arriving at Casella, where the paths of the Park depart”.

“Taking place in a medium mountain context, it requires the participants to have the essential characteristics of expert and resistant walkers or runners - adds the president of the Italian Alpine Club of Sampierdarena Diego Leofante -, with the habit of moving on natural terrain and able to tackle steep slopes, dosing their physical and mental resources to face any crises that may arise along a route of over 40 km. It winds along dirt roads, paths and mule tracks with a difference in altitude of about 2.100 meters uphill and two thousand meters downhill. For those who, however, feel they are not trained enough, there is the Mezzarigantoca, also non-competitive and non-agonistic with free participation and open to all with a shorter route, substantially halved, but still challenging of over 24 km starting from the town of Avosso, a hamlet of Casella, climbing Mount Antola and finishing in Caprile. The departure of the Rigantoca is scheduled for Sunday 9 June at Righi in via del Peralto 941 at the Casetta Rossa at 4.30 in a single group, while the Mezzarigantoca in Avosso in the church square at 7 am, always in a single group”.

"Before the event the Section of the Italian Alpine Club of Sampierdarena - explains the president of CAI Liguria Roberto Manfredi - carries out inspections of the entire route, intervening with the cleaning of the paths and any restorations, checking the typical CAI/FIE signs integrating them with colored ribbons and orientation signs. There are ten control and assistance points along the route with the organization's staff, connected to each other by telephone, while assistance is provided by the CNSAS - National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps of Genoa, which I thank. An event like this is the result of great teamwork".

“Having become one of the symbolic events in the Genoese running/hiking scene, the Rigantoca - comments Giulio Oliveri, president of the Antola Park Authority - represents a sort of ideal trait d'union between Genoa and the Antola Valleys. The occasion leads me to recall the important function of protection carried out by the Hiking Refuge on Mount Antola, located a few minutes' walk from the summit. The Park Authority is working on a total modernization of the structure from an energy point of view: the refuge, in fact, completely autonomous from an energy point of view and therefore detached from the power line, will undergo, in the coming weeks, a major intervention both in economic and functional terms for its efficiency, always pursuing the objective of environmental compatibility and sustainability in management. By the summer, we will therefore have a structure capable of making the most of sunlight and storing it in an optimal way. The Refuge, which in these weeks is hosting numerous school groups participating in the environmental education and sustainability activities proposed by the Park and is, by now, a point of reference for hikers and users of the Protected Area, will also be, this year, a stopping point and refreshment for the many participants of the Rigantoca”.

“The Antola Park - concludes Roberto Costa coordinator of Federparchi - which has been collaborating with the CAI Sampierdarena for 20 years in the organization of the Rigantoca, offers hikers about 200 km. of nature trails in some of the most evocative natural environments of the Ligurian Apennines; the park is crossed by the Via del Mare which connects the Po Valley with the Ligurian Riviera and with the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri and of which the Rigantoca trail is part. The goal, in synergy with the CAI, the Liguria Region and the Municipality of Genoa, is to identify the Rigantoca trail as a 'Cammino della Memoria' in memory of all the generations who have crossed it over the centuries with caravans of mules that transported goods between the mountains and the sea”.

Rigantoca is attentive to environmental sustainability, for this reason, dedicated public transport has been set up, in collaboration with AMT, to reach the departures of Righi and Avosso and the return to Genoa from the arrival, as well as compostable material for refreshment points. As for the previous edition, forms of collaboration with AMIU Genova are being studied. The event is sponsored by the Liguria Region, the Municipality of Genoa, Parco Antola and CAI Liguria.