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Cammino di San Vili

A Trentino experience for everyone

In Trentino, the mountains are for everyone.  

The Cammino di San Vili, in particular, is an experience that is also accessible to the visually impaired.  

Once a year, in June, Natourism and AbilNova organise a group walking experience open also to blind and visually impaired people. 
On this occasion, the route is adapted and accommodations are selected according to different accessibilities. The trail can be done in its entirety, or you can choose the stages that interest you most. 

Experiencing the trail with a group of people gives you the opportunity to get to know the area and its nature together with those walking with you. You can thus build a shared memory, made up of all the voices that inhabit it.  

Four people walk along a path in the woods. They are wearing light clothes, appropriate for the spring season. The rays of the sun passing through the tangle of trees create reflections and plays of light. The shadows are long; it should not be long before sunset.

A slow walk

The Cammino di San Vili winds for 100 kilometres through sounds, scents and encounters that reveal the essence of the Trentino mountains. Passing through forests, sanctuaries and villages with a welcoming soul, every step tells the story of the territory it crosses. 

The trail starts from Madonna di Campiglio and arrives in Trento for a total of six days of walking. It is a slow time, in which you can enjoy the fresh and pungent scent of the coniferous forests, listen to the subtle call of the woodpecker and fall in love with the herbaceous taste of local cheeses. 

In addition to the classic route, there is a lower itinerary: it passes through the villages at the bottom of the valley and allows you to reach places of refreshment more easily. 

 

Between memory and nature

The Cammino di San Vili retraces the route that Saint Vigilius, the patron saint of Trento, took to spread Christianity. Yet, the trail was not created as a pilgrimage, but as a living account of local memory. The Società degli Alpinisti Tridentini (SAT) conceived it as a way to connect small churches, shrines and villages once depopulated by the plague.  

All around is nature, from the spruce forests at high altitude to the olive groves of the Valle dei Laghi. 

Church of Santo Stefano di Carisolo. The church stands atop a granite cliff. Behind, the forest climbs up the side of the mountain: the green of its trees mingles with that of the leaves that, blurred in the foreground, frame the image. On the south-facing side of the church, the one immortalised in the photograph, frescoes can be recognised in the distance. The church has a small stone bell tower and, to its right, three wooden crosses stand out.
It is a clear, sunny day. A stone path surrounded by a bright green meadow and flanked by a wooden fence leads us to Irone. Irone is a ghost village: in 1630 it was completely depopulated because of the plague. Now in summer it repopulates, in fact the houses in the picture are neat and well kept. In the background is Mount Iron and a deep blue sky with a few white clouds.
Lake Santa Massenza. In the picture, the lake from a distance: around it, the village of the same name and its hamlet of Vezzano, the mountain with its rocky side, the meadows and woods whose green is reflected in the lake water.
Stenico Castle. A few rows of larch and fir trees partially hide the view. In the foreground, blurred, leaves in the colours of autumn.
A view of San Lorenzo in Banale on a sunny day. The red and purple spots of the many pots of flowers, perhaps geraniums, stand out in the picture: they are hanging from the windows and the edge of a terrace surrounded by arches, leaning on the steps and on a small balcony. The sunshine and these bright colours convey a sense of cheerfulness.
Piazza Duomo in Trento. In the background, the Civic Tower, Palazzo Pretorio and San Vigilio Cathedral, the city's cathedral. In the centre, the Neptune fountain. Behind the fountain stands the only tree in the square: a lime tree. The square, in the image, is lived in. There are some people sitting on the steps of the fountain, someone is taking photos and a small group is posing in front of the cathedral to have their picture taken. Everyone is wearing summer clothes. The blue sky is streaked with the white of light clouds.

A sensory journey

Walking is a silent practice. To keep you company comes only the voice of nature, different in every season.  

Among the coniferous and beech forests, you can hear the insolent voice of the black woodpecker or marvel at the sharp call of the hazelnut bird. On the valley floor, on the other hand, the whistling of the buzzard fills the air. And further on, as you walk, you will realise that the subtle cry of the titmouse in search of food resounds in the air.

Step by step, only the sounds and melodies of nature. The warmth of the sun on your skin, the scents of spring blossoms, of resin and damp shade in the heart of the woods, the smooth or jagged profile of the leaves.  

And then, at last, when evening falls, the comforting taste of canederli and the spicy-sweet flavour of strudel, perhaps even ushering in the next day. 

The Cammini di San Vili is a journey of the senses.  

Let everything you encounter on the path tell you its story and intertwine with yours. 

Two hands hold a yellow strap that is used to facilitate mountain hikes for blind or visually impaired people. On one side, the strap is tied to a carabiner attached to the backpack of the person leading the walk. On the other side, the hand gripping it is the blind or visually impaired person's. In the background, the road they are walking along: between the brown of the path, the grey of the stones and the green of the leaves, the rays of the sun create small plays of light and reflections.

Cammino di San Vili

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Published on 10/04/2024

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