At my trailhead in a grass-covered valley, I bemoaned the fact that right at the start, I faced a somewhat steep incline.  A toddler liberated from his stroller didn’t mind though, and seemed inclined to head into the woods and toddle up the trail behind me. Passing through deeply forested hillside, a couple of churches, then vineyards, I came to a narrow country road at the top of the hill. Up from an even steeper slope, came a man on a bicycle. He stopped at the top of the hill, as did I, to check the map. We got to chatting. He was a native of Bergamo, which I could see in the distance. He was an avid cyclist. He was 78. I was deeply impressed, and slightly shamed by my earlier whining about steep inclines. His hill was long and steep, coming up from the valley. I decided his great stamina must be due to a life-long exposure to the wines of Valcalepio.

Although the Valcalepio Denomination itself is rather young, vintners have planted grapes here since ancient Roman times. This trail ranged along some of the Valcalepio vineyards. Small and compact plots, planted on mostly south-facing hills, predominate in this denomination. (As an exception, there are vineyards and a winery in the flat lands just after the official trailhead.)  While not as famous as the wines of its older and pricier neighbor, the Franciacorta Denomination, Valcalepio wines are decent, everyday drinking wines.

 

The Valcalepio Denomination area is relatively small. But the territory it lies in has the Alps to the north, the A4 (the colossal east-west traffic artery of northern Italy) and the Po River to the south, Brescia, then the great northern axis of the Italian peninsula, Verona, to the east, and finally Bergamo, then the megalopolis of Milan, to the near west. This is a landscape of great diversity. Vistas along the trail, provided ever-changing views: green hills and mountains, the great conurbation of Bergamo blending into that of Milan, and the flat, hazy landscape of the Po River, behind the concrete sprawl Itthat parallels much of the A4 across northern Italy.

 

The trail provides hikers an opportunity to experience some of that diversity as well. In between the vineyards, there were pockets of wooded areas, fields and orchards. The trail crosses small streams tumbling down from the hillsides. From grassy fields, to roads, to muddy (or dusty) pathways, to rustic steps on part of the climb to the Church of San Giorgio, there was quite a variety of trail surface as well. The trail officially begins and ends in the small town of Torre di Roveri, only a few miles from Bergamo. With an old (upper) town, and a new (lower) town, Bergamo delights visitors with its Roman to modern architecture, and with its excellent cafes and restaurants, most offering a good selection of Valcalepio wines.

 

Inhabitants of all ages appreciate the pockets of nature found in this area, one of the most urbanized in Italy, and this trail provides a convenient opportunity to experience a tranquil slice of Valcalepio life that can be enjoyed by young and old, and for everyone else in between.