A walk in

Campofontana

on a Winter Sunday

Last Sunday I went to Campofontana for a walk.

It was quite busy up there, it’s becoming more and more popular to go to the mountains at weekends.

Sundays in Campofontana

Campofontana, in the Natural Park of Lessinia, is very convenient for those that live in Verona and Vicenza, and it’s beautiful.

The itinerary

Usually when I go to Campofontana I take the road that from the Cemetery goes up towards the famous beech, passing by Contrà Pagani.

A couple of times I also went to Mount Telegrafo, not this time (due to headache).

Last Sunday I wanted to try a different path, that I had heard about. I took the road that cuts to the left just before the town of Campofontana, there’s a sign directing to Agriturismo L’Incanto.

This road passes contrade Grisi and Zocca and after the last contrada there’s a gravel road (on the right) and a path (on the left).

The path, number 251, goes through a thicket, that is the reason why I wanted to walk there.

Beechwood

And here was the nice grove that I had heard about. A beechwood, to be precise.

Beechwoods are particularly nice, trucks are clean and high, the undergrowth is also neat.

Another beechwood I like a lot is the one in Cansiglio, that is much larger, but this one in Campofontana is closer if you live in Vicenza like I do.

We stopped to take some pictures because it was too beautiful.

Snowdrops

And here comes the surprise: snowdrops.

You could barely see them, they were just the promise of a white lawn.

There were so many, it was almost impossible not to step on them.

Lodges/ agriturismi

Agriturismo Bucaneve

Surely, this agriturismo couldn’t have a different name (Bucaneve is snowdrop in Italian). You can get there by car, but of course the short walk in the wood is recommended.

It’s a nice location, near the wood but sunny, at least at lunch time.

Rifugio Monte Torla

The Torla has become very popular since it opened in 2018.

I don’t know if they refurbished an Alpine cottage that was already there, but that is the style. Beautiful inside and outside. In the toilet the sink is huge, like those of the great-grandparents.

We ate at rifugio Torla, but there were too many people. It felt like the beach in Summer.

Next time I will probably stop in another of those agriturismi nearby. Better to book, by whatsapp as there’s no signal there.

gnocchi:

Monte Veronese and fumed ricotta

Cold cuts and cheese

Bona la mostarda!

Going back we took the other road, the one that goes higher, near the contrada Pagani.

Smog!

These last weeks the smog alert was high in our cities. And you could see it from up there.

There was a pink-grey strip that looked pretty, like low clouds lighten by the setting sun.

But no, it was smog, pollution.

Walking back

Contrà Pagani

Anyone who has been to Campofontana before knows Contrà Pagani.

It’s a typical contrada of the Cimbri, the population of the area.

Campofontana and Natural Park of Lessinia are beautiful in every Season.

It is true that recently they have become very popular, a bit too much to my taste (usually you go to the mountains to find some peace).

But it must be the fashion of these years, Dolomites are swarmed with tourists too.

It’s ok, as long as the mountain doesn’t suffer from this, as we should all enjoy the beauties of Nature.

But it’s important that we respect it.

A week later…

One week later we went back to Campofontana because it had snowed and I was looking forward to a walk in the snow and to check out the snowdrops. We also found some other pretty flowers (the winter roses, we call them). Love.