The hike starts at Stagno, a small medieval village that developed around the Church of San Michele Arcangelo; here there’s a splendid view over Lake Suviana from the churchyard. Walk along the paved road and then turn right onto a dirt road that travels along the western slope of Mount Calvi, with its steep sandstone cliffs and clearly visible alternating strata of clay and marl.
After about 2 km you will arrive at Chiapporato, a small mountain hamlet featuring typical stone houses with sandstone slate roofs. The houses are practically all abandoned and only one family still lives here. Make sure to visit the Church of San Giovanni Battista, which was built by the local residents, the small cemetery with its distinctive wrought iron crosses and the rectory built in the early 1900s. Even the kiln and the ancient wash house which are nestled amid the vegetation are noteworthy. The church was recently restored.
Continue on from this hamlet through a chestnut forest on trail CAI 21A. This will be the most challenging part of the hike, not only for the steep gradient (a height difference of about 300 m) but also because of the uneven terrain. The climb ends at the Eremo del Viandante, a small, unstaffed shelter where you’ll find an equipped picnic area.
Continue the hike on trail CAI 001 along the eastern slope of Mount Calvi towards Balinello. Contrary to the mountain’s western slope, these were once pasture lands, which have since become reforested or colonized by low lying shrubs comprising mainly Spanish brooms and ferns. Once you’ve passed through a small spruce forest you’ll arrive at a three-way junction with a dirt road. Turn left onto trail CAI 155 for the last stretch of the climb, which will take you near Mount Stagno (1213 m). Take a short detour to a rock ledge with amazing views of the lake and the peaks of the Corno alle Scale and Cimone mountains.
Return to the trail and proceed towards the Capravecchio hamlet, where you’ll begin a long descent across uneven and slippery terrain. There are long stretches of the descent where you’ll see the remains of an ancient stone pathway. Look for the walls of abandoned buildings hidden amid the trees; they testify to the age-old chestnut growing and charcoal production activities that the inhabitants carried out here long ago. Once you’ve passed the ruins of Capravecchio, continue on trail CAI 155, which will take you past Belvedere and Poggio to Stagno.
