The Ring path of Loreto is a track entirely developed on the hydrographic left side of the Argentina creek, suited for any hiking level of expertise because only in brief traits it requires a certain effort.
From the townhall of Triora (779m) head towards the historical centre of the borough, also known as “village of the witches”.
After few hundred metres you reach the caruggi (narrow alleys): besides the Etnographic Museum of Witchcraft and the Infopoint Inforparco of the Regional Natural Park of the Ligurian Alps, the beginning pebble-stone floor of via Roma (786m) signals the entrance in the ancient part of the borough.
Walk along the narrow and fascinating alleys until you reach the heart of the borough in the square beato Tommaso Reggio (781m), where several prestigious historical and religious buildings find their place, such as Palazzo Stella, the Oratory of San Giovanni Battista and the Collegiate church of Nostra Signora Assunta.
Once you have passed the square, the route penetrates the evocative neighbourhood of the Sambughea and keeps descending along the dark via Camurata, the name of which evokes a gloomy legend, before turning in via San Bernardino (749m).
Leaving the historical centre you immediately enter the mule track directed to the church of San Bernardino (712m), built in the fifteenth century and dedicated to the Franciscan friar Bernardino da Siena, which preserves valuable frescoes. Besides the church stands an extraordinary exemplar of horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), circa 175 years old, registered among the list of Monumental Trees of Italy.
The panorama unfolds across the high Argentina valley over areas predominantly occupied by meadows, now almost exclusively used for cattle grazing. The remains of the terracing, which in the past were primarily cultured with grains, are still visible.
Penetrating the Special Area of Conservation of Monte Gerbonte (658m) the landscape gradually changes and the small grasslands leave space to shrubberies alternated with broadleaves and abandoned olive groves, inhabited by numerous animal species, such as the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), the great tit (Parus major), the wild boar (sus scrofa), the chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), the Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius), the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) and the fox (Vulpes vulpes), and where different botanical species are present, such as ivy (Hedera helix), dog rose (Rosa canina), Italian oak (Quercus pubescens), and numerous orchids that each spring offer a wonderful blossoming.
The long descent ends at a crossroad (558m) located at a couple of minutes by foot from an area equipped for picnics and also from the historical bridge of Mauta, which surmounts the Argentina creek and was the only connection with the hamlet of Cetta until the single-span bridge near Loreto was built.
Turn right to take the short but steep mule track that leads to Loreto (641m).
Besides for the single-span bridge, the hamlet of Loreto is also known for the numerous rocky cliffs on which some species of birds of prey nidificate, such as peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) and the eagle-owl (Bubo bubo), protected by national laws and community instructions inside the Special Protection Area of the mounts Toraggio and Gerbonte and the Natural Regional Park of the Ligurian Alps.
Ascending again along the way you reach the sanctuary of Nostra Signora di Loreto, built in the first half of the sixteenth century. Having walked for few decades of metres on the provincial road in the direction of Triora, you take the path going uphill on the left. You continue under the shade of groves of deciduous broadleaves, made of trees of European hophornbeam (Ostrya carpinitolia), Italian oak (Quercus pubescens) and especially chestnut (Castanea sativa), species introduces in Italy during the Roman Empire when it expanded in the peninsulas of the Eastern Mediterranean and widely cultivated in the inland of Liguria for the production of chestnuts, one of the main ingredients of traditional peasant cuisine. The path for a brief trait goes along a dirt road, before abandoning it near a private house. Along the track you can see the ruins of dryer (716m), small stone structure used to dry chestnuts using the heat produced by the slow burning of scraps of vegetables, as well as numerous votive shrines, which testify that the path was used by the locals as a road of religious pilgrimage.
The panorama stretches out again on the high Argentina valley and on the borough of Triora, now close, while crossing partially cultivated areas. Before reaching via Campomattone, you pass the fountain of Campomavùe (776m), one of the places habitually frequented by witches together with the Cabotina and the fountain of the Noce, so called because it lies in the shade of a large walnut tree. A brief descend brings you back to the townhall.