Campo dei Fiori Sentiero 10c

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Unknown

The 10 trail encircles the ridge that forms the heart of the Parco Campo dei Fiori (Field of Flowers Park). The eastern section from Brinzio to Velate is now signed as 310c. It's not as secluded as Campo dei Fiori Sentiero 10b, but it doesn't see as much traffic as Campo dei Fiori Sentiero 10a.

From Brinzio, the trail passes a small pond which is fed from a stream that the trail then parallels for a while. The trail climbs a bit before joining the paved SP62 for a short distance and then it continues on the opposite side of the road to take you into the town of Rasa di Varese.

After a short trip through the streets of Rasa, the route joins SP62 again for about 1 km (0.6 mi). The route then veers right onto the via Salva Regina to climb to the area of Prima Cappella (First Chapel). The last half km (0.3 mi) to the chapel is a steep 70 m/230 ft climb. Prima Cappella represents the start of the Sacre Monte di Varese (Sacred Mountain of Varese), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Prima Cappella is the first of 14 small chapels along a path to the summit that celebrate different mysteries in the life of Jesus. A 15th chapel at the top is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. From here, a popular road ride leads to the summit where another trail follows the ridge. There are a number of difficult (unridable?) trails that leave the ridge road to come down from the 10 loop. There are a number of viewpoints from the ridge and the Cadorna line of (never used World War I-era) defenses facing Switzerland from the top of the ridge.

From Prima Cappella, the 10c has a short, steep descent down to Velate. This is one of the most technical sections of the entire 10 loop with several stairs along the way. At the bottom of the descent, there is also a tricky creek crossing before you reach the village of Velate.