The Strada Saonensis: the ancient trade route that connected the port to the hinterland

What was the Strada Saonensis?

The starting point: the port and the historic center

In ancient times, several important communication and trade routes with the Bormida Valley and Piedmont branched out from the center of Savona, approximately between the port area and the church of San Pietro. One of these was the ancient Strata Saonensis —also known as the Ranco and Priocco road—which, crossing the historic center along Via Pia and Vico Spinola, exited through Porta Furia, in the Monticello area, and ascended toward Sperone.

The two branches and the route towards the hinterland

One branch headed toward San Giacomo and Via Visca, while the other ascended Via Montegrappa to the area of the Villetta and the Capuchin convent. The two branches rejoined at Via Ranco, forming a single path that continued through the Bosco delle Ninfe, Crovaro, Monte Negino, and Naso di Gatto.

The route is still recognizable today

The Strata Saonensis —now known as Via Ranco—was the inland continuation of Via Monticello and Via Spinola, and constituted the natural connection between the port of Savona and the roads leading to Piedmont. A route that, centuries later, is still visible in the topography of Savona's historic center—you just need to know where to look.

A medieval economic infrastructure

The goods that flowed along the road

The Strada Saonensis wasn't just a physical route: it was an economic infrastructure that fueled the wealth of the port and the city. Salt, spices, textiles, and ceramics traveled down to the port; grain, timber, and the prized glass of Altare traveled up the coast to be shipped and distributed throughout the Mediterranean.

The merchants and the muleteers

The route fostered the development of trade between the maritime areas and the Alba hinterland, and the growth of new social forces, such as the class of merchant sailors and muleteers. New professional figures emerged precisely thanks to this road—men familiar with both the sea and the mountains, capable of moving between the two worlds and acting as intermediaries between very different economies.

The strategic role of the port of Savona

Unique in Liguria besides Genoa, in a region naturally lacking in berthing for large vessels, between the 14th and 15th centuries Savona possessed a port with good water depths and effective artificial protection, with adequate infrastructure for docking vessels and unloading goods. The Strada Saonensis was the land arm of this port's preeminence: without it, goods unloaded in Savona would not have been able to reach the Po Valley and transalpine markets.

The places that still tell this story

Via Pia and Vico Spinola

The initial stretch of the Strada Saonensis coincides with some of the oldest streets in Savona's historic center. Via Pia—one of the city's most evocative alleyways —still retains the width and layout typical of medieval commercial streets, with porticos that protected the shops and passersby.

The church of San Lorenzo, Biagio and Donato

The church of San Lorenzo, Biagio, and Donato—the first traces of which appear toward the end of the 12th century—was located on the road that connected the road leading to Piedmont (today's Via Torino) with the ancient Strata Saonensis (today's Via Ranco), an inland continuation of Via Monticello and Via Spinola. This religious building was built precisely at the intersection of two major medieval trade routes—not by chance, but by a deliberate choice, typical of medieval urban planning that placed churches and hospices at points of greatest traffic.

Via Ranco and the Capuchin convent

Climbing along Via Ranco—still identifiable today as the urban stretch of the Strada Saonensis—you reach the Villetta area and the Capuchin convent, where the two branches of the road met before continuing inland. From here, the landscape changes: the city gives way to woods, and the route becomes a trekking route.

Today: a historic trekking route still accessible

From the historic center to Cat's Nose

For convenience, the route begins at the beginning of Via Ranco, just beyond the Capuchin convent in the "Villetta" area, and continues through the Bosco delle Ninfe, Crovaro, Monte Negino, and finally to Naso di Gatto. This itinerary combines medieval history, nature, and views of the Savona hinterland—it can be hiked in half a day, with a progressively higher elevation gain as you move away from the coast.

An itinerary for every type of visitor

The urban section—from Via Pia to Via Ranco—is accessible to all and can be completed in under an hour, strolling through the alleys of the historic center. The suburban section toward the Bosco delle Ninfe and the Naso di Gatto requires appropriate clothing and hiking shoes, and is recommended for those who enjoy walking immersed in nature.

Why it's worth taking

Walking the Strada Saonensis today means doing something rare: stepping into the footsteps of those who came before. Merchants, pilgrims, muleteers, soldiers—generations of people who have traveled this same route for very real reasons. Not a museum tour, not a reconstruction: a real road, still there, just waiting to be rediscovered.