Trail Name:  Valle dei Frati; AKA: CAI 746

Trail Type: A short distance circuit trail; well-maintained and almost exclusively hard-packed surfaces, from tarmac to grassland, although there were a couple of small muddy grassland spots; the trail is fairly well marked.

Length:

Total – 8 kilometers/4.97 miles

Convenient to: Casale Monferrato, or Asti, Piedmont, Italy

Marking:

Red and white horizontal (or vertical) bars, and/or words “CAI 746” (Also see featured photo above.)

Trail Description: A short but pleasant, and not very difficult, trail along the hills and dales of this quiet section of Monferrato, with a fair amount of variety in the terrain, the flora, and in the scenery, ranging from idyllic to dramatic.

Trailhead:

Ottiglio: Via Mazza/SP37

Parking:

Ottiglio: Via Mazza. Parallel parking along some sections of the street

Moleto: Strada Comunale Moleto/SP 42, parking lot for about 12 cars (best bet, usually)

Public Transportation Options:

Rail: None

Bus: Not suggested as service is not very frequent

Suggested Stages: Not applicable

Trail Itinerary-Reference Points: (Counterclockwise)

Ottiglio: SP37, keep V Pozzoltre on the left as you pass it, Strada Comunale San Giacomo-Croce (road with sign for Prera Monsaietto), going right at tri-section on Strada Comunale Cascina Monsaietto, fields, vineyards; into forest; Moleto: SP42 to Strada Comunale Moleto, past parking at edge of hamlet, through hamlet, past oratorio; turn left at a farm house onto Strada Comunale Moleto-Curella, left at fork back to tri-section, retrace via SP37 to start point in Ottiglio

Representative Trail Photos:

 

 

 

Restrooms:

None observed!

Attractions on or near Trail:

Just lots of quiet countryside, set in gently rolling hills.

Tasting along the Trail:

Ottiglio: Vinicea, Via G. Marconi; Cascina Montecchio (in a hamlet between Ottiglio and Moleto)

Alternative Options:

Hiking: About three kilometers distant, in Grazzano Badoglio, (Province of Asti), is the 8-kilometer/5-mile-long circuit named Tra I Prati e le Vigne, through the local fields and vineyards.

Biking: A trail named Nel Monferrato degli Infernot, a mid-difficultly level circuit of 25 kilometers from Cereseto, passing within a kilometer of Ottiglio, follows partly on fairly well-travelled roads past the vineyards, fields and some typical villages of this area;  https://www.piemontebike.eu/en/cycle-paths/nel-monferrato-degli-infernot/06a8899ea249b76340a378624783ed46/

Additional Information:

Regional: http://www.monferrato.org/eng/

Trail specific:

https://it.wikiloc.com/percorsi-escursionismo/sentiero-746-la-valle-dei-frati-i-40-percorsi-del-camminare-il-monferrato-20863695 for map; and https://www.percorsimonferrato.com/itinerario-ottiglio-moleto-valle-dei-frati/ for information on hiking the trail

Comments:

Almost definitely need a car to get to this area, and parking is perhaps best at Moleto, in the parking lot at the Ottiglio end of the hamlet, right on the trail.