From Zoagli you go uphill to San Pietro. Here at the side of the church you walk along Via Longarola which climbs steeply up a ridge of hill to the Church dedicated to “Madonna Causa Nostrae Laetitia”. The church was built at the end of the ‘700 by the inhabitants together with the monks who gave the priest of San Pietro an icon representing the Holy Virgin. The small church was then named Sanctuary and every year on the first Sunday of September, Our Lady is celebrated with religious celebrations and a joyful meal in the woods. Continuing you reach the Passo del Monte Anchetta at 474 m above sea level. Here you can admire on one side the sea and the Gulf, on the other the chain of the Apennine Mountainswith the Val Fontanabuona.
A few kilometers continuing west walking on the ridge of Monte Carmo and then Monte Raffaele you reach the Passo del Monte Castello on the border with the municipality of Rapallo. Once here, you are in front of the “Santuario di N.S. di Montallegro” easily accessible through a shady forest of holm oaks. The panoramic view that is uncovered in this little tiring walk is of an incomparable beauty also for the various botanical essences that you may encounter along the way. At the end of spring, you may find wildflowers of many colors and shape such as: daffodils, lilies of the valley, orchids, laburnum and others.
If you want like an easier way to follow this path, it is advisable to reach Rapallo by public transport, go up to Montallegro by cableway or bus and take the road leading to Zoagli in the opposite direction, so you won’t have to face climbs of considerable importance.