Michael and Pam's Travels Our European Motorhome Adventures and other Travels

Castelvecchio Di Rocca Barbena, Italy 2018 ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น

Date:  23rd July 2018

Travelled:  153 kilometres from Zuccarello to Deiva Marina, both in Italy

Visited: Castelvecchio Di Rocca Barbena

Stayed: Camping Deiva Marina, โ‚ฌ33 pn.  All facilities.  N44.21471, E09.51933

The Italian motorhome next to us departed after dinner and we overnighted alone in the carpark.  Mind you we woke to be surrounded by cars in the morning, but we didnโ€™t hear them.  Our Italian neighbour spoke good english and we chatted for a while.  He provided some hints on motorhoming in Italy.  His key advise was not to drive down through Italy to Sicily but take the ferry from Genoa to Palermo, then sightsee on the way back.  With the current price of deisel in Italy of โ‚ฌ1.60-1.70 litre the ferry is much easier and less expensive than driving.  Given our last tank of deisel was โ‚ฌ110 itโ€™s food for thought.

Our mission this morning is to visit Castelvecchio (Castelvecchio De Rocca Barbena).


We can see Castelvecchio from Zuccarello, perched high on the hill a couple of kilometres away. So we unload the scooter follow the signs.
There is no parking in the Castelvecchio, but a small carpark sits above the town. Despite only being 50cc the scooter gets us up here comfortably


Looks interesting doesnโ€™t it. I found this guide to the best villages in Italy and Castelvecchio is one of them.
The old castle stands on the hill surrounded by the town. We will later discover it is a private residence.
Down in the village its a labyrinth of narrow laneways, arches and tiny porches.  There are little relics of rural life here and there.
In the town square they are busy disassembling a stage. There was a festival here last night apparently, that explains why Zuccarello was so quiet last night.  Bit hard to decipher the sign, but it appears this was the old town hall.
These mountain villages are good exercise. There is no level ground itโ€™s all uphill or down, with lots of stairs for good measure.
The Church of Santa Maria was locked unfortunately. Mind you the steeple makes a good reference point, when you get lost.
We have enjoyed walking Castelvecchio for an hour but we have a long drive today. So we find our way back to the scooter and Zuccarello.
Re-mounting the scooter takes little more time than the push-bikes. No lifting is required so its actually easier on the back as well.

We find our way back to the A10.  We have a long drive to our next stop and decide on the toll-road (โ‚ฌ14.40), avoiding Nice and Monaco.  We have been to both from a cruise ship several years ago and I fancy neither in a motorhome.  Our fellow Australian motorhomers Rob and Krys recommended Camping Deiva Marina for its easy access to the Cinque Terre, so we enter the co-ordinates into the GPS and join the mahem.


Camping Deiva Marina.  Our second campsite in 7 weeks.

Michael and Pam


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