Start at the Fontana Sistina (1,132 m), where an engraved stone marks the beginning of the route.

Head uphill on the tarmacked road towards the Colle della Forchetta. After about a hundred metres, leave the road for a path that drops to the right, staying in the woodland just below the road. Past a votive pillar, reach the attractive stone huts of Curdumpero, where you rejoin the tarmacked road. Follow it for a short stretch, then at the first switchback, take the dirt track branching off to the right (with an information board and another votive pillar).

Higher up, ignore the turning on the right to reach the first pillar dedicated to the apparitions of the Madonna. There are ten along the route, each accompanied by an information panel. The first commemorates the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which, according to tradition, took place in Mexico in 1531. Inside is a statue of the Madonna from that sacred site.

Ignore all side turnings and continue along the dirt track as it gains a little more height. Rounding a spur, the surface becomes grassy and the track levels out above the secluded, wooded Tesso Valley.

The dirt track continues gently and evenly past more pillars. At the one dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, the route crosses the 3V (Tre Vallate) itinerary, a multi-day trek that begins in the Malone Valley, crosses the Tesso Valley, and ends after traversing the entire Lanzo Grande Valley.

Continuing on, you reach the Proima huts (1,290 m), where the track narrows to a mule track. The path, excellently restored in recent years thanks to the efforts of volunteers, rises and falls to reach the pillar dedicated to Our Lady of Knock, located near a panoramic rock known locally as Roc dou Pat. Shortly beyond, you arrive at Punta Penna (1,330 m), a rocky outcrop overlooking Coassolo Torinese, where the pillar dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima stands.

The path continues past the foot of a large boulder, in a niche housing the statue of Our Lady of Banneux. A little further on, it crosses a side stream and some marshy areas, partly equipped with rudimentary walkways made from wooden logs (take care in winter, as there may be ice).

A ruin precedes the eighth pillar, dedicated to Our Lady of Akita, and the route reaches its highest point (1,365 m) near it. Past the pillar of Our Lady of Kibeho, well sheltered beneath a rocky overhang, the path descends towards a gully. After crossing the stream, you reach the tenth and final pillar, near which stand the ruins of the Cà du Mago, a distinctive building that used enormous boulders as walls, and a rock outcrop with a sheer drop.

Shortly after, reach a junction and continue straight ahead, descending alongside the ruins of Casas.

You soon drop onto a small tarmacked road arriving from Mecca, a hamlet of Monastero di Lanzo, where the Sanctuary of Marsaglia (1,300 m) comes into view. Its imposing Baroque façade stands out against the stone huts of the small hamlet surrounding it. The sanctuary, which took its present form in the second half of the 18th century, houses hundreds of ex-votos, some dating back to the 17th century. Although the oldest have been moved to a more secure location, those that remain still offer a vivid picture of the valley’s history and social life.

Return by the same route.