Project Description
Colle San Giacomo
Colle San Giacomo
Where it is
The Colle San Giacomo Wind Park opened in 2013 and was constructed by the Leitwind company and is found on the magnificent Piedmont hills in the Province of Cuneo. The park made up of four LTW80 turbines, 65 metres high, and each generating 1.5 MW, is situated between the Municipalities of Priola (with only 1 turbine) and Viola (with the other 3 turbines), at an altitude of 1,050 to 1,070 metres.
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 Where to eat |
 Where to eat and sleep |
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Browse the map and discover the places to visit, where to eat and where to stay, chosen by Legambiente
With a total rated power of 6 MW, this wind park, thanks to an average yearly generation of over 8,000 MW of clean energy, is able to meet the electric energy needs of more than 3,000 households, avoiding CO2 emissions of over 6,000 tons per year. The installation was included in the 2016 Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) along with the Municipalities of Alto, Bagnasco, Battifollo, Briga Alta, Caprauna, Garessio, Lisio, Mombasiglio, Nucetto, Or-mea, Priola, Scagnello and Viola.
Forests and bicycles
“A wind park that is creating a new and fascinating landscape” – the words of the newspaper La Stampa – Cronaca di Cuneo in an article that describes how “In the forests of the hills of San Giacomo, the watershed between the Tanaro and Mongia Valleys, not only mushrooms are emerging. But also, recently, a small wind park which is attracting the curiosity of those hiking along the many tracks in the middle of nature…. The turbines are now visible on the ridge between Priola and Viola, both from the Castello side, and from the valley floor of road 28 of Colle di Nava. (Paola Scola)
It is also an area chosen as part of the route for the 13th stage of the Giro d’Italia 2022 which, on May 20, witnessed the athletes cycling the “Sanremo – Cuneo” route and passing by the wind park of Colle San Giacomo. Climbing up from Viola, you come across the Castello Fortificato and, from a document of 1033 and the ruins rising up on a rocky outcrop overlooking Tanaro, we can understand that it had been an imposing fortress with its massive walls and corner tower.
Chestnuts and music
The gentle hills that separate the Tanaro Valley from the Lisio and Viola Valleys are covered in prized chestnut groves, and we need only recall the tradition that is still alive today of the so-called “white chestnuts”, the chestnuts dried in the traditional drying kilns, and then sold at exorbitant prices. The locals are proud of their chestnut groves and are tended like, or even better than, public parks. Many tracks and roads suitable for bikes allow hikers and cyclists to discover truly interesting nature routes.
For example, you can begin from Pamparato, a quaint village famous for its paste di melighe (biscuits made from corn flour) and its courses of musical specialization, and after reaching Viola, you descend again into the forests rich in biodiversity and then climb up San Giacomo hill, and after a well-earned rest, down once again, taking good, asphalted roads to Mursecco, not far from Garessio.
