The Delights of Spoleto - Hiking, St. Francis, Hermitages, the Town

The Spoleto most people see: wonderful churches - here the Duomo and an ad for a De Chirico show (which seemed to fit right in with the piazza here.

Our view from the mountains above Spoleto.

Spoleto is a gorgeous Umbrian town, dating back to the 5th century BC at least and famous for its arts festival.  We, as is our wont, went there to hike - and the hike was as rewarding as the town and its arts festival. Ancient ruins, abandoned churches, the St. Francis way (via Francigena), the path of the hermitages (via degli eremi), the ability to get lost and do it a little on your own, and the final passing across an immense bridge that is basically a 13th-century aqueduct - and all accessible in a day-trip from Rome by train.

These were our directions.

In front of the train station, one is greeted by this improbably
contemporary sculpture ala Calder.

Along with a crude map we
 photographed from the Internet.

We have done this hike twice. The first time we found it on the Internet, clipped and pasted the description of the hike (in Italian), took photos of it for my iPhone and off we went.

The second time we forgot we had directions and did it from memory (!).

First thing off the train, an obligatory
 coffee stop  at the commonly-named
 bar  - L'angolo del caffe
("coffee corner").

And for those of you who want to skip the woods, menacing dogs, getting lost, etc., just scroll down to photos of the hermitages and the town.

Signage helps - until it runs out.
We'll see the rocca (fortress) on top
later on - we'll look down on it.

The hike is partly signed, partly not.

Maps along the way -
even with bullet holes
 in them - are helpful.

It starts in an unassuming place on the side of the town that is decidedly not historic-looking - though we have yet to figure out what this dry waterway is (it was dry 3 years later as well) - it's a large space that seems outside the town walls at right.

Selfie on the Cima.

One is treated to the ruins of a monastery on top of the first hill, then some gorgeous paths and views (the one at the top of this post), some unattractive logged areas, and finally the top of the hill - more than 3,000 feet above sea level.

And from the top, one can see the ruins of a castle not far below.

Castle ruins (apologies, can't recall the century!).

On our self-guided second time, we got confused as to which path to take from the base of the cima, the signage there (and many animal tracks) failing us.  But, we were rescued by a man on a horse - literally! - who guided us to the right path - we were too discombobulated to take his photo.

"Truffle gathering reserve"

After a short wild-ish stretch, the path enters more civilized zones, including farms, complete with menacing dogs, and a park.

Farm houses - the path goes right past them.

Menacing dogs - one walks right
next to them. Fortunately the
Italian description of the hike assures
one they are fenced in.

Improbably situated park - the second time we took this hike,
I think it was a Sunday, and
Italians were grilling on this outdoor grill.

Unfortunately,  logging has destroyed some of these
gorgeous forests.

An adjacent chapel - I believe honoring a St. Francis follower,
 Saint Bernardino.

We reached - not knowing it was there the first time - the revered sanctuary for San Francesco - St. Francis - on a high hill (called "Monteluco") above Spoleto, next to the "sacred wood" ("sacro bosco") he - and his fellow monks - loved.

 The sanctuary was apparently founded in the 5th century by Syrian Christians fleeing their homeland and turned over to St. Francis in the 13th century.

Italians hanging out at the bar below the sanctuary on the edge
of the sacred wood. They do know how to relax.

The monks had this cool walk from their hermitages up to the sanctuary and down to the town.  Via degli eremi. Now, all of the hermitages and churches on the walk are private homes, bed-and-breakfasts, or abandoned. They remain beautiful as they stand in the woods.

Monks' walk.

Abandoned church #1.

Abandoned church #2.

Hermitage now a private home.

Tourists hanging out at pool at hermitage now a B&B.

Perhaps an excess of signage.

These
signs show the "via Francigena" - the
St. Francis way (that goes into France
and England) - it's noted by its yellow
and blue signage. We are often on it,
even very close to Rome (on Monte
Mario, for example).

At left, the yellow-and-blue marker for the via Francigena has had some additions to it:

The view looking to the town of Spoleto, before
crossing the bridge, with the rocca we had
seen when we started at the top.

Several hours later, our path seems to end - in a magnificent bridge. We were somewhat like "the stupids go to Spoleto" - we didn't know the bridge (or the sanctuary or the hermitages) existed. We delighted in it, had some trepidation crossing it, and were disappointed on our second trip that it was closed (apparently it is frequently closed because of safety concerns!). There is another path to the city that is considerably longer, along the cliffs of Monteluco. It too was gorgeous - so not a bad result; tho' we were not expecting the extra miles.

It doesn't look scary from this point
of view, but it's a precipitous and long
drop off the right.

"Bridge of the towers - 13th century,
80 meters high; about 230 meters long"

It's called the "Bridge of  towers." In this view, I'm
looking back at the hill we came down from (Monteluco),
and one of the towers. The cliffs at left are what one skirts on
the path to be taken when the bridge is closed.

Our disappointment on our last hike. The bridge was closed.

And, finally, some of you will be happy to learn, we reached
the town of Spoleto - and these magnificent walls - no doubt
pre-Roman.

The town of Spoleto is full of steep streets, lovely
churches and piazzas.  The Duomo is
richly decorated.

Apse of the Duomo, with a fresco cycle begun by
Fra Lippo Lippi

Here, some street scenes from Spoleto.

A medieval bathroom.

Our second time in Spoleto we were desperately hungry and, of course, hit the town when everything is closed - after 3 p.m. on Sunday.  We found one small bar open, and the one person working there served us a kind of filled focaccia (as I recall she was an immigrant and the bread was that of another country - but my memory can't bring back the country) that was wonderful - it turns out she had made the focaccia herself.

Dianne

Hiking: Tivoli to San Polo, 10 miles, 2300 feet, great views

One view from the long ridge between Tivoli and San Polo de' Cavalieri.  The hill town at center is Castel Madama.
We've hired near it too in the past, encountering one of our more brutal brier patches.

As the body ages, long rides on the scooter become less enticing.  And so we've taken to doing some of our hiking from train depots.  On a hot Sunday in early June, we scootered in the a.m. to Piazza Independenza in central Rome, walked 10 minutes to Termini, and caught the train for Tivoli (takes about an hour, less on the return).  Our plan (we've done it twice before) was to hike from the Tivoli train station to San Polo de' Cavalieri, a small hill town roughly 5 miles distant.  10 miles total.  Varied terrain, delightful views.

Monte Cattillo, seen from the Tivoli bar,
with requisite beer, after the hike. 

The hike goes up over the shoulder of Monte Catillo (seen here from a bar after the hike).  The trailhead is about half a mile from the train station: exit the station right, downhill to the roundabout, take the road right, up to the arch, and turn right up the road, where you'll find the marked path around Monte Catillo).  Then uphill through scrub to a lone oak (this much we described in an itinerary in our first book), through a lovely grove of oak trees and onto a long ridge, finally pitching down off the ridge, then up on a road and some other tracks to San Polo, where we ate the tramezzini we had purchased in a Tivoli bar in the morning.

Benches line the right side of the street in San Polo.  

We sat on one of the benches on the town's main street.

Bar Centrale.  Quiet, but open, on a Sunday afternoon. 

Or you could buy lunch at Bar Centrale.











Or, from San Polo, you could go on to Monte Gennaro - another 6 hours or so!  We've climbed Gennaro half a dozen times, from several directions, but never from this one.  Tivoli and San Polo are in the Lucreteli, and Monte Gennaro is the highest mountain outside Rome.  The Tivoli to San Polo hike gives you the flavor of the Lucretili and some small town and farm ambience as well.

The ritorno (return) is a reversal of the andato (no good translation, sort of "going" or "the way there"): down from San Polo, steep climb up a hot road to the ridge, more or less flat journey along the mostly open ridge (great views on both sides, especially left), descent through the oaks, the scrub, and along the shoulder of Monte Catillo and down into Tivoli.

There used to be a lot of cows in these pastures, and bathtubs were used as rural fontane (fountains) to provide the animals with water.

Dianne at the oak grove, on the descent.  Several years ago, during a drought,
we feared the oaks might die.  Today, they appear healthy.  Red and white trail
marker on the tree.  A clear path.

Descent into Tivoli.  The white triangle just below the horizon and about 2/3 of the way toward the
right side of the frame, is Santiago Calatrava's famous, but unfinished and unused, swimming pool.  

A short section of road at the beginning and end of the hike. 

The numbers are hours and minutes estimated to reach the
destination, not distance.

Grateful for the shade. 

The trail is well marked (above, a typical sign) in a way it wasn't some years ago, when we first did the hike.  There are just a couple of places where one can go wrong: on the way to San Polo, having passed the lone pine, bear to the right and slightly upward at the fork (the intersection is marked).



Then, about halfway to San Polo, be careful to avoid pitching downward to the left (that's another trail, and a shorter hike) and stay more or less on the ridge.  There are some lovely and cool shaded stretches.







The total dislivello (elevation gain) is about 2300 feet (total for both directions, which involve ups and downs both ways).  That means this one's for hikers, not walkers.  Lots of rocky paths, so hiking boots are highly recommended.  There's water at the Tivoli train station (look for the eagle fountain at one end) and at the fountain in San Polo's main square--but none on the trail, with one exception that's quite close to San Polo.

Water is available at the eagle fountain on the north end of the Tivoli train station.  
You'll be headed for Monte Catillo, whose top is marked by the cross in the center
of this photo.  You can go to the top or across the shoulder on the way to San Polo..

We described another hike from the Tivoli station to the higher Monte Sterparo in 2016. That blog post includes some photos of our "cow map" that has part of this hike on it as well.

We've been partial to Tivoli for a long time, not only for hiking, but also for just the feel of this small, very old town (dating from the ancient Romans), the magnificent 19th-century Villa Gregoriana (#6 on the RST Top 40) and the more famous 16th century Villa d'Este with its fountains (the wild and the ordered, respectively, were compared in Rome the Second Time).

Bill

Hiking near Rome: Tivoli, Train to Trail

Hard work to get here, but great views.  Tivoli at left.  Colli Albani in the background.

We're hikers, and until now we've used our scooter almost exclusively to get to trailheads outside Rome.  But recently, we've been taking the train to destinations that promised too long a scooter ride--Carsoli among them. Having gotten used to trains, a short while ago we took one to Tivoli for a hike we thought would be ordinary.  It wasn't.

In the morning, trains for Tivoli leave from the station at Tiburtina every 20 minutes or so.  You can purchase round-trip tickets at the station, at kiosks, and in some stations, like Trastevere, at the newsstand.  The train we caught was a milk run--it stopped everywhere--and even then only took an hour and ten minutes to reach the famous hill town.  About 3 Euro each way per person.  Hard to beat that price.

At Tivoli we exited south from track 1 (past the cool eagle fountain), turned right on the street, had a coffee a couple of blocks down at a bar (where we also bought a sandwich for lunch), kept going down to the traffic circle, turned 90 degrees right with Villa Gregoriana on the left (the road to Marcellina), and followed the road--the most dangerous part of the whole exercise (no shoulders)--about 3/4 of a mile, past the bridge and around two other curves to the other side of the gorge.  The road then curves sharply right, goes around still another left curve, and there, on the right side of the road, you'll find the trailhead.  It looks like a small stone driveway that ascends in the direction you're traveling. There should be a sign put up by CAI (Club Alpino Italiano) naming the trail for "Paolo Fantini."  Have a drink of water and begin the climb, following the new, and very frequent, red and white marks on trees and rocks. This may be the best-marked trail we've ever been on.

This section of the map contains the start and finish of the hike.  The train station is very near the "T" in TIVOLI.  The trailhead is just beyond this section of the map, on the blue line (the road), upper left.  If you can get your hands on this map,
- "Riserva naturale Monte Catillo" - it's excellent.  It features, of course, the long-horned white bovine on the cover.

After a brief standoff with us, this long-horned bull
bailed out and took off down the hill.  

Trail "C" (see map below) ascends through a lovely forest of pine and scrub, turns right (east) after about 20 minutes, crosses some more or less open ground, turns a bit toward the northwest, then east again and down into a wooded fosso (a small valley or gulley) where we encountered, and skirted, bulls and horned cows on the trail as well as some "new age" orchestrations, including a set of wind chimes strung near the trail (below).

Wind chimes, upper left/center.

The trail then turns sharply west and, in a few minutes, begins a rather difficult, very rocky traverse/ascent of Monte Sterparo.  You'll use your hands here to climb some of the rocky pitches.  At the end of the ascent there's a lovely spot--a cross, a madonna, and a superb view of Tivoli and the valley in which Rome resides (photo at top of post).  You may see a white sail-shaped structure in the distance; it's an unfinished swimming pool designed by the world-famous architect Calatrava.

This map contains the entire course of the trek (C to F to E to A)

From here you'll take a DIFFERENT trail, just to the north of the one you came up.  Follow it for a minute or two, where it forks.  Take the LEFT fork ("F" on the map), to and through the nondescript actual top of Monte Sterparo (you won't know you've been there, although there's a good pile of stones at one point - not the highest point), and beyond for about 20/30 minutes to Colle Lecinone, where you'll find an abandoned building on your right and a barbed-wire boundary fence for the

Easy walking through nice forest.  Here, the trail markers are all on trees.  

"reserve" on your left.  The trail ("E") turns east and downhill from here, abandons the rocks, enters a sublime forest planted perhaps 60 years ago, and emerges--another 20 minutes later--into an intersection with trail signs galore.  The road to your right goes downhill and spills out at the bridge you walked a couple of hours ago; you can take this if your need to get back is urgent.  Instead, we recommend the trail to the east--the sign says something about a picnic area (i.e., "Area Pic-Nic") - it's still marked "E" on the map.  It goes through the woods, emerges on the east side of the mountain (great views to the East!), traverses the side of the hill for a few minutes, then heads downhill, more or less toward Tivoli.

The center portion of hike, including Monte Sterpara (middle left), up to Colle Lecinone (top left) on the F trail, and across on the E trail to lower right, until it meets up with trail A, which you follow.  

Through the cork oak forest.

And here it gets a little tricky.  As you come downhill and the countryside opens up, it is important that you follow the red and white markers, for there are several unmarked and tempting trails, mostly trampled out by cows and horses, we think.  Descending, you'll enter a divine forest of cork oak trees--the bark is special.

Near the end.  Tivoli center left, Monte Catillo, with
cross, in distance at right

Soon thereafter you'll come upon a lone tree, just to your right.  The correct trail is just to the right of the tree. Follow it, and it will take you down, past an athletic field on your right and around the small but iconic mountain above Tivoli--Monte Catillo, with the cross on its peak--onto a road (turn left, downhill) and then onto the road on which your hike began.  Turn left, and you're about 20 minutes from the train station.

Should you want to ascend Monte Catillo on the way down, you'll find a path on the southeast side of the mountain that will take you to the top, about 10 minutes away.

If you're eager to have a meal on your return, we recommend crossing the bridge at the circle, toward Tivoli proper.  About a hundred yards beyond, on the right, is L'Ape 50°, with tables inside and outside.  The kind and informed waiter explained the name to us (that little 3-wheel truck one sees rarely now, and usually only in the countryside, is called "l'ape" (the bee), and he revealed that travel guru Rick Steves had eaten there and lists the restaurant in one of his travel guides.  We're not Steves fans, but in this case he offers good advice. We especially enjoyed the weekly off-menu artichoke lasagna and the artisanal beers, a specialty of the house.  Keep in mind that L'Ape 50° keeps typical restaurant hours; so it's unlikely to be open between 3 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.

We are fans of the two great gardens of Tivoli - the 16th century Villa d'Este and the 19th century Villa Gregoriana (#6 on RST's Top 40).  You might want to take in one or both of these as well. They are not open on Mondays.

Total ascent, a modest (for true hikers) 1650 feet.  Time: about 4 1/2 hours from and to the Tivoli station.  Hiking boots a must, and at least one hiking pole is highly recommended.  Bring one large bottle of water for each hiker and (assuming there are two of you) a knife to divide the sandwich or cut the cheese. Sometimes we buy a bottle of wine (at a bar, where they'll open it for you and provide plastic cups) to drink on the train, but the ride's a short one, and on this occasion we did not.  Trains back to Rome in the late afternoon and evening run about every hour, and the last one is about 10 p.m.

Bill, with Dianne's help. 

Rome the Second Time features a Tivoli hike and the marvelous duo: villa/gardens of Tivoli - Villa d'Este and Villa Gregoriana.  The hike we did this day incorporates part of RST's hike, which goes up the more famous Monte Catillo with its cross.  The hike described in this post is much more interesting in its terrain and flora, and also more difficult.

At right and beyond the buildings, that's Monte Sterpara, as seen from Villa D'Este, looking rather ordinary from this distance and angle.