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 the Prenestini: from San Gregorio da Sassola to Spina Santa

Dianne hard at work.  The convent is at right center.  In the distance, the Colli Albani (right half, yielding to
Rome's basin) and the Monti Lepini (the slight rise, left of center).  Part of the town is visible center left.
We're about 1/3 of the way up at this point. Note the hillside above Dianne is being intensively cultivated.  

Our second hike of the season.  Somehow, Dianne found a place we hadn't been: a ridge in the Monti Prenestini, with a trail head near the small town of San Gregorio da Sassola.  The town is pretty much straight east of Rome, out via Prenestina (i.e., in ancient times, led to the now-called town of Palestrina), then on some other roads best negotiated with an iPad or iPhone, about half of it on curvy country roads tailor-made for our Malaguti (and entertaining too, we think, even in a car).

We pulled into the main square at half past 9--1:20 from Rome--had a 2nd coffee at the only bar (a male hangout, as it happened) in the piazza, while admiring the astonishing castle that towered

Hi-tech entrance to the medieval section

above and marked the entrance to the medieval city, though with an electronic info board.  We had with us little information--the starting point, near the convent on the hill above the town; and a CAI map (see below the post) marking the trail with a red line.

Concerned about a possibly torturous road up to the convent, we decided to walk--down the road a few hundred yards, then up the hill near the convent (about 100 meters vertical, about 1/2 mile). Here, and from this point on, the trail is marked in red and white--very frequently and, with rare exceptions, clearly. See the map below.  The first mark is on the pole opposite the restaurant, and it refers to the asphalt path on the left (not the one on the right). We had feared--and the asphalt at first confirmed our fears--that the "trail" might turn out to be nothing but a road or, at best a mulattiera--a dirt road once used for hauling stuff with, yes, mules.

Up the fenceline

But not far ahead, at the gate, the trail turns into the woods--and it remains in the countryside, except for a few brief asphalt stretches.  For a while it follows a fence line, then moves up the side of the ridge, traverses a small, rocky hillside before emerging into a more open landscape, above. There are a few (and unavoidable) very narrow and very muddy sections where even straddling the mud was only partially successful--so wear good boots and carry at least one pole.

High country

Splendid views of the town, the monastery, Rome's basin (note Calatrava's sail-like, never-used swimming pool in Tor Vergata) and, as we climbed higher--eventually about 680 meters or 2000 feet above San Gregorio da Sassola--panoramic views of some 7 mountain ranges, including the snow-covered Gran Sasso. Our goal was to reach the nob-like Spina Santa, where our CAI trail 516 meets 500, and we almost made it, choosing to defer the conquest and do it the Italian way: have lunch and forget the peak--otherwise known as hike-to-eat.  So we had our sausage, cheese and bread within a few hundred yards of Spina Santa.

Those guys followed us

It's horse country up there, and we saw four or five bunches of 5-7, each with one or two foals. Unaccustomed to contact with humans they don't know--and we did not see another person on the trail or tending to the herds--these high country (at 3000 feet and above) horses are usually skittish, and that was our experience on this hike, too.  So it freaked us out a bit when several horses started following us across an open grass bowl, as if we had apples and sugar lumps.  There are cows, too, on most Italian hikes, though we saw only two: one on a road we were crossing, and another--just a carcass--near the apex of our journey.

Well maintained older buildings

The descent was swift and gorgeous, with spectacular views to the east and, to the north, of handsome Monte Gennaro and the Monti Lucretili, every peak familiar.  Reaching the restaurant on our return, we decided to take another road down to the town: the one just above the restaurant.  It curls clockwise and takes you through the newer section of the town--past the town park, an esedra-shaped apartment complex, past some very old but nicely maintained residences, and into the piazza--about 4:30 from the start.

 As is our habit, we shared a large bottle of beer at a table outside the bar (embedded in rock, Disney-like but real), admired the castle and the range behind it once again, and toasted to our fine day in the mountains. Good pick, Dianne! Then on the scooter, and home.

Town bar, carved from the rock,

Bill

Horses scamper away

The darker red line at top tracks the trail, ending (for us) at far right.  We started at the (red) center of San Gregorio da
Sassola and took the road (not clearly marked here), up to the convent.  We returned by the thin red
line that comes into the town at its northern end.    "AV" means the "alta via" - or crest road (literally "high way")
 of the Prenestini.