Itinéraires conseillés en Gubbio Italie

The Path of Francesco

Nell'anno 1213 Orlando Cattani, feudatario della città di Chiusi, donò la montagna di La Verna, situata tra Toscana, Umbria e Marche, a Francesco d'Assisi affinchè vi si stabilisse con i suoi frati. Francesco e i suoi frati soggiornarono a La Verna per molto tempo finchè il frate ricevette le stimmate e lasciò definitivamente il monte custodito da allora solo dai suoi compagni.
Nella grande montagna di formazione calcarea si erge il Santuario di La Verna appunto, a quota 1128 mt.
Il sentiero di Francesco comincia da qui.

Dal Santuario infatti il percorso è in salita fino a quota 1254 mt, dove si trova la cima del Monte Calvano.
Da qui si prosegue in discesa verso Pieve Santo Stefano a 432 mt, città in provincia di Arezzo e poi ancora una salita da superare(4 ore circa) per raggiungere l'eremo di Cerbaiolo a quota 861 mt.
Proseguendo tra i boschi, lungo l'Alpe della Luna, dopo 6 ore di cammino si giunge al Convento di Montecasale, nella città omonima, dove i Camaldolesi costruirono un eremo con ospedale e un ospizio per i pellegrini.
Il convento fu ceduto ai francescani nell'anno 1213 e divenne luogo di prima importanza per la spiritualità dei frati.
Dal Convento una discesa di due ore accompagna fino a Sansepolcro, terra natale di Piero della Francesca, città ricchissima dunque di storia, arte e cultura.
Dalla Toscana all'Umbria in 4 ore poi, per visitare Citerna, borgo collinare che si affaccia sulla meravigliosa Valle del Tevere.
Da Citerna ancora le medesime ore di cammino conducono a Città di Castello.
Passando per Pieve de' Saddi, che da Città di Castello dista circa 4 ore e mezzo, si arriva a Pietralunga, nell'Appennino Umbro Marchigiano, tappa fondamentale del percorso.
Ed infine in 3 ore si raggiunge Gubbio, passando per San Benedetto Vecchio.
3 ore e mezza nuovamente occorrono per raggiungere Vallingegno dalla città di Gubbio:lungo la strada si possono ammirare l'Abbazia di Vallingegno e l'Eremo di San Pietro in Vigneto, luogo di pace e di grande misticismo.
Un'ora di cammino, tra il verde di boschi e selve, è necessaria per raggiungere la Chiesa di Camprignone che ospitò i francescani nel 1223 e un'altra ora circa occorre per arrivare al Castello di Biscina.
Il sentiero di Francesco prosegue per altre due ore e mezza.
Tra asfalto e strada sterrata si attraversa un paesaggio stupendo e incontaminato e si giunge a Coccorano da dove è visibile l'imponente Castello di Giomici che conserva il fascino di un antico borgo medievale.
Arrivati a Valfabbrica si prosegue con una salita di circa due ore fino al Cimitero di Pieve San Nicolò.
Dopo aver visitato la chiesa omonima si riprende il cammino per un'altra ora e mezza.
Si incontra la Statua di Padre Pio per poi arrivare finalmente ad Assisi, porta San Giacomo.
Per maggiori informazioni visitare il sito Il Sentiero di Francesco

From Gubbio to Assisi - The mystical charms of mountain hermitages

From Gubbio to Assisi, through the National Park of Monte Cucco, Colfiorio plateau and the Park of Mount Subasio. Majestic landscapes, ancient abbeys, hermitages, lost in the silence of inaccessible places. Here, we come across two art cities, Gubbio and Spello, and finally rest in Assisi.

Elegance and Mysticism. Gubbio looks like a huge Nativity scene, with its city walls clutched to the rock of Mount Ingino, where the Middle Ages meet the elegance of Reinassance and Baroque. The maze of Gubbio’s alleys resembles a travel backwards in history: Palazzo del Capitolo dei Canonici, Palazzo del Bargello, the Cathedral, Palazzo Ducale, up to the lovely Piazza Grande, which offers one of the widest and most charming landscapes in the whole Umbria. Here, Palazzo Pretorio faces the imposing Palazzo dei Consoli (inside the latter palace, the City Museum houses the Iguvine Tables, one of the most important testimonies of the ancient Umbrian language). Via Sant’Ubaldo allows to reach the woods of Mount Ingino, up to the Basilica of Saint Ubaldo, 827 meters above sea level. The Basilica hosts the “ceri” (literally: tapers), three wooden artifacts which are taken down to town on the first Sunday of May, and then back to the Basilica on the 15th of May, after a pictoresque feast dedicated to Saint Ubaldo.+

The ermitages of Monte Cucco. Heading North from Gubbio, we cross the Appennini towards Scheggia and Pascelupo (SS 298 towards via Giove Pennino, frazione Villamagna, frazione Sant’Angelo dopo Serra, località Fornace). Gola del Bottaccione is a deep ravine between Mount Ingino and Mount Foce, interesting both for its Medieval weir and for its rocks so rich in iridium to have generated the hypothesis of a huge meteorite’s impact, taking place some 65 millions years ago. Nearby, a Medieval aqueduct and the Hermitage of San Ambrosio, on Monte Calvo. Following SS289, we enter the Regional Park of Monte Cucco, including ancient hermitages like San Girolamo, Ss. Emiliano e Bartolomeo in Congiuntoli, Santa Maria di Sitria and the benedictine abbey of Sant’Andrea. All of them deserve a visit, to admire their mystical fascination, their Romanesque architecture, and the surrounding natural landscapes.+

The regional Park of Colfiorito. Our trip continues towards South (SS3 towards Fossato di Vico, Gualdo Tadino, Nocera Umbra), leading us to the Regional Park of Colfiorito: a 850 acres plateau, 250 of which taken up by a marshland, abounding in wildlife. Colfiorito is also famous for its typical produces (lentils, red potatoes, chick peas, grass peas, spelt), often sold by local farmers, directly along the roads. About 15 miles from Colfiorito (SS77 towards località Casette di Cupigliolo, then towards frazione Pisenti, Collelungo, Capodaqua, Pieve Fanonica, Valtopina), Collepino is a tiny village, belonging to the Park of Mount Subasio and perfectly preserved with its scenic “piazzetta”.+

Spello: art, religion and gastronomy. Now we go down for 4 miles towards Spello (via Subasio), which stands on the top of a hill, at the feet of Mount Subasio. In the well-preserved Medieval walls, four gates and a Roman arch are still the only accesses to the center. The main monument is the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, with the extraordinary Cappella Baglioni, frescoed by Pinturicchio. The most typical event in Spello is the “infiorata”, taking place during the feast of Corpus Christi, when streets are embellished by pictures, entirely composed by flowers laid upon the pavement. Another occasion for visiting Spello is the festival dedicated to its most renown produce, olive oil: “L’Oro di Spello” (at the beginning of December). After visiting the Museo Emilio Greco (c/o Palazzo Comunale | piazza della Repubblica), we end our trip in Porta dell’Arce, with its panoramic terrace, open towards the Umbrian countryside at sunset. The nearby Villa Fidelia is a fine XIX century building with a wide park, now hosting concerts and art exhibitions. Assis can be reached through SS75.+

From Gubbio to

From Gubbio, on the road passing the Bottaccione valley, you get to the pass of Madonna della Cima and going down you get to Scheggia.
Going south, you pass over Costacciaro and get to Monte Cucco (m 1566). If one gets to the top walking throughout woods, it is possible to admire a landscape of Gualdo and the mountains close to Gubbio. After 5 km you continue for the Ranco di Sigillo (m 1150). The entrance to the coveis at 1390 m projecting down to the Fosso dell'Acqua Fredda.

From Gubbio to Valfabbrica

Leaving from Gubbio the route to follow in order to see the full region has a first stop in Scheggia, which is situated where the flaminia way cross the Sentino, with its typical bridge. Following the faminia way, direction south, you get to the village of Costacciaro.
At the cross of the Osteria del Gatto taking the road on the right, you get after 1,3 Km to Fossato di Vico having the modern part of the town along the road an the old part on a cliff. After a further 8km there is Gualdo Tadino below the Monte Serra Santa, on which you can recogize the white leading from Gualdo to Perugia and finally you will get to Valfabbrica on the sides of river Chiascio.

From Città di castello to Gubbio - Hermitages, miracles and mysteries

Umbria retains an ancient tradition of spirituality and mysticism. Its history tell us of miracles and mysteries, taking places in hermitages and abbeys, enshrined in its wildest and most secluded recesses.

Città di castello: the splendour of Reinassance. Città di Castello is Umbria’s nort-western gate, easy to reach from Arezzo, through E45 and A1. The town reached its peak during the Reinassance, when the leading Vitelli family had its center embellished by some of the most renown artists of that time, whose works are now hosted in the Pinacoteca Comunale. Palazzo del Podestà, Palazzo Comunale, the Churches of San Francesco and San Domenico and the Cathedral also deserve a visit. In the Cathedral, a mysterious and fascinating holy relic is preserved: the Black Madonna, with its bizzarre iconography, probably derived from some ancient pagan cult. Saint Francis of Assisi is reported to have visited Città di Castello, where he famously cast the devil out from a local woman.+

Saint Francis's Good Rest. The Hermitage of Buonriposo, 5 miles from Città di Castello (vocabolo Sodo, vocabolo Uppiano), derives its name from Saint Francis having a stop over here, and exclaiming “Oh, che buon riposo” (Oh, what a good rest), in appreciation of the place.The room where he sojourned in 1213 is still visible. Our journey continues to the Badia Petroia, ( Ciciliano, vocabolo Ricastelli, vocabolo Biricocco, vocabolo Signorotto, vocabolo Rotetino, bivio Lugnano, Petroia)a. Its monastery (Monastero di Badia Petroia) belonged to the Benedictine Order and was built around 1060 by Marquis Ugo del Colle. A church and a private building (“Il Giardino della Badia”) are all that survives today.+

Crossing Appennini. The Sanctuary of Madonna di Belvedere (SS 257 towards vocabolo Surchio) can be reached from Città di Castello, following SS 257 for 20 miles, through pictoresque landscapes. As its name suggests, it offers a breath-taking overlook on the Appennini, for miles and miles throughout Umbria and Marche.30 miles of windy evocative road separate it from the Abbey of San Benedetto Vecchio di Pietralunga (SS 257 towards Fraccano), originally built in the XI Century by Saint Pier Damiani. On the road, you can make a detour to the lovely medieval town of Montone (towards Pietralunga, Maritonda Terza, Carpini, Zona Corlo), still kept in its pristine forms. PIE VE DE’ SADDI: THE DRAGON’S RIB Many of what Middle Ages men believed to be “dragon bones” are actually whale’s or mammouth’s bones; such legends, though, still hold firm. The Church of Saint Crescenziano in Pieve de’ Saddi (vocabolo Cortolla), five minutes from Pietralunga, retains a rib of the dragon which, according to the legend, this brave Roman legionary, belonging to one of the first Christian communities, killed in the V Century AD, before being beheaded during Diocletian’s persecution. The bone, more than 7 feet long, is held in the Cathedral’s Museum, together with the saint’s skull.+

Umbertide: Abbey of San Salvatore and Hermitage of Monte Corona. Few more than 10 miles from Pieve de’ Saddi (vocabolo Palazzo, Maritonda Terza, Zona Corlo, Zona Faldo), Umbertide offers gems such as the majestic medieval fortress, the Collegiata (an unusually octagon-shaped church) and, in the Church of Santa Croce, the wonderful Deposizione, painted in 1516 by Luca Signorelli and still in its original position. Our journey continues to the benedictine Abbey of San Salvatore di Montecorona, (Borgo Baraglia, Badia, Località Colle, Località Badia di Monte Corona).A few miles of road, and then a mountain path, lead to the Hermitage of Montecorona, built around the XIV Century by the Camaldolese friars, 705 meters above sea level among beech and chestnut woods, and dedicated to prayer and contemplation. Our trip ends in Gubbio (Badia, Borgo Baraglia. E poi la SS219 verso Camporeggiano e Monteleto), whose history is strictly tied to the figure of Saint Francis of Assisi, who dwelt here, helping poors and leprouses; here, according to the “Fioretti”, Chapter XXI, he also converted a savage wolf.+