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Woodland, vineyards and silver- green olive groves
Assisi-Spello-Spoleto
This walking tour is perfect for those who do not want to change hotels every day. It offers the right combination of art, nature and hospitality. In the Umbrian landscape, you will find rolling hills covered with woodland, vineyards and silver-green olive groves alternated with colourful fertile valleys and small picturesque towns built on hilltops.
This tour starts in the Middle Age city of Assisi, the pilgrims’ town built against the slopes of the green Mount Subasio. Many monuments have been erected in honour of the beloved saints Francis and Clare. In Assisi, you will make a town walk passing the most important monuments and you take a walk through the hills around Assisi. On the fourth day, you leave the town and walk to Spello. Arrived in the medieval town of Spello you can first visit the old town centre and then take the train to Spoleto.
Your hotel is situated in the historic centre. In Spoleto, there is a lot to visit, including the big cathedral, a Roman house, many museums and of course the famous aqueduct bridge Ponte delle Torri. It is also a town with excellent restaurants, where local delicacies are served. In Spoleto you make a walk in the holy woods of Monteluco and along the Way of Saint Francis once called the Olive Grove Path (Via degli Olivi)
The daily program of the 7-day tour
The start of this walking tour is in Assisi, part of the Unesco World Heritage, the popular pilgrimage town built on the slopes of Monte Subasio.
Individual arrival at your hotel. On your first evening you have a briefing and will have the opportunity to discuss your holiday.
Overnight with breakfast in ** , *** or **** star hotel near the old town centre.
This ‘Discover Assisi’ walk will take you around the most important cultural monuments of Assisi, which are mostly connected with the lives of the saints Francis and Clare, who were born and died in Assisi. From the hotel, your walk goes up to the Porta Cappuccini town gate (470m a.s.l.). From here, you will walk through a tangle of little alleys and medieval squares. You will pass the medieval castle (506m a.s.l.), the basilica of St. Francis, the temple of Minerva, the church ‘Chiesa Nuova’ and the basilica of St. Clare, finally walking down to the monastery of S. Damiano (310m a.s.l.). After your visit of this monastery, you can choose to go back to your hotel or to continue your walk downhill to the village of S.Maria degli Angel (210m a.s.l.) to visit the impressive basilica with the Porziuncola, where Saint Francis lived with his companions for several years. From the basilica, the public bus will bring you back to Assisi.
Walking time: 3 – 4 ½ hours
Today you can choose between a long and a short route:
The long walk through the hills around Assisi starts from the Porta Cappuccini town gate (470m a.s.l.). From here, you walk along a walking trail to the hamlet of Costa di Trex (570m a.s.l.) and you descend to the village of Ponte Grande, where you can enjoy a well-deserved rest in the restaurant or bar. Your route will then bring you back to Assisi through gentle, rolling countryside. You will have splendid views on the surrounding landscape. s) You cross the centre to return to your hotel.
Distance: 20 km / 12,4 miles; Walking time: 6 hours; Total ascent / descent: + 795m -796m
The shorter route is a beautiful walk in the shade of the woods of Mount Subasio. From the Porta Cappuccini town gates, you walk up to the hermitage Eremo delle Carceri (830m a.s.l.), a holy place where St Francis retreated himself. Then you descend along trails and quiet country roads to return back to Assisi.
Distance: 12 km / 7,5 miles; Walking time: 4 ore; Total ascent / descent: + 544m -544m
There are two routes to go to Spello: a longer one going uphill to the hermitage Eremo delle Carceri or a shorter one through olive groves along the slopes of Monte Subasio with less differences in level. This route gives you more time to visit Spello. At the end of the day you take the train to Spello or who booked a transfer will be brought to Spoleto by car.
Longer route: Distance: 17, 4 km / 10,8 miles; Walking time: 6 hours; Ascent / Descent: + 788m -870m
Shorter route: Distance: 10,8 km / 6,7 miles; Walking time: 3 hours; Ascent-descent: + 270m – 359m
Today’s walk takes you to Monteluco (Mount Luco). The name ‘Lucu’ (lucus) means ‘sacred woods‘, and signifies that in ancient times the mountain was considered a holy place. From the 5th century hermits lived under the Benedictine rule on this mountain covered with green woods. Later the Franciscans also built a monastery here. The evergreen oak wood was always very important for the town and was therefore already a protected area in the middle ages. The animals living here include porcupines, wild cats, foxes, badgers and squirrels.
Distance: 10,7 km / 6,6 miles; Walking time: 4 hrs; Ascent & Descent: + 510m -483m
Today after breakfast at 9.00 you have a transfer to Poreta and from here you walk along the Olive Trail –’sentiero degli olivi’. As the name indicates, you will mostly walk through olive groves on the slopes of the mountains. It is also a stretch of the Way of Saint Francis, a pilgrimage-walking route from La Verna in Tuscany to Rome. You pass several little villages, mostly built on hilltops, like Eggi and Bazzano. It is also possible to shorten the route and have the transfer to Bazzano superior, which makes the route about 3km shorter.
Total ascent-descent: + 475m -436m
Walking Time: 4 hours 20 min
Distance: 15 km / 9,3 miles (Poreta village)
After breakfast ends your tour dedicated to two medieval Umbrian towns.
Impressions
Assisi-Spello-Spoleto
LEVEL 3
For walkers with walking experience. Routes through hilly landscapes with up- and downhill walking. Daily distances between 11 and 20 km. An average of 3 km an hour. You will walk on footpaths, mountain tracks, forest trails and on quiet country roads. Some days you can choose between longer or shorter less strenuous walks.
Average daily distances:
Daily distances between 11 km / 6,8 mi and 20 km / 12,4 mi
Total km:
minimum 50 km / 31 miles and maximum 64 km / 40 miles.
DEPARTURES:
Daily all year round (winter period on request)
PARTICIPANTS:
2 or more people (solo traveller on request).
START / FINISH:
Assisi / Spoleto
Medieval Umbria
This leisure walking tour is the perfect combination of visiting typical Umbrian medieval towns and walking through landscapes with unique views.