The Way of the Franciscan Proto-martyrs - Cammini d'Umbria

From the doorway (with your back to it) of the Church of Santa Maria della Pace, turn left onto Via Ippocrate and continue for 300 metres, then turn right onto Strada di Perticara, cross a small bridge, and continue for 1.2 km. Make a sharp left turn and continue for 90 metres, then bear slightly left and go on for another 1.2 km. Turn left again (do not take the road that climbs straight ahead) and continue for 630 metres. At the junction, follow the flat road to the right and continue for 1.2 km until you reach the Church of San Liberatore. Proceed straight uphill for 200 metres until you arrive at the gate of Miranda. From here, follow the signs to visit the village of Miranda (don’t miss the panoramic terrace overlooking the Terni valley).

Inside the village, you’ll pass the Church of the SS Trinità (5.0 km from the start), and upon exiting you’ll reach Largo Battaglione Giovanni Manni (there is a water fountain). Continue straight uphill for 900 metres (do not take any turn-offs, keep following the road). At the next junction, keep to the slightly right-hand uphill road and follow it for 2 km.

Caution: at the junction, take the first road downhill on the right and continue for 1.6 km until you reach the remains of the Abbey of San Benedetto in Fundis (9.5 km from the start), located on the left (in a small field with walnut trees). Visit the abbey complex and don’t miss the interior of the church, reminiscent of the Abbey of San Galgano, with no floor or roof.

With your back to the apse, continue along the path to your left, passing through a gap in the perimeter wall of the abbey, and take the downhill trail for about 200 metres. At the fork, turn left, stay on the main path for about 100 metres, then take the uphill path to the left. Continue on the main path for 1.3 km until you reach a wide track. Here, turn left first, then immediately right onto a descending path. Follow it for about 200 metres until you come to a wide dirt road with a lifted metal gate on your left. Turn left and continue for 50 metres until you reach the Monastery of San Simeone (11.0 km from the start).

After visiting the monastery, go back to the gate and continue straight for 550 metres until a small crossroads, then take the steep concrete road downhill to the left. Proceed for 200 metres, and at the right-hand bend, follow the main road to the right for another 180 metres to a junction. Turn right onto the road leading into the village and continue for 250 metres until you reach a small square. From here, take the downhill lane to the left, marked by a traffic light, and follow it for 350 metres to a small bridge (*).

After crossing the bridge, the road begins to climb. At the hairpin bend to the left, stay on the main road (do not take the small path on the right). After 400 metres, you’ll reach a junction: turn left (note the large car park just before the junction). After 50 metres, turn right at a wide open space into a small road between houses and continue for 150 metres until you reach the municipal road. At the intersection, take the first narrow uphill road on the left (not the main road) and follow it for 300 metres until you reach a medieval gate on your left (Porta di Sotto).

Pass through the gate, turn left, then right, then right again, taking Via Sebastiano Vici up to Piazza San Giovanni, and pass through the main gate of the town. In Piazza della Libertà, between the fountain and the bar, take Via San Francesco downhill and continue for 300 metres on the municipal road until the crossroads. Cross carefully, then take the small street opposite (florist on the left), and after 50 metres, you’ll arrive at the Convent of San Francesco.

(*) At the small bridge, you’ll find a sign indicating the “Nature Variant” to the left, a less demanding alternative that leads directly to Stroncone along a trail. From the bridge to Stroncone it’s 1.5 km; once in the village, cross it and rejoin the main route at Piazza San Giovanni. (USE THIS OPTION ONLY IN DRY WEATHER)

From the square in front of the Convent of San Francesco, turn right. At the intersection, turn right onto the provincial road and proceed for 300 meters. After the right-hand curve, take the small road on the right downhill. After 400 meters, take the road on the left (at the fork there is a shrine with an image of the Madonna) and continue for about 1.2 km, passing the intersection straight ahead, then take Strada delle Sore, leaving the small Church of Santa Maria della Neve on your left. Continue downhill along Strada delle Sore without taking any deviations (especially not the first left indicating Forcella and CAI path to Finocchieto) for about 2 km until you reach the provincial road. Cross carefully and take the dirt road almost straight ahead, leaving the large tree on your left.

Continue to the second fork, turn left, and cross the stream (on the other side of the stream you will see the path with a road sign on the left!). Follow the path for 1 km without deviations. At the intersection with the asphalt road, turn left. After 400 meters, take the uphill road to the right to enter the village. After 100 meters you reach Aguzzo (km 5.5 from the start).

Repeat the last section in reverse, at the end of the descent turn right, continue for 350 meters, then turn right again, leaving a small house on your right. After another 300 meters at the fork, follow the left road (CAI signs present) and continue straight for 1.5 km without deviations. At the intersection, after crossing a small ford, turn left. After 200 meters, turn right onto the uphill road and continue for 1 km. After a right-hand curve uphill among the houses, you reach the asphalt provincial road in Ville di Vasciano. Turn right, cross the road after 20 meters, then turn left in front of a house (on the other side of the road there is a votive shrine with the statue of the blessing Christ).

Follow the CAI-marked trail for 300 meters until you reach the asphalt road. Cross it and take the dirt road opposite. After 150 meters, you have two options:

A) Easy option: Continue on the dirt road slightly to the right for 300 meters, reach the asphalt road, turn left and continue 750 meters to a dirt parking area. Turn left onto the uphill white road and continue 200 meters to reach Sacro Speco.

B) Harder nature option: Take the left path (also CAI-marked) uphill for 350 meters. At the intersection with other paths, turn right and continue straight until the next intersection with multiple path signs and a board of the Condominium of Civic Uses of Vasciano. Continue straight for 600 meters to reach Sacro Speco (km 10.3 from the start).

After visiting the Speco, with your back to the iron gate at the entrance, walk 20 meters and take the road on the left (which soon becomes a path) for 2 km. At the CAI signpost indicating trails 640 and 646, turn left and walk 50 meters through a small woods to reach the Cross of San Valentino (km 13.4 from the start).

Then follow the road to the left around a bivouac for 100 meters, continue on the white road ahead (CAI path 646) for 900 meters to a CAI-marked intersection, then take the left road (path 645) and walk 3.1 km without deviations. At a clearing, take the left path through the trees (path 644) and continue straight. After another 750 meters, take the left path numbered 644A for 1.1 km, passing a hunting station until an intersection. Turn left and continue for 900 meters on 644A until you reach the asphalt road.

Turn right and continue 950 meters to a wide intersection (alongside the cemetery wall on the right). Turn right, after 100 meters turn left downhill (Via di Monte San Pancrazio) for 400 meters to an intersection. Take Via della Collegiata to the right downhill for another 250 meters, arriving at Calvi dell’Umbria, finishing at the Church of Santa Maria Assunta.

With your back to the church door, turn left and pass under the entrance archway of the village, then continue downhill for 200 m. At the crossroads, take the downhill road ahead on the left (Via Santa Lucia) and continue for 200 m. At the next junction, cross the provincial road (pay attention) and continue to the right for 150 m, then turn left onto the provincial road toward Otricoli. After 200 m on your right you will find the Church of San Francesco (unfortunately closed). Continue along the Calvi Provincial Road SP 71 for 1 km, then turn right following the road sign for S. Silvestro and continue for 1 km. Then turn right again and follow the descending road for 1 km. Continue on this road; at the junction turn left, and after 50 m turn right (essentially following the main road) and continue until you reach the small village of Poggiolo.

At the church on your left, take the first little road that enters the group of houses, skirting the bell tower. Follow the path, turn left at the first crossroads, then take the descending path to the right and continue for 1.4 km along the dirt road without making any detours. At the junction with the paved road, turn left (a small church stands to your right) and continue for 300 m. At the bend of the provincial road, continue straight toward S. Maria and after 250 m, at the first widening, take the descending path on the left and continue for 1.6 km along the dirt road without deviations. At the uphill junction, turn right onto the paved road, Strada di Santo Janni, and proceed for 1 km. Then at the crossroads (with Strada di Montini), go straight toward Strada di Collespino and follow it for about 900 m until you reach a descending road, Strada Santa Maria della Petrella; turn left (almost a hairpin bend) and continue downhill for 300 m, then turn right onto a dirt road bordered by fences on both sides and proceed for 1.3 km.

At the fork, turn left (a left bend) onto Strada di Moricone and continue for 300 m. In the square of Schifanoia, turn right onto the uphill road and continue for 300 m, then turn left onto the dirt road following the signs for San Michele Arcangelo. After 100 m you reach the Church of San Michele Arcangelo (Km 11.80 from the start).

Leave the church, take the dirt road on the left for 250 m; at the intersection turn left and continue for another 250 m, then turn left again. At the next fork, turn left following the sign to Vigne. Continue for 550 m until a junction, take the small road on the left (opposite a yellow house on your right), and proceed for 150 m. At the fork, take the road to the right (essentially going straight) and continue for 250 m. At the next fork turn right onto a descending road and continue for another 70 m until you reach a municipal road, then turn left and continue through the village of Vigne for 450 m. Turn right just past a white house on your right and take the steep descending dirt road (above, you can see the provincial road viaduct). After passing the viaduct, continue for 150 m (you enter an agricultural estate), then turn left for 50 m, then left again, and follow the road (which first skirts an agricultural warehouse on the left) that bends sharply right, then shortly after left. Continue downhill on the tractor track for 200 m, then turn right, cross the ditch, and continue until you pass through a gap between two high earth walls. Follow the road for another 50 m, turn left, follow the field edge, then after another 50 m turn right, skirting the field near a small grove (on your left), almost looping back, until you find a narrow entrance on your left leading into the small grove.

Follow the path to cross a small stream (almost always dry); just beyond it, turn left for 50 m, then turn right following a row of small trees for about 100 m. Inside a small grove you will intersect a dirt/tractor road—turn left. Continue along the dirt/tractor road for about 450 m (first following a right-hand curve, almost a switchback, then a steep uphill tractor path through a field) until reaching a paved road. Turn left and continue for 1.8 km along the road, which later becomes dirt, until a fork where you go straight. After another 400 m, at the next fork, turn right (uphill). Continue on the gently rising cemented road for 900 m until a junction. Pay attention here. First turn right for about 30 m and to your right appears the Church of Santa Pudenziana (Km 18.30 from the start).

From Santa Pudenziana, with your back to the church door, turn left, return to the previous junction, and continue straight along the paved road for about 900 m until an intersection. Take the dirt road on the right and continue for 200 m, then turn left; after about 150 m you will see the Church of San Martino in Taizzano (Km 19.50 from the start).

After the visit, continue along the same road for 300 m without deviating; at the fork turn left and proceed for 400 m. At the next fork turn left again for 200 m, then at the next junction turn right and walk 300 m until reaching the provincial road. Cross it very carefully and continue straight for 300 m, then turn right. Shortly after, continue keeping to the right until the road becomes a descending dirt road. From here you are walking on an ancient Roman road leading to Stifone (Km 22.30 from the start). After 600 m, you reach the SR204 Ortana; cross very carefully and immediately take the first descending lane on the left. Continue for 100 m, then either turn left and descend to a wider road and turn right (turning left for about 100 m you can admire the Morica spring, then return to the route), or take the descending lane in front of you and as soon as you reach a wider road, turn right. Continue for about 60–70 m, then take the steps on the left (CAI sign). Follow the steps, cross the iron bridge over the Nera River, then continue under the underpass; following the steps uphill, you enter the pedestrian/cycle path of the Gole del Nera—turn left and follow it for 1.5 km. At large concrete blocks (CAI sign), turn right and descend a short path to a wide dirt clearing. Turn left and follow the road to a vehicular iron bridge crossing the Nera River. At the end of the bridge take the SR204 Ortana to the left (be very careful as there is no sidewalk) and continue for 150 m, then cross the road on the straight stretch. Walking along the right shoulder, at the curve take the path on the right and follow it for 100 m to an opening in the guardrail. Here (pay great attention) cross the SR3ter and enter the path ahead. Follow the “Porta Pietra” path for 1.6 km and you enter directly into the historic center of Narni.

At the end of the steps of the Porta Pietra path, turn left and walk 150 m to Piazza Garibaldi. Turn left toward the arch (with traffic light) and once past it, on your left you will find the Cathedral of Narni. After the visit, continue along Via Giuseppe Garibaldi and immediately turn left into Via del Campanile; follow it to the end to reach the Church of San Francesco on your left.

With your back to the door of the Church of San Francesco, continue straight for 60 m and turn left into Piazza dei Priori. Walk across the entire square and take Via Mazzini at the far right; after following it, you reach Piazza Galeotto Marzio, where you immediately turn right down the small descending street Via Marcellina. Follow it to the end and turn left onto Via Gattamelata, reaching the medieval gate Porta della Fiera on your right. Pass through the gate, turn left onto the descending Via Porta della Fiera, and continue to the intersection with the provincial road. Be careful when crossing. Once across the road, do not take the steps directly in front of you; instead, turn left into the walkway leading to the Augustus Bridge, located between the guardrail and the iron railing. Walk between the railing and the guardrail for about 40 m, then take the descending dirt path on the right, steep and protected by a wooden fence (here you can admire the remains of the Augustus Bridge). Continue on the pedestrian path for 150 m.

At the end of the path you reach a wide space; turn right and, after another 50 m, turn left onto the old medieval bridge (now an iron bridge). After crossing the bridge, continue for 50 m and turn left toward the Abbey of San Cassiano. Proceed for 250 m and, after passing the overpass, take the dirt road on the right at the fork. Continue for another 250 m until you reach a grassy parking area with a small building on the right. After passing it, you will find a rising path on the right. Take it and continue to the abbey. When you reach the iron gate at the entrance, take the path on the right and after 100 m turn left onto a dirt road, which leads to the main entrance of the Abbey of San Cassiano (Km 2.40 from the start).

After the visit, return to the dirt road and continue on it without taking the road you used to climb, walking 1.2 km. At the fork where the road becomes paved, turn right and descend for 700 m until you reach the SR205 Strada Amerina. Cross the road with great caution and descend along the road opposite. At the end of this path, you reach a paved road, with the cemetery wall in front of you. Turn right and walk 200 m to reach the SR3ter/Via Tuderte. Cross using the pedestrian crossing, then continue along Via Madonna del Piano until reaching the Church of Santa Maria del Ponte on the right (Km 5.20 from the start).

After the visit, with your back to the church door, turn right and continue along Via della Doga for 600 m until reaching Via Tuderte. After 50 m, turn left into Via della Vignola, follow it to the end, then continue along Strada di Ripabianca for a total of 900 m until meeting the Strada Provinciale Capitonese. Turn left and walk along the left side of the provincial road (be careful even though the shoulder is walkable). Take the small lane running parallel to the provincial road until you reach some steps on the right after 100 m. Climb the steps and at their top (take great care here), make sure the road is clear and take the overpass to the left. After crossing it, carefully cross the provincial road and walk for 100 m on the right-hand side where the shoulder is wider, until reaching a side road on the right. Turn right onto this internal road. After 40 m turn left, and continue for 500 m (first paved, then gravel) until you meet the provincial road again. Cross it and turn right, keeping to the left side, and continue for 300 m until reaching the Church of Santa Maria della Quercia (Km 8.10 from the start).

Cross the provincial road again to visit the church; afterward, with your back to the door, take the descending lane on the left. After 70–80 m turn right; in front of you is a gate, continue toward the field following the tractor track. Take the tractor path that descends to the right (use as reference the large tree in the middle of the field). Follow the path (careful: you walk along the edge of a deep ditch on the right) until crossing the tree barrier, going straight, then turning left and then right to pass through it. After passing the barrier, continue straight into the field and after 50 m turn right at a right angle (no reference points except the electric cabin at the edge of the field). Continue along the tractor road for 450 m until reaching the electric cabin, which you leave on the right, crossing the paved road. Take the tractor road directly opposite and continue for 150 m to a small bridge. After the bridge continue for 250 m until a large retaining wall. At the beginning of the wall (forming an angle), take the path on the left between the wall and a row of fruit trees. Continue for 100 m to reach a paved road. Turn left and follow the paved Strada di Fabbrucciano for 4.70 km without detours (slightly uphill, becoming gravel after 2.6 km).

At a very tight left-hand hairpin turn, be very careful: as soon as the ruined building ends, take the descending small road halfway through the curve (reference: pole with broken road mirror). Follow this gravel road for 900 m and at the fork by an olive grove turn left onto the descending gravel road toward a small wooded area with agricultural structures. Continue for 1.5 km until reaching a bridge over the Caldaro stream. Without taking any detours, cross the bridge and continue until reaching another bridge over a small stream. Here take the gravel road on the left before the bridge (do not cross the bridge!). Continue for 1.3 km without deviations (you pass on the left side of an old agricultural complex) until reaching a paved road, where a street sign indicates Via San Rocco. Turn right onto the gently descending paved road and continue for 200 m to the next fork. Then continue uphill along Via San Rocco. After about 900 m you reach another fork; keep left and after 30 m enter Via Socrate. Turn right and after 100 m reach the Strada Provinciale SS3TER. Cross carefully and continue on the sidewalk to the right.

Walk on the sidewalk for about 200 m until a large intersection. Continue along the sidewalk to the end of the guardrail and — with extreme caution — cross the provincial road opposite the newsstand. Continue on the sidewalk, use the crosswalk, and enter a small pedestrian passage (reference: large electric pole on your left). Continue to its end, turn right onto Via della Misericordia (lined with trees on the right), and follow it for 350 m (steep ascent) until reaching Porta Romana. Pass through the gate, continue along Via Roma for 150 m, and you will find the Church of San Francesco on the left.

With your back to the portal of the Church of San Francesco, take Via Casentino and go through the arch on the opposite side of the square. At the end of the street, you’ll reach Piazza Garibaldi. From there, go downhill along Via delle Mura and pass through the arch of the medieval gate. As soon as you exit the gate, turn left and continue downhill along Via San Giovanni. At the end of the street, take the left fork onto Vicolo del Sole and walk along the pavement on the right-hand side. At the next junction with the provincial road (Via Tuderte), take the cycle path on the right and follow it all the way to San Gemini station.

At the end of the cycle path, carefully cross the road and continue along Via Tiberina. Be very careful when crossing the railway bridge, and continue along the provincial road for 800 metres (the road is wide but busy) until you reach a large crossroads. Here, do not take the road on the left, do not go straight ahead, and do not take the first road on the right; instead, take the second road on the right, Via Carsulae, after passing the large sign for the restaurant Antica Carsulae. Continue for about 750 metres along Via Carsulae. After passing a beautiful farmhouse on your left, you’ll reach a five-way junction on a slight incline. Take the second road on the left (the one with a sign for a bar and an open metal barrier). This is a dirt road that climbs gently. After 200 metres, you’ll find a barrier with a pedestrian passage. Go past the small bar on the right and the ticket office for the Carsulae Archaeological Park – a visit here is highly recommended (Km 4.0 from the start).

Continue along the dirt path for 400 metres and go through the underpass. After the underpass, turn left in the middle of the car park (instead of exiting it), take the path directly ahead between the lampposts for about 10 metres, and you’ll reach a wide dirt road. Turn right uphill and continue along this road for about 2.2 km until you see a sign on the right indicating La Romita. Take the path and follow it for about 600 metres until you reach a white gravel road. Turn right, and after about 100 metres you’ll find the pedestrian gate of La Romita di Cesi (Km 7.5 from the start).

After visiting La Romita di Cesi, retrace your steps to the entrance, turn right and take the path with a stone wall on your right-hand side. Continue along the main path (never take any side tracks) for 1.2 km until you reach the ruins of the Church of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria in the old castle of Poggio Azzuano, visible straight ahead. A visit to the ruined church is a must – leave the path to the right to enter, then walk along the church walls and continue for a short stretch along the right-hand side.

Continue for 150 metres (after a right-hand bend), then take the path on the left. Follow it for 100 metres until you reach a clearing. Continue uphill along the path across the clearing, which then leads into the woods. After the clearing, continue for another 500 metres until you reach a dirt road. Turn right downhill, and after 30 metres take the path on the left, just before the right-hand bend where the dirt road continues downhill (be very careful here). Continue for about 200 metres until you reach another dirt road descending from the hills.

Important!!! Take the path directly opposite, without following the dirt road either uphill or downhill. Continue for 700 metres, always following the main path without any deviations, until you reach an old stone fountain. From the fountain, continue along the path, bending to the right (do not take the path that climbs). Go on for another 1,000 metres, ignoring any side tracks, until you meet an asphalt road.

Once on the asphalt road, turn right downhill and continue for 800 metres until you see, on your left, the entrance to the village of Cesi (the entrance is on a sharp right-hand bend descending steeply) along Via Angelo Cesi. Walk for 150 metres along Via Angelo Cesi and, after a small square, take the steps on the right leading up to the churchyard of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta.

With your back to the portal of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, turn right onto the downhill lane called Strada Santa Maria della Bottega. Continue for about 100 metres until you reach Via Casella, turn right, then go another 100 metres downhill until you meet Via Bella Vista (you’ll see a pharmacy sign in front of you). Turn right and continue for 250 metres (this stretch is also marked as Viale Regina Elena). Turn left onto the steeply descending Strada della Pittura and continue for about 300 metres. On the right, after a sharp bend, you can admire an ancient Roman wall made of large stone blocks. Continue until you reach Strada di Condotto on the right and follow it for 400 metres until you come to a fork. Take the left fork (a gate on the right confirms the direction) and continue for 500 metres until you meet Strada di Mazzamorello. Turn left and continue straight for 1.5 km without taking any detours until you reach the Cesi railway station.

Once past the station (which remains on your right), continue for 150 metres along the road (there is a convenient pavement on the left) until you see the sign for Via Giovanni Ecchio on the right. The entrance to Via Giovanni Ecchio is quite wide and leads to a car park; the actual beginning of the street is on the left. Continue along Via Giovanni Ecchio for 400 metres, then at the first junction turn right, pass under a railway bridge, continue for 300 metres and turn left. Staying on the left-hand side, take Via delle Terre Arnolfe and follow this municipal road for 600 metres, then turn left towards the Church of San Giovanni Bosco. After about 30 metres, turn right again towards a park and continue for 100 metres, skirting a car park on the right. Enter the park and continue straight along the path for 100 metres, then turn sharply left into Via Mario Pratesi. Follow it for 100 metres, then go up to the upper car park via a short path and take the railway underpass.

After exiting the underpass, turn right onto Strada di Fossocanale, then continue onto Via Macinarotta and keep straight for about 2 km. At a junction with a small roundabout, take the second narrow road on the right, Via delle Cinque Strade, and follow it for 1.1 km. Then turn left onto Strada di Santa Maria La Rocca for about 100 metres and turn right; shortly afterwards you will cross an overpass above the motorway. Continue gently uphill, and at the next fork turn left, then immediately right onto Strada di Palmetta. Continue for about 1 km. After taking a left-hand bend, turn right into Via Colle dell’Oro and reach the Church of Colle dell’Oro (Km 8.5 from the starting point).

Leaving the churchyard, turn left, then again left after 30 metres to take a path called Selciata dei Frati, which runs along a high stone wall on the left. After 100 metres, turn right, and after another 50 metres you’ll meet a dirt road. Follow the dirt road for 50 metres, then turn left onto another dirt road and continue straight for 80 metres until you reach a wide path (the Selciata dei Frati). Follow this path for 650 metres until you join a downhill asphalt road, then continue for 350 metres until you reach the wide asphalt road Viale Ettore Proietti Divi. Take the pedestrian lane and continue to the pedestrian traffic light after 100 metres.

Cross the road at the traffic light and go straight ahead into the car park. Inside the car park, turn right until you reach the stairs that lead to the footbridge over the railway. Cross the entire bridge and go down the stairs: you are now in the entrance area of the railway station. After the stairs, turn right (following the signs on the road posts), then turn left, use the pedestrian crossing to cross the road, and you’ll arrive beneath the large green Press structure. Turn left and continue along the pavement of Viale Curio Dentato for 300 metres, where on the right you’ll see your destination: the Church of Sant’Antonio - Santuario Antoniano dei Protomartiri Francescani.