The Way of St Francis: Via di Francesco

The newly revised Stage 11

Start: Cattedrale di San Florido, Cittá di Castello

Finish: Piazza 7 Maggio, Pietralunga

Duration: 7½hr (7¾hr)

Distance: 30.4km (30.7km alternate)

Total Ascent: 942m (1020m alternate)

Total Descent: 665m (766m alternate)

Difficulty: Moderately hard due to length (hard due to footing - alternate)

Percentage paved: 49% (33% alternate)

Lodgings: Rifigio Candeggio (now closed), Pieve de’Saddi 20.2km (20.5km alternate), Pietralunga 30.4km (30.7km alternate)

Start early for this long but scenic stage that climbs among pastures and pine forest to the atmospheric medieval village of Pietralunga, first stop in the transit to the Chiascio River drainage. An overnight at the hostel at Pieve de’Saddi is a wise and welcome choice to shorten the stage, which has two main routes after Sasso: first, the quiet, paved road up to the Caneggio turnoff is easiest; second, a well-graded, gravel road is free of cars but a harder choice as it steeply climbs until undulating at ridgetop to reach Candeggio in 16.1km. 

Pass the Cathedral of San Florido on its left side, and pass the Palazzo Comunal, heading toward Città di Castello’s main square, Piazza Matteoti. Pass the yellow walls and central tower of the Palazzo del Podestà into the square, heading across the piazza to find Via Mazzini, which you follow to Piazza Garibaldi, the bus transit center of the city. Keep the Vitelli Park lawn on your left and follow signs that take you across the roundabout onto Viale Raffaele de Cesare. In two long blocks you will turn right onto Via delle Terme, passing the elaborate facade of the city’s cemetery (1.3km). Soon afterward, signs point you right and you begin a long and pleasant walk that leads across a low ridge toward Sasso. Walk briefly along the asphalt Via Monsignor Cesare Pagani (at 2.7km) and fork right to continue the reverie of a gravel road through a countryside of small farms and agriturismos. Pass signs for Villa Sacro Cuore and after a cypress-framed driveway for a modern villa, turn left onto a two-track gravel road that becomes a narrow, dirt path before descending to the SP106. Turn left, following the road 300m until signs point you right to the alternate road to Candeggio (6.5km).

Alternate route to Candeggio

Before forking right on the alternate route, consider whether you might want to walk another 200m on the other route to make a visit to Bar Il Sasso (closed Tuesdays), locally famous for its ciaccia bread sandwiches. On the alternate route, cross the Torrente Soara, pass the old mill, and begin the climb uphill on a nicely graded gravel road. Note the occasional green, spray-painted arrows alerting you that you are simultaneously walking the Cammino di Assisi route. In about 1km come to an option. Faint, painted markings suggest a right fork leading to a fence line and an extremely steep and rutted trail beyond. Simply continuing on the gravel road will add 800m in distance to the day, but with much easier footing. Pass tall ruins of the one-time town of Coldigianella (at 8.4km), and after a left hairpin turn continue to climb, knowing that the steepest ascent is behind you. Pass a second deserted ruin at I Monti (at 10.1km) and in another km you join another gravel road at the summit of the climb and begin an undulating walk along a ridgeline with views left toward Città di Castello and right toward the round Monte Cucco and Gubbio. Come to the sparse settlement of Candeggio (no services; famous for fresh ricotta cheese) and rejoin the main route just beyond, at the asphalt road (at 15.3km) where a bench and water faucet await you.

Recommended route

Pass the fork to the alternate route (marked as the primary route) and continue on the road, carefully watching for cars on the narrow and blind curves below the cliffside. Come to Bar Il Sasso (open 07:00-23:30, closed Tuesdays) and its famous ciaccia bread sandwiches. Il Sasso, or 'the stone' denotes a wide, stony surface and several cascades and pools, located in the Torrente Soara just across from Bar Il Sasso. Local residents come here on hot, summer days to enjoy the cool waters and the famous ciaccia sandwiches of the bar. Padel courts have recently been added to the park. Continue on the road until signs point you right onto a narrow gravel road (at 8.9km) that crosses the stream and begins a climb on switchbacks up the hill toward the settlement of Collevecchio (no services). Continue climbing on the asphalt road, until arriving at the Candeggio turn-off (bench, water), where the alternate route rejoins.

Continue with the first, full paragraph on page 118 (Second edition)

The GPX file has been updated

A scouting trip a few days ago allowed us to inspect route changes since my Way of St Francis: From Florence to Assisi and Rome, 2nd Edition, was published.

Stage 1 - New exit from Sieci

The exit from Sieci along the Arno has changed somewhat, providing a mildly gentler exit from town and an option to visit the Church of San Giovanni. The revised text reads:

Once on the Arno path, watch for a small sign that points left to a passageway up a small bank and between two tall stone walls. You emerge at the Church of San Giovanni a Rèmole. Though the church has 10th c roots, it was radically revised over the centuries, most recently in the 1950s, when the church’s Baroque elements were removed and a neo-Romanesque appearance was installed. Of note is the late 13th c Madonna and Child, attributed to Corso di Buono. Turn left at the church and cross the Via Arentina to a park/piazza and head past the Galileo primary school, under the tracks, and to the park-line sports fields of the Polisportiva Sieci. The road ends at the Via dello Stocchino and you turn right. Note that some GPS tracks lead you to the left on a long and unnecessary excursion into the hills above Pontassieve. Unless you have extra time and energy for a long (though pretty) climb and descent, turn right toward the railroad tracks and find the gravel road leading much more directly to Pontassieve.

Stage 3 - New exit from Consuma and revised entry to Stia

While a new exit has been arranged for Consuma, it doesn’t make that much sense, in my opinion, and it requires you to skip the views from La Pachina No. 425 Montemignaio. Here’s the revised text:

Continue up the hill from Consuma and see markers that steer you left onto a gravel road into the forest, which you follow to the next trail intersection. For a fun and brief side trip, continue instead up the highway just 150m to a trailhead on your left, across from the Chalet Il Valico bar, and turn left here. In a moment you will come upon Il Pachina No. 425, part of the Big Bench Community Project. The Big Bench Community Project is an art initiative founded by designer Chris Bangle in Italy’s Piedmont region, encouraging communities to install oversized, brightly colored benches in scenic locations. Each bench offers visitors a playful, childlike perspective on the surrounding landscape while promoting local tourism and craftsmanship.

Stage 4 - Path blocked before Lonnano

A path that cut off a switchback on the asphalt road before Lonnano has been closed. Signs already reroute walkers to the road. Here’s the revision:

Page 60: Turn left on Viale 17 Partigiani, 'and follow it as it curves along the mountainside, passing the Chiesa di San Biagio Ad Ama. The church dates from the 11th c, with a bell tower from the 16th and is considered one of the best local examples of Romanesque architecture'.

Page 61: “The road descends, ending at the…”

Stage 4 - New exit from Camaldoli

A few years ago the exit from Camaldoli in the direction of Badia Prataglia slightly changed. Here’s the revision:

Page 63: Instead of the sentence: 'Look immediately' please substitute with: 'Continue on the road about 100m until you see a trailhead on the left, which you take steeply uphill.'