ADK Adventure Travel

Early morning arrival in Rome airport, transfer (about 4 hours) to Montemonaco – Sibillini National Park. We will stop for lunch in San Benedetto del Tronto, a beautiful town in the Adriatic Sea or in Ascoli Piceno which is the southern Marche’s major center.

Afternoon: Walking in a chestnuts forest (2.30 hrs. walk, no difference in height--Easy) or Sibilla Mountain (3.00 hrs. walk, difference in height: 1508 feet--Easy). Weather/jet lag will determine which walk.

Gorge of Hell and San Leonardo Monastery
Time walking: 5, 30 hrs. - Difference in height: 2132 feet - Distance: 8.21 miles--Moderate
The route covers several different landscapes in a short time. You go through the Gorge of Hell to the centuries‐old beech woods of San Leonardo to reach the monastery built in the 10th and 11th centuries. From here you have an amazing view of the Tenna valley.

Visit Montefortino village and Pinacoteca Duranti – www.pinacotecafortunatoduranti.it
The extremely beautiful little town of Montefortino is further enriched by a prestigious collection of art donated to the community by the painter and collector Fortunato Duranti (1787-1863), member of a noble and rich local family. Housed in the light and frescoed rooms of Palazzo Leopardi, also home to the Museum of Religious Art and the Fauna Museum of the Sibillini, the collection is made up of works of art covering a large timescale, from the Gothic to the Neoclassic. It contains precious pieces by Pietro Alemanno (a polyptych), Master Antonio da Ancona, Pier Francesco Fiorentino, Corrado Giaquinto (a collection of sketches), Perugino, by Giulio Vergari – from nearby Amandola – and by Duranti himself (a self-portrait in the Romantic style).
The Duranti Art Gallery is definitely one of the many surprises that Montefortino gives to those visiting for the first time. It is a curious contrast between the tiny towns, although endowed with beautiful and recently restored buildings.
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Another option is visiting Amandola (Amadnola is situated on the eastern slopes of the Sibylline Mountains where, from its altitude of 500 meters, it dominates the enchanting Tenna Valley. However you choose to reach it, you will pass through rolling hills with soft, reassuring contours.)
Tasting local wine and dinner in Agriturismo Il Tiglio – www.iltiglioagriturismo.it

Pilate’s Lake
Time walking: 5, 30 hrs. - Difference in height: 3082 feet - Distance: 8.01 miles--Strenuous
The route goes through the Piano della Gardosa and the Lago Valley, reaching the little mirror of water set at 1940 m into which, according to legend, the body of Pontius Pilate disappeared, after having been carried across the whole of Italy on a cart drawn by buffalo. To this legend is attached further pages of history linked to the occultists who climbed up to the lake to take part in their obscure rituals and to an exceptional presence, that of a little red devil: the Chirocephalus Marchesoni, a little coral red crustacean, unique in the world to this lake.
Transfer to Fiastra (1 hour)

The Fiastrone’s Valley
Time walking: 6, 00 hrs. - Difference in height: 1771 feet - Distance: 8.83 miles--Moderate
At first the path descends gently to the impressive Fiastrone Gorge scoured out by the torrent of water over the centuries, and then it proceeds up a steep slope to reach the Grotta dei Frati on the other side of the valley, with its evocative hermitage of the Clareni monks, established in 1000AD. On our return we can walk directly through the gorge (water shoes recommended) and see close up how the stream has carved out this gorge over time. The route continues, for those who want, to the intriguing Lame Rosse, amazing rock formations created by erosion from rainwater.

Walking along the Grande Anello dei Sibillini from Pintura to Fiastra
Time walking: 6, 00 hrs. - Difference in height: 492 feet - Distance: 6.83 miles--Moderate
The journey continues across the high meadows of the Prati di Ragnolo (Acquacanina) famous for its fine wild flowers. From the high fields of Ragnolo to Fiastra’s Lake, the path offers excellent views of the Lake of Fiastrone and the rugged valley of the same name

Bove Mountain
Transfer to Visso (30 minutes) – Visit Visso
On the way visit the Sanctuary of Macereto and Visso
Time walking: 5, 00 hrs. - Difference in height: 1.639 feet - Distance: 9.03 miles--Moderate
The path passes under the imposing rock wall of Monte Bove which, like a book of stone, has the history of millions of years written in its rocky pages. Here, during the Jurassic period, there was a shallow sea from which emerged the first land. In the Pleistocene period, glaciers then re-covered the highest peaks in this area, giving birth, among others, to the interesting “glacial circus” of the Bove Valley. The view from the summit of Monte Bove is also one of extra-ordinary beauty.

In the last years in the Bove Mountain lives in nature the chamois of the Appennins (rupicapra rupicapra)
Visso, the most populous town of the high Valnerina, was in the past an important and thriving crossroads for the cattle and sheep drives. Its fortune was based on livestock farming which was so well developed as to elevate it to the status of art. Its isolation helped the town become wealthy in as much as, on the one hand, it was an almost obligatory stop off point on the way to Maremma, and on the other it was partially shielded from the numerous epidemics and from the brigandry which hit other areas of the Sibillini.
Transfer to Cerreto di Spoleto – Agriturismo Santa Serena

Walking around Castelluccio’s planes
Transfer to Castelluccio (1 hour)
Time walking: 4, 00 hrs. - Difference in height: 1.148 feet - Distance: 4.02 miles--Easy
The path starts from the village of Castelluccio, it climbs the mountain allowing you to enjoy the panoramic views over the plains of Castelluccio, to Norcia and the southern ranges of the Monti Sibillini.

In the afternoon free time in Norcia Norcia is a real jewel which boasts 40 historic buildings belonging to wealthy or noble families from the area and a fascinating sequence of Roman and medieval walls, interrupted by seven ancient gateways: the marvelous Piazza S.Benedetto is full of precious buildings: the basilica of S.Benedetto, which includes numerous facelifts in the Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque styles; the Palazzo Comunale rebuilt in the mid-nineteenth century and rich in precious objects of art. The Castellina, today is home to a museum rich with numerous paintings of great value and a magnificent Deposition – an amazing group of wooden statues from the XIII century, rightly considered by experts to be of exceptional value.

Montemaggiore and the Nera Valley
Walking from Monte Maggiore to Rocca Brigida (Sellano)
Time walking: 4,00 h - Difference in height: 1148 feet - Distance 6.80 miles--Easy

Light lunch at the Agriturismo Il Calimori – www.casalicalimori.com
Transfer to San Pietro in Valle Abbey - The Abbey is an extraordinary 8th century monastery and church. The legend tells the story of two hermits named John and Lazarus, who arrived, among about 300 others from Syria, in the territories surrounding Spoleto, and descended Mount Solenne to the Suppegna Valley. Here they built a hermitage which became a place of worship for the local people. Later on, Faroaldo II, having received in a dream a vision of St. Peter who ordered him to build a church in his honor, whilst hunting in the Valnerina (=Valley of the river Nera), spotted the place where the little oratory built by John and Lazarus had been erected, and decided it was the ideal place to build the church dedicated to St. Peter and the Monastery, which adopted the Benedictine rule.

Walking to Spoleto
Walking from Valnerina to Spoleto
Time walking: 5,00 hrs. - Difference in height: 1800 feet - Distance 8.08 miles--Moderate
“The path follows part of the journey that the Bishop of Spoleto and future Pope Pius IX took during the revolt against the Pontifical State in 1830-1831. The Bishop was fearful by nature and worried about the turn that certain events were taking as the rebel and hostile troops fought against the Church. As the rebels began to approach Spoleto, the Bishop dressed from the Duomo, crossed the Ponte delle Torri bridge and reached Monteluco.”
In the afternoon visit Spoleto - Spoleto, even if shows evident traces of the Roman era even in its urban structure, substantially maintains a medieval appearance, due to the period in which it was first a flourishing longobard Duchy, and then an important city within the Papal State.
The Arch of Drusus (23 A.C.) to be found near the Romanic church of St. Ansano , the Roman theater, whose construction goes back to the first years of the Empire, and the paleocristian basilica St. Salvatore of the 4th century (at about 1.2 km's distance to the north), are testimonials of Spoleto's earliest origins. Close by, the church St.Gregorio Maggiore,(12th century), characterized by its evocative apsis zone and by the elevated presbitery, a Roman bridge (also called "the Bloody") consisting of three arches in travertine stone blocks and the amphitheater of the 2nd century A.C. can be found.
Transfer to Montefalco

Farm day in the Agriturismo Castrum Normanno.
Working in the vinery or in the olive oil phase of oil-making
Alternative program in the morning: walking in the county around the Agriturismo
Visit to a local vineyard and tasting local wine - Light lunch in the Borgese Farm www.aziendaborgese.com
Walking from Azienda Borgese to Bevagna along the Attone valley
Time walking: 2,00 hrs.; Difference in height: 426 feet; Distance: 6.00 miles--Easy
Visit Bevagna - Bevagna modern-day appearance is surely the result of its development during the Middle Ages. In fact, even if the Romans had constructed the ancient Menania in such a way that the Flaminia Road was the decuman axis of the town, the town's center is now placed more to the South. In Piazza Silvestri, you absolutely should not miss the Gothic Palace of the Consuls, situated singularly slantwise to the streets, and the churches of St. Sylvester (1195 d.C.) and St. Michael Archangel; the fountain which completes the scene of this exceptional public area is, however, an adaptation dating back to the 19th century.

Spello, Subasio Mountain and Assisi
Transfer to Spello (30 minutes) and brief visit of Spello
Walking in Subasio Mountain from Rifugio Madonna della Spella to Assisi
Time walking: 3,30 hrs.; Difference in height: 983 feet; Distance: 6.21 miles—Easy. This walk has fabulous views of the Umbrian valley/landscape.
Light lunch in Assisi and visit the town
Assisi stretches out on the slopes of the Monte Subasio, above the plain where the Topino and Chiascio rivers flow. Although it can boast Roman origins, its present-day appearance, because of the buildings and also the urban structure, is surely due to the city's development during the Middle Ages. Assisi's oldest nucleus, which is protected by a defensive apparatus made up of eight fortified entrance portals and a long belt of town walls, which are still perfectly preserved, is topped by two castles on peak of the mountain: the Major Castle, reconstructed by the Cardinal Albornoz in 1367 and the Minor Castle. Apart from religious buildings too important to not be considered solely the heritage of Assisi such as the basilica of St. Francis, the tourist can also visit the churches of St. Clare and St. Peter. The first was constructed in the Gothic style between 1257 and 1265, the second is a little older and decorated with an elegant middle portal with three rose-windows. The Cathedral, dedicated to the Patron Saint St. Rufino, vaunts a splendid and unaltered facade with sculptures and reliefs; the interior, however, has undergone much reconstruction during the centuries which have distorted the original project dating back to the 13th century. On the Town Square situated on the ancient Forum, you will find the Priors' Palace (1337), the Palace of the People's Captain (12th century) and the temple of Minerva, built during the augustean period with pronaos, columns and Corinthian capitals which are still intact.
Dinner in family in a charming house of Montefalco.