Parco del Monte Subasio: Itineraries: Assisi

Assisi - Spello

Trail Conditions: On foot

Departure: Assisi
Arrival: Spello
Duration: 6 hour/s 30 minutes
Difficulty Level: T - Tourist (level)
Length: 14.8 km

This trail starts in Assisi and leads to Spello: among all the possible circuits in Mount Subasio Park, this surely is the best one for those who wish to combine the pleasure of a hike in the Park and the enjoyment of a variety of artistic, historical and religious experiences in both of these lovely cities. Walk from Assisi's Rocchicciola, or "small fortress", until you reach the Carceri Hermitage, as suggested in Assisi – Mount Subasio trail. At the Hermitage, take the tarmac road and after about 1 km turn right and follow the downhill trail 54, which crosses a section of the woods on the south-west side of Mount Subasio. After a 3 km walk, approximately, you get at St Benedict Abbey: it was built in the 11th century; Cluniac Benedictine monks lived in it until 1260, then a brotherhood of Cistercian monks. In 1399 a group of enemies of the city entrenched themselves in the Abbey and the inhabitants of Assisi, who were the owners of the place, besieged it and even destroyed a part of it in order to defeat them; we can still see the missing bell-tower in one of Giotto's frescos in the Upper Basilica in Assisi. The Abbey was built again in 1600 and restored at the beginning of the 20th century, but its present splendour is mainly a result of the priceless work made by the Benedictine monks after 1945. Nearly the whole structure has a Romanesque style; we recommend a visit of the crypt, under the presbytery, and of the small chapel. The circuit then continues on trail 56; go past Sasso Rosso and the ruins of S. Antonio, then the path joins trail 50 and leads you down to Spello, across the woods and then among its renowned olive groves.