Parco del Monte Subasio: Itineraries: Assisi

Assisi – Nocera Umbra

Trail Conditions: On foot

Departure: Assisi
Arrival: Nocera Umbra
Duration: 9 hour/s
Difficulty Level: E - Hiking (level)
Length: 25 km

This is a very challenging trail: it starts in Assisi and ends in Nocera Umbra, where you can spend the night in one of the many accommodating facilities; or you can stop in Nocera Scalo and get back to Assisi by train or by bus. This trail was originally thought to exploit the entire trail 51, in order to follow in St Francis's footsteps, as in the last days of his life the saint used to go to Nocera Umbra to try and heal his stomach-ache with the city's well-known spa water; but a variation has been introduced into the original trail owing to a recent landslide between Assisi and Costa di Trex. From the bus park near Ponte San Vetturino, at the foot of the mountainside under St Francis Basilica in Assisi, take the trail that goes along the river Tescio, as far as Ponte S. Croce. From here, on the right, follow trail 62 along the riverbanks and walk past the ruins of Ponte d'Annibale –Hannibal's Bridge –, of Molinaccio and of the mill of Costa di Trex. Keep walking along the river until you get at Piano della Pieve. The trail then goes along F.so Marchetto, a brook; next to the bridges Ponte Marchetto and Ponte Cavaliero – of Roman and medieval origin – you can enjoy a breathtaking view over the ravine. Leave trail 62 and take trail 51: after about 3 km. it will lead you near the Church of Satriano, where on the first Sunday of September a celebration is held every year, the so-called "horse ride" of Satriano, to commemorate the day when St Francis, close to death, was taken back to Assisi on horseback by some soldiers. Take the uphill path to Passo il Termine and then downhill until the trail joins a wide unsurfaced road leading, on the right, to the Rocca – the fortress – of Postignano: once an imposing stronghold, built by the Earls of Postignano in the 10th century A.D., it is now in ruins. From the fortress walk down to the hamlet of Villa di Postignano, cutting two wide hairpin bends, then a tarmac road will easily lead you to Nocera Scalo; or you may hike another 4 km to reach the centre of Nocera Umbra.