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Itinerary:
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Day 1:
Arrive Assisi. You should take the opportunity to explore the
mediaeval city of Assisi. You can join the crowds to visit the upper
and lower Basilicas of St Francis, although you can normally visit
the lower shrine of St. Francis early tomorrow from 06:30 if you
want a more quiet time. However there is plenty more to see,
including the Duomo (cathedral) on Piazza Rufino and the Temple of
Minerva on the Piazza del Commune.
There are numerous other churches of which San Pietro (13thC)
and the Basilica of Santa Chiara are perhaps the most interesting.
The interiors of some of these buildings may not be accessible at
certain times. Overnight
Assisi.
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Day 2:
There is a choice of two walking routes from Assisi (420m) to
Spello (220m): either an easy-to-moderate traverse of the farmed and
forested lower slopes of Monte Subasio, following lanes and tracks
(8 miles/13km/4 hours), or a more strenuous route, much of it on
footpaths (12 miles/19km/6 hours), which crosses the open summit
area ( 1290m) above the trees within the confines of the National
Park. Both routes start very steeply. You should have some very fine
views across the Val di Spoleto to the Martani Hills, which you will
cross later in the week. On
arrival in the mediaeval town of Spello there are more antiquities,
including the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which contains
frescoes by Pinturicchio and two Roman gates and a Roman arch.
Overnight Spello.
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Day 3: As
you have 2 nights in Spello, today we advise that you take the train
to the nearby town of Spoleto and then do a circular walk, starting
from the church of S.Pietro, rising up to the monastic church of
S.Giuliano, passing the small hamlet of Monteluco, finishing at the
Roman bridge below the fortress of Spoleto. Before you start and at
the end there is a suggested walk throughout Spoleto visiting the
several sites and the narrow roads. Apart from the first ascent to
S.Giuliano the walk is not that difficult and will take you about 3
hours. A good combination is to visit the town and the surrounding
forests. Take a torch with you as you need to go through a dark
tunnel.
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Day 4: The
first part of today's walk is relatively gentle, as you cross the
low ground of the Val di Spoleto, which is largely agrarian fields,
orchards and vineyards. Around
lunchtime you reach the mediaeval village of Bevagna (225m) on the
ancient Via Flaminia, described by The Rough Guide as 'even more
serene and handsome a backwater than Spello, with a central piazza
of austere perfection...two of Umbria's finest Romanesque churches'.
If lunch in Bevagna turns out to be too filling there is a bus
service on to the hill town of Montefalco (472m) - otherwise it's a
gradual uphill walk with a bit of a sting in its tail.
Montefalco, the 'Balcony of Umbria', is celebrated for its
panoramic view over vineyards and olive groves back over the Val di
Spoleto, for its 14th century ramparts and for its famous local dry
red Sagrantino wine (but
note: Sagrantino Passito
is a sweet wine!).
12.5 miles/20km/6 hours. Overnight Montefalco.
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Day 5:
After breakfast you will have a transfer southwards across the
undulating plateau of farmland and wooded hills to the remote hill
village or borgo (fortified
hamlet) of Giano dell' Umbria (546m), surrounded by olive groves and
pastureland. Then walk
across more
delightful hilly Umbrian countryside today as you approach Todi.
Today you will come out onto high moor and grassland, before
descending through the forests once again, this time to the town of
Massa Martana, from where there is a bus service to Todi. Todi is,
like many other Umbrian towns, built on a hill. There are Etruscan
and Roman walls, mediaeval streets, Renaissance palaces and the
magnificent Renaissance church of Santa Maria della Consolazione.
There is plenty to see here. Overnight Todi. (7.5 miles/12km/4
hours) walking to Massa Martana.
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Day 6:
Depart Todi after breakfast.
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