ITINERARY | HIGHLIGHTS | WEATHER | ACCOMMODATION & ADDITIONAL INFO Umbria 2010
Assisi & Spoleto - Two Historic Italian Cities
This is an excellent value self-guided two centre walking holiday in beautiful Umbria, staying in two of the area's loveliest and most interesting towns – Assisi, with its associations with St. Francis, and Spoleto, with its medieval centre.
PRICE
£395 per person based on two people sharing, £95 single supplement.
INCLUDED
6 nights accommodation in 2** and 3*** hotels - with 6 breakfasts & 2 dinners (on days 1 and 4). Five days walking with route instructions, train tickets where essential in the programme; luggage transportation; local logistical back-up.
NOT INCLUDED
Travel to and from holiday, meals not mentioned in the programme, drinks with meals, insurance.
Departure dates
Daily from the 1st April until the beginning of November.
To book email:
walking@star.co.uk T: (44)
(0)1242 254353
Day 1: You arrive in your hotel at Assisi. The Hotel da Angelo ** is situated in the new part of Assisi about 900 metres from the historical centre. The hotel has 32 rooms, all with bathroom, television and telephone.The hotel has a car park, swimming pool, restaurant and bar.
Overnight Assisi.
Day 2: The Assisi town walk will take you round the most important cultural monuments of Assisi, which are mostly connected with the lives of the saints Francis andClare, who were born in Assisi. From the hotel your walk goes up to the Porta Cappuccini town gate and continues through a tangle of little alleys and medieval squares. You will pass the remains of an amphitheatre, the medieval castle, the basilica of St. Francis, the temple of Minerva, the church ‘Chiesa Nuova’ and the basilica of St. Clare, finally walking down to the monastery of S. Damiano. Then you can choose to go back to your hotel or to continue your walk downhill to the village of S. Maria degli Angeli to visit the impressive basilica, from where a local bus will bring you back to Assisi. Walking time: 3 – 4 ½ hours.
Day 3: A walk on the hills around Assisi starts from the Porta Cappuccini town gate (470m a.s.l.). From here you walk up to the spring ‘Fonte Maddalena’ (810m a.s.l.) on Monte Subasio. You then descend to the hamlets of Costa di Trex (570m a.s.l.) and Ponte Grande, where you can enjoy a well-deserved rest in one of the two restaurants or in the bar. Your route will then bring you back to Assisi through gentle, rolling countryside. You will enter the town through the Porta S. Giacomo town gate and pass through the old centre of Assisi to walk back to your hotel. Walking time: 4 ½ hours (about 14 km)
Day 4: There are two routes to Spello: a longer one going uphill to the hermitage Eremo delle Carceri or a shorter one through olive groves along the slopes of Monte Subasio.From the Porta Cappuccini a footpath will take you to the hermitage, which is situated at 830m. Saint Francis and his companions used to retreat here to meditate in the woods. After St. Francis's death a monastery was built on this spot. Passing the spring ‘Tre Fontane’ and the abbey of S. Benedetto you will descend to Spello, walking first through woods and then through olive groves. Walking time: 6 hours (about 17 km) The lower route follows the slopes of Mount Subasio and involves less climbing, but it is also a beautiful walk through olive groves with astounding views. Spello is built on the slopes of Mount Subasio. This little town has Roman origins, as we are reminded by several features including the Porta Venere and Porta Consolare town gates and the remains of a Roman theatre outside the town walls. Don’t forget to admire the colourful frescoes by Pinturicchio in the church of S. Maria Maggiore. Walking time: 3 hours (about 12 km). From Spello you will take the train to Spoleto. Your hotel*** is situated in the medieval centre.
Day 5: The walk today takes you to Monteluco (Mount Luco). The name ‘Lucu’ (lucus) means 'sacred woods', and signifies that in ancient times the mountain was considered a holy place. From the 5th century hermits lived under Benedictine rule on the mountain. Later the Franciscans also built a monastery here. The evergreen oak wood was always very important for the town and was therefore already a protected area in the Middle Ages. The animals living here include porcupines, wild cats, badgers and squirrels.
Walking time: 3 ½ hours (10 km)
Day 6: Today you can choose between two itineraries: either a short walk on Monteluco or a longer one along the olive grove path. The shorter walk through forest and olive groves passes the medieval churches of S. Salvatore and S. Ponziano. After the Ponte delle Torri this route remains level to Spello from where you take the train back to Spoleto. Walking time: 2 ½ hours (6 km)
The longer walk is along the Olive Trail – 'sentiero degli olivi'-, a walking route from Spoleto to Assisi. As the name indicates you will mostly walk through olive groves on the slopes of the mountains. You pass several little villages, mostly built on hills, like Eggi and Bazzano. In Poreta you leave the Olive Trail to go to the station in Campello Sul Clitunno. From here you take the train to Spoleto.
Walking time: 6 hours (18 km)
Day 7: departure
DIFFICULTY OF WALK
For people of average fitness. Routes through middle/high landscapes with some steepish climbs. Footpaths, hill tracks, forest trails.
GROUP SIZE
This self-guided walking holiday can be operated for 1 or more people. For a single person walking alone please ask for the price.
The various landscapes with their beautiful views of the valleys and hillsand the towns Assisi, Spello and Spoleto, where you can still taste the medieval atmosphere.
ACCOMMODATION
Assisi: Hotel da Angelo **is situated in the new part of Assisi about 900 metres from the historical centre. The hotel has 32 rooms, all with bathroom, television and telephone.The hotel has a car park, swimming pool, restaurant and bar. www.hoteldaangelo.com
Spoleto: Hotel Clitunno*** is situated in the historical centre of Spoleto
This hotel has 45 rooms all with air conditioning, private bathroom and TV. The hotel has a restaurant, American bar, reading and TV room.
GETTING THERE
By plane: The nearest international airports are Rome (Roma) and Florence (Firenze).
Ryan Air operate flights from London Stansted to Perugia 3 days a week. (8 km from Assisi).
By car: Motorway A1 ''del sole'' Florence-Rome. Exit Valdichiana. Follow the direction of Perugia and Assisi.
By railway: Assisi has a train station - train time from Rome approx. 2 hours and there are several trains each day.
www.trenitalia.itWHAT TO TAKE
Good walking boots and walking socks, a rucksack/day pack, a water bottle with 1 lt. capacity, sun glasses, sun hat, sun cream, light rainjacket, first-aid kit, compass and a little pocket-torch for the tunnels during this trip.
INSURANCE
We recommend that you take out appropriate holiday insurance covering you against illness, injury, and loss or damage to luggage. This insurance should also cover the possibility of your having to cancel your holiday for any reason.
To book, contact
worldwalks at:
email:
walking@star.co.uk T: (44)
(0)1242 254353