Hiking in Spello

 Spello, called Hispellum by the Romans who settled  in about -260, sits on a ridge of land jutting out from the flanks of Mt Subasio, overlooking the Umbrian plain. At 1290m, Subasio is the tallest point nearby in the Appenine mountains.

Starting just above town, and encompassing the bulk of the mountain is Parco Del Monte Subasio, which is cobwebbed with a network of well marked hiking trails.

Spello to Assisi 

Our first hike, along the Via Frances (VF on the sign posts), follows the footsteps of St. Francis on his pilgrimage route to/from Rome in 1209.  I looked for his footprints, but didn't see any.  Perhaps the overnight rain washed them away. 

The path consists mainly of a single lane gravel road that runs north along the slope at the point where the olive orchards give way to the forested slopes of the mountain. 

In this section, the path runs through an olive Grove. 

As the olive groves gave way to suburban housing on the outskirts of Assisi, we spied a fine looking castle on the hill: Rocca Maggiore.

Mindful of the ravages of FOMO, we veered off the VF to the right, up a long staircase to check out the castle, but that's a story for a different post.

Descending into town, we arrived in Assisi to a crowded, holiday atmosphere (we found out later it was an actual national holiday: Liberation day).  Getting swept up in the festivities, we visited all the major tourist spots and pilgrimage sights.  By the time we noticed how tired our feet were, we'd walked 9-1/2 miles, so we took a taxi back to Spello.

The Collepino loop

The next day we walked to check out Collepino, a fortified hamlet founded in the 13th century, and the remains of the roman Aqueduct, starting near Collepino that supplied Spello's drinking water for many centuries.

Unlike the hike to Assisi, which is predominately flat, we started up the "350", a well marked trail that proceeds insistently up the flank of Subasio, before veering onto the "352" toward Collepino.  Along the way, we stopped at the Abby of San Silvestro

where we were reminded to stop and listen to the silence.  After a short break for a little forest bathing

we spied the picturesque town of Collepino peaking out from the trees.

We stopped for a late morning Cappuccino at the only place in town, lingering just long enough for a short but intense hail storm to blow through. 

The path  back to Spello, mostly along the aqueduct, was lined with colorful red poppies most of the way back.

Mt. Subasio

For our last full day in Spello, we headed for the top of Subasio up on the "350".  Instead of veering off to Callepino, we kept going up, the trail narrowing as we went.

By the time we reached the Refugio

it was getting hot, and after 2700' of "up", we decided to call it a day, and head back down.  We're on vacation after all.