76 – (ITA STAGE 28) – Bagno di Romagna – Valle Santa
| Place of Departure | BAGNO DI ROMAGNA |
| Place of Arrival | VALLE SANTA |
|
Length – KM
|
17,2 / 22,9 |
| Nation of the route | Italy |
| Region | Emilia Romagna |
| Uphill Gap |
1.133 m/ 1.222 m
|
| Downhill Gap |
871 m/ 596 m
|
| CAI (Diff. Escurs.) | EE |
| Percorribilità |  |
Stage 28 – Bagno di Romagna – Valle Santa – The stage is among the most beautiful of the Via Romea and crosses the Apennines between Romagna and Tuscany. Two routes are planned: one towards Vallesanta (Corezzo-Bibbiena), historic and mentioned in the Annales Stadenses, and one towards the Sacro Monte de La Verna. We follow the historical one and then the one of La Verna (variant).
From Bagno di Romagna, we follow the SP 137 which goes up the Savio river up to the crossroads for Passo dei Mandrioli (cyclists take the Mandrioli SS 71 road, turn left up to the entrance to Badia Prataglia. Before entering the town, take the Corezzo up to Rimbocchi.From here they cross the bridge and take the SP del Corsalone and along a mostly gravel road they arrive at Casa Santicchio). On foot, continue to Le Gualchiere, the small village. Then the route begins on the path, first gravel, then a roadbed. After the bridge over the Fosso del Capanno, there is the recently restored Maestà Balassini, and then you climb towards the Nasseto plateau, one of the steepest and most tiring stretches of the stage. It is a mule track, the only link between Romagna and Tuscany until the nineteenth century; at times the ancient pavement is visible, but mainly the marl rock on which it was traced emerges. To the east is the Fosso del Capanno Wilderness Area, the first to arise in Italy. Nasseto was an ancient stop and refreshment point in the middle of meadows, with a shelter for passers-by, water (spring with drinking trough) and a beautiful avenue of ancient maples which lead to a stretch made of flaky and fragile clays, affected by the water and therefore to be approached very carefully. The trail has recently been made safe. We arrive at the last slopes of Monte Zuccherodante, where the path enters a dense beech forest and, with a series of hairpin bends often paved, leads to Passo Serra, where the municipality of Bagno has placed a stone to mark the Apennine pass of the Via Romea . At a subsequent crossroads you can choose two directions: Valle Santa-Corezzo and La Verna. The historical layout is that of Corezzo. There are various fallow areas that were active until a few years ago; the path has almost disappeared in various points, but the indicative signs such as dry stone walls and parts of the pavement remain evident. We arrive in Serra di Sopra, a group of houses all well recovered as second homes. From here, past the church, you cross vegetable gardens and terraced fields and reach the ford of the Fosso di Serra which is provided with a small wooden bridge. We then arrive at the church of Corezzo. After crossing the small town, you descend on the provincial road to descend on the Fosso di Corezzo which you cross on a wooden bridge; with a steep climb we arrive at the village of Frassineta where you can see the ruins of an ancient observation tower dating back to the 11th century. Once out, you go up towards Poggio della Forca and then a downhill path through the woods and fallow fields, you reach Casa Santicchio: a place to rest and spend the night (16 km from Passo Serra).
VARIANT OF LA VERNA: at the crossroads after Passo Serra you go to La Verna. Passo Serra marks the border with the Foreste Casentinesi National Park. We begin a journey along the ridge that marks the border between Romagna and Tuscany, in continuous ups and downs more or less tiring butsuggestive, in a thick forest, full of colors and with memorable landscapes. The path, previously wide and easy, narrows and soon begins to climb with a constant slope, until it climbs up to reach the summit of Montalto (1,291 m asl). Now the path remains at high altitude, with a slight slope and also becomes a beautiful dirt road that crosses a beautiful beech forest. We leave the entrance that leads to the Rifugio del Lupo and head towards the Rotta dei Cavalli (1,172 m asl). Then a long but not too tiring climb that takes us to Poggio Tre Vescovi (1,238 m asl) which marks the ancient border of three dioceses (Arezzo, Sansepolcro, Sarsina), and we are one third of our way towards La Verna. We begin a long descent, first light, then more steep, following the CAI path n. 50 until you cross the forest road for Rimbocchi. We follow the cart track in the direction of La Verna, passing first the Gualanciole Pass, then the Pratelle, maintaining almost the same altitude (1,050), with Vallesanta on our right. At Pratelle we leave the forest road and take the dirt road again which will soon lead us to the foot of Monte Calvano, the last long and demanding climb. We follow the path and come out on the meadows of Monte Calvano (1,254 m asl), after which we begin a long descent towards Monte de La Verna. We first reach a crossroads, at the foot of a large cross which indicates the beginning of the two paths that lead to the sanctuary: under the cliff of Monte Penna, you enter the sanctuary. We have covered about 10.8 km from Passo Serra (cyclists who have to leave from Bagno di Romagna in any case take the SP 137 and then the Mandrioli SS 71 road up to the entrance to Badia Prataglia. Before entering the town they go towards Corezzo (SP Val di Corezzo) up to Rimbocchi.Then take the SP Corsalone up to La Verna.. From Rimbocchi to the Sanctuary it is 12.3 km).
28- Points of Interest
Le Gualchiere – The paleo-industrial settlement of Gualchiere, one of the most interesting and intact in the Tuscany-Romagna Apennines, is located along the ancient road of the Serra Pass, which in the Middle Ages already connected Romagna with Tuscany and Rome. The mill and the fulling mill are documented at least since 1545: millers and fullers, furnace workers, dyers, tanners; there was a water-powered sawmill, and wool and cloth were woven. Perfectly restored, the centre preserves all the machinery of the mill and the fulling mill, even though it is not in working order, along with objects and evidence of the life and activities of this small productive centre. Now an agritourism, it offers rustic, comfortable independent apartments.
Serra Pass Road – A route of about eleven kilometres, half uphill and half downhill. It starts at 518 metres above sea level in Gualchiere and climbs up to 1,148 metres at the Serra Pass, then down to 760 metres in Corezzo. Some of the paving is still present. There is a free refuge, where the Nasseto Farm once stood, complete with a tavern for wayfarers. Then we arrive at the gullies, whose path has recently been made safe. The road, 8 feet (2.4 m) wide, is probably of Roman origin. It was of exceptional importance, so much so that the Via Romea was also known as the “Via del Passo Serra”, the “Via di Serra” or the “Via dell’Alpe di Serra”. It was the link between the Arezzo and lower Casentino areas, and Romagna and Veneto. In the second half of the 20th century, with the desertion of many settlements and farmhouses in the Vallesanta, and the Nasseto Farm on the Romagna side, it rapidly went into a state of neglect.
Corezzo – This is a small village located 760 m above sea level, in the heart of the Casentinesi Forests. The village is an obligatory stop along the road that connects the two main places of worship in the area: the Monastery of Camaldoli and the Sanctuary of La Verna, which is about 15 km away. There is a hostel for pilgrims, with a bar-restaurant nearby. In Corezzo, they still keep up the tradition of the famous Tortello alla Lastra, whose preparation procedure has been officially registered to protect the quality of the product.
Sanctuary of La Verna – In the spring of 1213, Francis of Assisi, along with Brother Leo, met the Count of Chiusi in Casentino, who gave him the Mount of La Verna. Francis went there in retreat until 1224, when he received the stigmata. In 1216/18 there were a few small cells and the small church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. From then on, La Verna became sacred ground. Pope Alexander IV took it under papal protection: in 1260 a church was erected and consecrated there, in the presence of St. Bonaventure and numerous bishops. A few years later, the Chapel of the Stigmata was erected. The churches contain prestigious ceramics by the Della Robbia family. Abbot Alberto crossed this part of the Apennines in 1236, but he followed the Vallesanta as far as Campi di Bibbiena.
please, see the Official Guide of the Via Romea Germanica (www.guidaromea.eu)
Bold type for structures we already used
Red type for structures we have an arrangement (with Credential*)
(*) Prices might change for special situations: please book early and ask for confirmation
How to arrive
| From airport (BOLOGNA, VENEZIA, MILANO-ORIO, VERONA) to Cesena FS Railway Station | BUS/LOCAL TRAIN – From Cesena FS Railway Station with START bus route – 50 km (www.startromagna.it) |
Where to eat
 |
Typical Dishes = Buonissimo | Typical Dishes = Dissapore | Typical Dishes = Initalia | Typical Dishes = Gambero Rosso |
| Conad | Via Battistini,3 – 47027 BAGNO DI ROMAGNA | |||
| Sigma | Piazza S.Allende,19 – 47021 BAGNO DI ROMAGNA | |||
| Rifugio del Lupo | Loc. Fonte al Trogo 52010 BIFORCO – CHIUSI DELLA VERNA AR | 0575-1840614 / 338-5807218 / 338-4963403 | rifugiodellupo1@gmail.com | www.rifugiodellupo.it Arrangement |
| Agriturismo Le Gualanciole | Loc. Le Gualanciole, 141 – 52036 VALSAVIGNONE-PIEVE SANTO STEFANO-AR | 333-9112789 | legualanciole@gmail.com | www.agriturismo.it/it/agriturismi/toscana/arezzo/LeGualanciole-0641246/index.html?g Arrangement |
| Ospitalità povera in parrocchia-Corezzo | 52010 COREZZO – CHIUSI DELLA VERNA-AR | 346-4195690 (Fani Gloria) | info@corezzo.it | www.corezzo.it Arrangement |
| Rifugio “CASA SANTICCHIO” | loc.Casa Santicchio,15 – RIMBOCCHI – 52010 CHIUSI DELLA VERNA AR | 0575-1787586 | info@santicchio.org | www.santicchio.org Arrangement |
| Pizzeria Ostello Rimbocchi | Rimbocchi, 52010 CHIUSI DELLA VERNA-AR | 0575-518269 / 339-3281561 (Anna e Giuliano) | ||
| Santuario Francescano La Verna | Via del Santuario, 45 – 52010 CHIUSI DELLA VERNA AR | 0575 5341 | santuarioverna@gmail.com | www.laverna.it |
| Albergo La Foresta (variante per ciclisti) | Badia Prataglia – 52014 POPPI AR | 0575-559009 / 339-6197427 | info@albergolaforesta.eu | |
| Albergo La Verna | La Beccia de La Verna – 52010 CHIUSI DELLA VERNA AR | 0575-532129 | info@albergolaverna.com |
Where to sleep
Bike Service
Pilgrim Service
| Pro Loco Corezzo – Farini Sirio | Loc. Corezzo s.n., 52010 COREZZO AR | 338-3027194 – farini sirio | info@corezzo.it | www.corezzo.it |
| Comune di Chiusi della Verna | Viale San Francesco, 42 – 52010 CHIUSI DELLA VERNA AR | 0575 599611 | chiusidellaverna@casentino.toscana.it | www.comune.chiusi-della-verna.ar.it |
| Associazione Amici dell’Asino – Guida e Organizzatore | 52010 CASENTINO AR | 320-0676766 – signi marta | amici.asino@alice.it | www.gliamicidellasino.it |
