RINGS OF THE ARQUATA DEL TRONTO’S

Km: 16,4

How To Get There

in Borgo, the hamlet of Arquata located at the foot of the hilltop town.

Park the vehicle in the SAE area of Borgo1, which is served by a bar and a grocery shop, and start our route passing by the football pitch. Reach the crossroads and turn left.

Proceed along the SP89 road through the built-up area of Borgo d’Arquata, pass by the Church of San Francesco and after about 500 m, at the and then immediately to the right, ascending in direction of Camartina.

E (Intermediate)

Walking time: 5h 05’

Once left the small square in Camartina, continue straight ahead, keeping the ditch on your left. A few hundred metres further on, once on the dirt road, turn left at the crossroads -

After about a kilometre, two more forks must be kept to the right, passing by the Vena de Corvi (945 m).

Continue climbing until, after a couple of hairpin bends, a picnic area near the spring called La Botte. This water source supplied Arquata since ancient times, before the construction of the Pescara aqueduct.

The itinerary climbs up to the ruins of the ancient house of Count Gallo and then reaches a fork in the road: keep on straight ahead.

The road continues to climb with a slight incline, offering sweeping views of the Laga Mountains, as you approach the beautiful slopes of Mountonte Vettore (2478 m).

About six kilometres from the start of the route, a sharp bend shows on the left the fork in the direction of Fonte

Cappella (after about 100 metres), another possible and pleasant stop to refuel with water. Otherwise, you can continue to the right, along the track which reaches Colle del Quarto, a place also known as Picchio7 (1280 m). This is a scenic natural balcony over the Tronto river valley and the surrounding chains, in the past used as a lookout right, before the path begins to enter the woods, alternating with meadows. Go further, paying attention to the horizontal markings along the track continuing southwards, passing by the ruins of an old mill (avoid getting close, as the structure is unsafe). Amidst stretches of woodland and openings over the valley, almost parallel to the Fosso della Pianella and the SP 89 road, this path connects the two hamlets. a small wooden bridge. Returning to Piedilama’s red area, please always follow the signs.

At this point, the path joins SP 89 road: descend to the right, continuing for 500 metres and then return further to the left, back into the forest, crossing the pine forest of Pretare and then descending along the path known as the Veticare.

Before arriving at Pretare, pass by the old furnace with a pleasant rest area. From here, Piedilama can be reached in two ways: either take the SP 89 road for about two kilometres, or else pass into the woods along the Fosso della Pianella. In the second case, after the Rifugio degli Alpini restaurant, there is a small road on the right running alongside the municipal park. Take it, continuing to descend.

Fonte Sant’Egidio, a spring of drinking water gushing out at the foot of a huge rock, which forms a cave. A statue of Sant’Egidio, patron saint of Piedilama, has been placed at the foot of this spring. The inhabitants of the hamlet believed the spring to be miraculous, so much that they used its waters to make healing compresses.

Once crossed the town centre, reach the SP89 road again, which in the last stretch leads to the SAE area of Piedilama, where a bar is located.

Continuing towards Borgo, it is not necessary to reach the SAE area: take the small road on the left, which from SP 89 enters the village (marked by a wooden signpost arrow), along the path connecting Piedilama and Borgo.

Leaving the last houses of Piedilama behind us, we keep to the right at the next two crossroads.

The mule track begins to climb for a couple of kilometres in direction of Colle Forcella, which, once reached, offers splendid views of the surrounding ranges, with the eye sweeping from Mountonte Vettore, the king mountain of the Sibillini range, to Pizzo di Sevo (2419 m), in direction of the Monti della Laga. - rest, then one through the trees, until it reaches a fork. Here, you straight ahead we would reach the Belvedere San Francesco, a panoramic viewpoint over Arquata. To continue towards Borgo, however, turn left at the fork, continuing down the Pisciallonga coast.

Now the road is no longer the comfortable mule track it was before, but a small path through the forest, passing over the top of the Macchia di San Pietro, descending it joins a dirt road, where at the fork we turn left and continue our descent. Keep on the main road, ignoring the path on the right leading to Fontanile Palombini, a non-drinking water source.

We continue to descend to the village of Borgo (685 m), which offers views of the city of Arquata.

Curiosities

Not everyone knows that in the Church of San Francesco in Borgo, until 24 August 2016, a faithful reproduction of the Holy Shroud venerated in Turin was held. It is the Holy Shroud of Arquata, which can be distinguished from original one by the inscription in the centre ‘EXTRACTVM AB ORIGINALI’. The damage suffered by the Church during the earthquake made necessary to temporarily relocate it to the Cathedral of Sant’Emidio, in Ascoli Piceno. The parchment signed in Alba on 1 May 1655 by the notary Sanzia and the bishop and Count Paolo Brizio in contact with the Turin Shroud at the request of Bishop Giovanni Paolo Bucciarelli, native of Arquata and secretary of Federico Borromeo (the cardinal of “I Promessi Sposi”). A second contact took place in 1931, during the ostension of the Shroud. These contacts are intended to reinforce the sacred powers of the copies, which, according to popular belief, are passed on to the reproductions when they are created. The relic has been jealously preserved for centuries by the friars of the convent dedicated to St. Francis, who came to Arquata in 1215 on an apostolate mission. It seems that the copy was requested in order to have an ecclesiastically owned Shroud, either because the one in Turin belonged to the Savoy family, and also to keep the relic in a private and safe place in case something would happen to the original one.

ACCUMOLI - PANTANI - CAPODACQUA RING

BETWEEN FORESTS, PONDS AND BREATHTAKING VIEWS

Km: 19,8

How To Get There

Once the vehicle is parked near the Accumoli cemetery, climb up a small asphalt road in a north-eas direction. After one kilometre, reach the Church of Madonna delle Coste (1020 m) and the Alta Montagna Bio agritourism (1034 m). From here, the route starts. Head out on this itinerary with plenty of water, as there are no spings along the route. We also recommend avoiding the Pantani-Capodacqua and Capodacqua-Madonna delle Coste sections during hunting season (mid-September to the end of January).

Walking time: 6 h 30’ EE, for expert hikers

Starting at the Alta Montagna Bio agritourism, continue in wide bends through the forest on the dirt road (which is cemented for long stretches) climbing the east ridge of Monte Ciambella

Leaving a telecommunications installation to the left, exit the forest onto the pastures of Torrione (1224 m) in view of the Laga range, Mountnte Vettore and Gran Sasso. We thus reach a fork in the road from which we continue to the right, still climbing. We arrive below the south-east ridge of Costa Castelluccia (1426 m).

After two hairpin bends, the road makes a long traverse in a north-westerly direction, passing halfway to the left of Costa Castelluccia and La Civita.

Continue until reaching Forca dei Copelli (1625 m). At this point, with a diversion to the left, we can descend a few tens of metres into the Valle dei Cupelli, to the Fonte dei Copelli spring, at an altitude of 1585 metres, to refuel with water.

Back at the Forca dei Copelli, we descend in a northerly direction and soon reach the ponds called Pantani (1587 m).

We are in a unique panoramical area, overlooking the small lakes of the Forca dei Pantani (1607 m), where Umbria, Lazio and Le Marche meet.