Assisi Diary - Day 27 - Ponte d'Annibale

Set out on a moderate length hike today that turned out shorter than anticipated.  The Tescio River valley runs along to the north of Assisi, far below Rocca Maggiore.  The cliffs in that area form a natural part of the fortress, and there’s a section of river with no paved roads nearby.  From certain viewpoints in Assisi, one can look down and see olive groves and, in one spot, an old bridge. 

I left Assisi by Porta San Giacomo and followed a steep road down to the old (but recently restored) Santa Croce Church.  Then it was over the Tescio on the bridge Charlemagne’s troops had crossed, although one could have easily walked across the riverbed, as it was now dry.  From there I picked up a trail and walked through woods and olive groves, far below the Rocca, which rose up to the right.  One interesting grove was planted in three circles, next to an old tower with an Italian flag flying over it.  A sign indicated it was a work of art, providing an explanation for this interesting configuration I had noticed in the past looking down from Assisi.  Eventually, the trail led to an old and dilapidated bridge, Ponte d’Annibale (Hannibal's Bridge).

Not much left here to cross over.

Beyond the bridge, the trail quickly deteriorated with much overgrowth.  After brushing through it for a ways without seeing much improvement, I decided against trying to continue on to Costa di Trex, and turned back in the direction from which I had come.   It was a fine enough adventure without adding scrapes and scratches in the Umbrian wilds.

Ciao.