Peace of Tau: Valtopina

Went on a long walk yesterday to Valtopina, a small town off in the distance on the other side of Monte Subasio. It should have been about a 23 mile trek, but a couple of trail misses and fork-in-the-road decisions added a few miles. The first segment followed a country road for about six miles from Assisi to Armenzano. Sometimes even the road signs get interesting.

The message is clear: continue on and large rocks will come tumbling off the mountain, cars will swerve all over the road, and you'll be pelted with heavy rains and then snowed on. Taking my chances, I continued on. Often on rural roads in Italy one also encounters small shrines; many of them are well maintained and quite beautiful.

Armenzano is an old fortress town that I've written about before.

The streets wind upward in a circular pattern, from the outer walls to the high center of town. It's an enjoyable place to stroll through, going around and up then down.

As I was passing by the outskirts, an elderly gentleman came along in what looked like a 70's Fiat, stopped, rolled down his window and asked (I think) in an abrupt but not unfriendly tone, what I was doing. I explained that I was walking from Assisi to Valtopina, which led to a little more discussion and finally him laughing and saying, "Bravo, bravo!"
Ahead was the countryside I would be crossing, eventually down through the valley on the right.

The trail lead down through a steep and very muddy ravine. Crossing the creek at the bottom was not a problem, but slipping and sliding up the other side left me determined to find another route back. Once through it, and looking back, Armenzano was again in view, at least for a while.

For a long stretch the trails and dirt roads lead through lovely pastoral countryside. Passing through the small hamlet of Vallemare every dog in town seemed excited to see me, or excited to see anyone. All the noise brought one fellow out of his house. We had a short friendly conversation and soon I was on my way, glad for a return of quiet. I missed a trail intersection, but the dirt roads lead in the right direction, and less than two hours after leaving Armenzano, Valtopina came into sight.

Valtopina (meaning: the valley crossed by the river Topino) has a history dating back to pre-Roman times, although back then it had a different name. Unfortunately, earthquakes and World War II bombing cost the area some of it's treasures. Nevertheless, it's a pretty town.

This is the interior of the church on the right, rebuilt in 1945, with one 17th Century painting.

Walking along the street I noticed a vaguely familiar sign.

It's a volunteer recruitment poster for the Castle of Poggia, saying that training is being initiated. Another street view.

Starting back, determined to miss that muddy ravine, I headed up a road through a very picturesque valley, with Subasio far off, but very much in sight.

For a long while the road ran next to a stream spilling over small falls. With very few vehicles about, it made for nice walking.

Perhaps if I had been paying more attention, I would not have missed a trail marker for a way to continue straight in the direction of Subasio, and then back to Armenzano. Instead, I noticed a "Monte Subasio" arrow for the road ahead, and followed it. The road became windy and steep, which was okay, but when it turned away from both the mountain and Armenzano, it was soon clear this was not the shortest route. Nevertheless, the Spring views just kept getting better.

A mudslide partially blocking the road, and the absence of any traffic for some time, added a bit of trepidation as to where this road might lead.

Finally, it swung back in the right direction and met up with the main country road going around Subasio. Turning again in the direction of Armenzano and Assisi, the views opened up back in the direction of Valtopina, which sits in the barely visible low point in the center of the picture below.