|  Easy
excursion offering rapid access to the Eremo della Verna via the old
Franciscan road. From here you can either continue in the forest around
the hermitage or go along a spur leading to the Apennine ridge.
The starting point of this itinerary is La Beccia, which can be reached
by car from Chiusi della Verna following signs for Bibbiena and Arezzo.
From La Beccia
there is also a splendid view of the hermitage set into the rock. Put on your
skis and set out on the itinerary, passing alongside a fountain/spring and
go down the road that goes first through the houses and then starts climbing
steeply.
After passing a chapel and negotiating a final steep stretch you arrive in
front of the entrance gate of the hermitage. If you want, you can enter
the piazza
of the hermitage and then exit from the opposite side, walking, obviously without
skis, along the paths around the complex. Otherwise you can go along the path
by the outer walls, which soon levels off for a brief period. When the track
begins to descend you are close to what is the current road for the hermitage,
a stone-paved road that leads to the large piazza/car park. Removing your skis,
go along the paved road in the direction of Chiusi but after a few dozen metres
leave it at a right bend. Put your skis back on and take a track (closed off
by a chain) that initially runs along by the wall delimiting the Verna forest.
Immediately after a tabernacle there is a junction. Take the smaller track
to the left, climbing to the Cancello della Calla where, following the
wooden signs
for La Grotta, you enter the north-east part of the forest. Returning to the
Cancello della Calla, go back down to the main track and turn left. This will
bring you to the Cappella di Frà Filippo (ignore the road going downhill
to the right) and then onto the ridge. From here you can continue to follow the
track, which sticks close to the ridge and is marked by GEA signs, as far as
the Passo delle Gualanciole. Alternatively you can go right at the first crossroads
and go downhill on the wide unpaved road till you reach the village of Montalone
(this is only possible when there is plenty of snow). Return to Chiusi the way
you came.
| Distance |
15 km (round trip) |
| Difference in height |
280 m |
| Time |
4 hours |
| Level of difficulty |
Easy |
| Map |
Multigraphic 1:25.000 n. 33-35 |
| Suggested period |
January/February |
| Getting there |
From Arezzo take the SS no. 71 to Bibbiena
and then the SS no. 208 for La Verna. From Cesena take the SS no.
3 bis (much
of it dual carriageway). Exit at Pieve S. Stefano and from here take
SS. no. 208 for La Verna. |
|
Skiing round the Apennine hermitages
Photo Gallery: The tour
