on st francis route solitude and meditation

From Monterotondo to Ponticelli di Scandriglia. From the town, you enter the Lazio countryside of Upper Sabina.

Stage 3 - from Monterotondo to Ponticelli di Scandriglia

Description

Walking
This leg of the journey is 30 km long, with uphill and downhill stretches across the hills of Sabina and through the fields. The stretches on tarmac road alternate with those on dirt road. The length of this leg can be reduced through the intermediate stop-over places.

From

Monterotondo

To

Ponticelli di Scandriglia

Distance

28,885 Km

Increase in altitude

+ 940

Loss of altitude

- 750

Surface

dirt road-tarmac

Road sign

yes (yellow blue signs indicating Francesco's Way)

Travel time

9 hours

Water sources

yes

Resting areas

yes

Monterotondo is the connection between the area of Sabina Romana and Rome. Today's leg entails a challenging route and you will need to leave early. Alternatively, you can find accommodation at one of the intermediate stop-over places: Montelibretti, Nerola, Acquaviva and Poggio Corese. Along the way, in the first part, you need to pay attention to the traffic on the roads. After the underpass, you will see the medieval ruins of the towering “Torre della Fiora”. The route takes you through the Macchia di Gattaceca. The area is protected because of the botanical value of its fragmented forest and the intense karstification that can be seen in the caves and ponors.In Lazio, the St Francis' Way evokes and retraces, in several points, the ancient Roman consular roads that are still used today for traffic: the Via Veccha Nomentana road and the Salaria Vecchia road. The route alternates between uphill and downhill stretches as far as Montelibretti. After stopping in the village, you set off again towards Acquaviva, Nerola with its towering Orsini castle and Passo Corese. The last part is not steep but climbs gradually and constantly until you get to the end of the leg: Ponticelli.

Sources
There are water sources along the urban stretches. Remember to fill your water bottle with at least 1.5 litres of water in the summer.

Intermediate stages
This is a pleasant leg of the journey with residential areas, where you can stop off or take a break from walking. You walk through beautiful scenery far away from the most highly frequented localities. There are resting areas.

Suggestions
Notice the agricultural landscape of the Sabina Romana area, rich with olive groves and fruit orchards and fields alternating with rich forests. We recommend that you have the maps of the trail with you. Simplified maps can be downloaded by clicking on the online map. Remember to always have a small supply of food with you (fruit, dried fruit, chocolate, energy bars, something energy-giving in general).

Information (e.g. how to get there using public transport)
Territorial Tourist Office of Rieti.
Address: Via Cintia, 87 Rieti - 02100
Phone: 0746 264106/8/0
Email: acolandrea@regione.lazio.it - mpalazzoli@regione.lazio.it
Site: www.camminodifrancesco.it