Stage 5 - from San Gemini to Cesi - Cammini d'Umbria

With your back to the portal of the Church of San Francesco, take Via Casentino and go through the arch on the opposite side of the square. At the end of the street, you’ll reach Piazza Garibaldi. From there, go downhill along Via delle Mura and pass through the arch of the medieval gate. As soon as you exit the gate, turn left and continue downhill along Via San Giovanni. At the end of the street, take the left fork onto Vicolo del Sole and walk along the pavement on the right-hand side. At the next junction with the provincial road (Via Tuderte), take the cycle path on the right and follow it all the way to San Gemini station.

At the end of the cycle path, carefully cross the road and continue along Via Tiberina. Be very careful when crossing the railway bridge, and continue along the provincial road for 800 metres (the road is wide but busy) until you reach a large crossroads. Here, do not take the road on the left, do not go straight ahead, and do not take the first road on the right; instead, take the second road on the right, Via Carsulae, after passing the large sign for the restaurant Antica Carsulae. Continue for about 750 metres along Via Carsulae. After passing a beautiful farmhouse on your left, you’ll reach a five-way junction on a slight incline. Take the second road on the left (the one with a sign for a bar and an open metal barrier). This is a dirt road that climbs gently. After 200 metres, you’ll find a barrier with a pedestrian passage. Go past the small bar on the right and the ticket office for the Carsulae Archaeological Park – a visit here is highly recommended (Km 4.0 from the start).

Continue along the dirt path for 400 metres and go through the underpass. After the underpass, turn left in the middle of the car park (instead of exiting it), take the path directly ahead between the lampposts for about 10 metres, and you’ll reach a wide dirt road. Turn right uphill and continue along this road for about 2.2 km until you see a sign on the right indicating La Romita. Take the path and follow it for about 600 metres until you reach a white gravel road. Turn right, and after about 100 metres you’ll find the pedestrian gate of La Romita di Cesi (Km 7.5 from the start).

After visiting La Romita di Cesi, retrace your steps to the entrance, turn right and take the path with a stone wall on your right-hand side. Continue along the main path (never take any side tracks) for 1.2 km until you reach the ruins of the Church of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria in the old castle of Poggio Azzuano, visible straight ahead. A visit to the ruined church is a must – leave the path to the right to enter, then walk along the church walls and continue for a short stretch along the right-hand side.

Continue for 150 metres (after a right-hand bend), then take the path on the left. Follow it for 100 metres until you reach a clearing. Continue uphill along the path across the clearing, which then leads into the woods. After the clearing, continue for another 500 metres until you reach a dirt road. Turn right downhill, and after 30 metres take the path on the left, just before the right-hand bend where the dirt road continues downhill (be very careful here). Continue for about 200 metres until you reach another dirt road descending from the hills.

Important!!! Take the path directly opposite, without following the dirt road either uphill or downhill. Continue for 700 metres, always following the main path without any deviations, until you reach an old stone fountain. From the fountain, continue along the path, bending to the right (do not take the path that climbs). Go on for another 1,000 metres, ignoring any side tracks, until you meet an asphalt road.

Once on the asphalt road, turn right downhill and continue for 800 metres until you see, on your left, the entrance to the village of Cesi (the entrance is on a sharp right-hand bend descending steeply) along Via Angelo Cesi. Walk for 150 metres along Via Angelo Cesi and, after a small square, take the steps on the right leading up to the churchyard of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta.