2nd ROUTE: Valfabbrica – Castello di Piscina (15.3 km)

Valfabbrica, the small medieval village formerly contested between Perugia, Gubbio and Assisi, is the starting point for the second stage of the Franciscan Way. This is one of the places that marked the path of Francis, the Saint of Assisi whose footsteps we are following. Here is the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, which was part of the Benedictine Abbey where Francis asked for hospitality because the Chiascio River was in flood.

Leaving the built-up area and starting to walk, you cross right over the Chiascio and then turn right after a few hundred meters, heading up the river valley and then turning right again onto a dirt road. Almost at the end of this, we reach the Barcaccia area, with the country church dedicated to Saints Benedict and Paulinus of Coccorano. We then climb back up toward the dam and then enter a grove that soon thins out, rising in hilltop (km 6.8) from which the view can sweep in several directions: in the distance appear the Apennines with Mount Catria and Mount Acuto, to the southeast we see Valfabbrica again, while in the opposite direction we admire the Chiascio valley and the remains of the Coccorano Castle, where Francis was repeatedly hosted by the Bigazzini family of Gubbio, friends since his worldly days.

From here the route begins to descend, alternating between stretches on asphalt and others on dirt road, taking shelter at times in the forest vegetation, and encountering small country churches and small bridges, often with views of the Valfabbrica reservoir. These are the features that distinguish the second part of the walk, which climbs again at km 9, but still with very limited elevation gains. Finally, on a dirt road and avoiding side detours, we reach the stage’s finishing point, the Castello di Biscina, perched on a soft hill and surrounded by vegetation.

Length: 15 km
Height difference in ascent: 796 m
Downhill elevation gain: 551 m
Highest point: 530 m
Lowest point: 253 m

Place of departure: Valfabbrica
Place of departure: Valfabbrica
Municipality of arrival: Gubbio
Place of arrival: Castello di Biscina

Recommended period: April to October

Small villages, humble churches, medieval castles and wide landscapes: these are those places inUmbria that are part of a larger story and an itinerary that is a path for the body but also for the spirit.
It was the winter between 1206 and 1207 when St. Francis decided to move away from Assisi, where he was accused by his father of dissipating his possessions in order to give them to the poor, while dressing in rags he ridiculed the family’s good name. The Franciscan Trail retraces for nearly 50 km the route taken by the saint to Gubbio, where he took refuge with a friendly family, and later repeated countless times when he and his friars from Assisi, passing through Gubbio, went to or returned from La Verna.

Credits: Cai Gubbio