This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
The trail takes shape from your very first steps in the centre of Celano. Piccolomini Castle, a large medieval stronghold later converted into a residence for the nobility, dominates the landscape and immediately restores the historical sense of your pilgrimage. Shortly afterwards, the Church of St Francis - founded in 1345 to commemorate the presence of the saint of Assisi in Celano - adds a spiritual dimension to the stage that reflects the story of your journey. Leaving the town, the most scenic stretch comes from the Aielli-Celano Gorges, which are among the most spectacular canyons in the central Apennines. The rock walls narrow in some places to about two metres, rising to 200 m in height and transforming your trek through Abruzzo into an intense but accessible experience made up of water, stone, shade and light.
When the route opens up, towards Aielli, the stage changes gear and takes you towards a surprising destination. The Torre delle Stelle, a restored medieval tower and now an astronomical observatory, tells of the village's deep bond with the cosmos and with the figure of the astronomer Filippo Angelitti. This perspective also gave rise to Borgo Universo, an open-air 'scattered museum' throughout the streets of the village. Created in 2017 as a street art and astronomy project, it has now grown to host dozens of murals, sculptures and installations that can be visited at any time. It is precisely here that this stage finds its most distinctive signature, taking you from a fortified historic town to a creative, artsy village high up on the Fucino plain, where the trail ends with a sensation of openness, vision and wonder.
