Stage 10: Ceselli - Spoleto

This challenging leg is 17 km long and is one of the most beautiful along the St Francis Way.

From the narrow, green valley of the Nera River, you pass into the sunny Spoletana valley, to reach Spoleto, a city of art with a magnificent cathedral, where the original letter written by St Francis is kept.

You set off from Ceselli and, after having crossed the valley of Pontuglia, a long and challenging climb begins, taking you 8 km to the Castelmonte crossing. In several stretches, the slope is significant and you need to proceed at a slow and constant pace, enjoying the beauty of the woods and the splendid views of the Nera Valley. You go through the alleys of the ghost town of Sensati.

Your arrival in the sacred forest of Monteluco, where the hermitage of St Francis is located, is a taste of the joy you will feel upon arrival in Assisi. The place is so fascinating that it deserves a pause for thought and a visit to the convent's rough little cells.

The route is downhill from here to Spoleto. The path is dotted with pretty buildings and numerous hermitages, originally inhabited by Syrian hermits: the hermitages of San Girolamo and Delle Grazie and the church of San Paolo Protoeremita. The descent is steep at times with large steps.

At the end, you reach the Ponte delle Torri (Bridge of Towers), which joins the town to its forest and almost gives you a sensation of vertigo when you cross it.

Once you have reached the foot of the Rocca Albornoziana, the Cathedral of Spoleto is only a short distance away, with its magnificent façade, and in which one of the very rare original letters written by St Francis is kept. The city, former capital of the Lombard Duchy, is worthy of a visit for its rich heritage of art and monuments.