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Stage along the route via Vallombrosa
From the only Renaissance building in Casentino to be honored with the title of national monument, the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Sasso, the journey continues surrounded by the lush landscapes of Casentino, through plowed fields and hills covered in vegetation.
The path leads to the Castle of Sarna, another beautiful example of a fortified village in the lands of St. Francis, where time seems to have stood still, a place of unchanged identity and authenticity at the gates of the Casentino Forests, Monte Falterona, and Campigna National Park. The journey then continues toward the small village of Croce di Sarna, where a wooden cross marks the point where the trail bends toward the Franciscan Sanctuary of La Verna.
The majestic beech and fir forests of the park enrich each step with mysticism, preparing for the arrival at the sacred Mount La Verna, where the sanctuary stands. This mountain was donated in the early 13th century by Count Orlando Cattani, a nobleman from Chiusi, to St. Francis. It was here that miraculous events occurred, including the stigmata received by St. Francis in 1224. A place where man encounters God through nature, the sanctuary is filled with an atmosphere of unique peace and spirituality
