In the shadow of the High Fortress of Dunarobba

Length: 14.5 km
Duration: approximately 4.30 hours
Difference in altitude +446 m / – 451 m
Difficulty: E

The route starts from the cemetery of Avigliano Umbro and, developing mainly along dirt roads, will lead us to the discovery of the Fortezza Alta di Dunarobba, an imposing 15th century building that today houses a luxury accommodation facility.

After having traveled 1.6 kilometers of the dirt road that winds from the cemetery, we cross a path that corresponds to the Todi-Castel dell’Aquila stage of the Ancient Via Amerina.

When we reach the next crossroads, we momentarily ignore the road on the right – which we will take on the way back – and continue along the ancient and original road that connected Rome and Umbria, which becomes a dirt road and runs alongside cultivated fields and woodland. We will soon reach the small open-air chapel called Mestaiola (small Majesty) of Sant’Eurosia. After a sudden descent, we will reach the so-called Molino dell’Arnata, a historic structure that emerges suggestively from the vegetation.

At this point we turn back and, once we have passed the Mestaiola again, we take a left at the first fork we come across. This is none other than the Strada dei Poggi, which will quickly lead us to the imposing Fortezza Alta di Dunarobba, with a quadrangular plan enlivened by towers, one of the best preserved buildings in the Umbrian territory. Commissioned by the Vici family of Stroncone, it was part of a system of works built to control the area. Inside there is a chapel dedicated to Blessed Antonio Vici, patron saint of Stroncone, an object of devotion every 7 February, when the animals were also blessed.

Just outside the perimeter of the fortress there is also a small underground church that, used until recently as a warehouse, housed frescoes with the Coronation of the Virgin, with Saint Francis and the Stigmata and with Saint Anthony the Abbot, today visible on the main floor of the fortress itself. But this is not the most curious part: a tradition says that there is a tunnel, the height of a man on horseback, that connects the church to Palazzo Vici, located in Avigliano Umbro. There is no evidence of the presence of these 3.5 kilometers of underground path, but without a doubt history gives this underground and mistreated church a fascinating and mysterious aura.

Let’s get back on the Strada dei Poggi and reach the crossroads seen at the beginning: now let’s go back to the starting point by retracing the same path we took on the outward journey.