From Cima Mutoli Ring to Fossato di Vico
Circular walking route with starting and end point at the Fossato di Vico train station (Rome-Ancona line). Developed on the foothills and the summit of Mount Mutali, on the Apennine watershed between Umbria and Marche.
- Time: 5 hours, excluding stops
- Difference in altitude: 670m
- Trail sign: Trail No. 9 until the junction under Colle Aiale, then trail No. 123 up to Mount Mutali. All marked with red and white signs.
- Surface: dirt roads, trail
- Recommended equipment: light trekking shoes, jacket with hood.
- Best time to go: Spring to Fall
- Where to eat: no dining venues along the way, except restaurant-bar “Il Valico”, at the pass of Fossato, tel. 348.9290104 (you need a short diversion from the road). Stock up water and supplies in Fossato di Vico.
- Useful addresses: Gubbio Tourist Office, piazza Oderisi, tel. 075.9220693
- Proloco of Fossato, tel. 0719190202.
The Fossato di Vico train station (altitude 464m) is only less than two kilometers away from the historical center of town. You can reach it by avoiding the most popular route. Once you leave the station, turn right and walk past the railway; then turn left and walk past the access to the electricity substation on your left. Keep walking along a dirt road called “Strada del Turcone” amidst vegetable gardens and orchards. When the dirt road arrives at Via Venturi, you are just a shot away from Fossato di Vico. Once you reach the central square of the village (494m), turn right and take a road with steps up to St. Benedict’s Church, with an inscription dating back to 1337 and some frescoes inside depicting Pope Urbano V. Following Via San Benedetto, you can reach the gate of the historical center, where you will see the Town Hall. Walking up the inner alleys, between tall facades, you see the churchyard of the Parish Church and, through via Rocca, the upper part of the village, where the Public Tower stands. Follow the road around Roccaccia hill from the left, where a Byzantine fortress was located, and you will arrive at a crossroad signaling the entrance of Mt. Cucco regional Park. From this point, follow the sign Trail No. 9 affixed on an electricity pole, beating a dirt road. The trail gradually leads you up towards the forest slopes of Cima Costicciola. After a crossroad (the right direction is the middle) the climb becomes steeper and brings you up to the Piana, a vast private grass clearing. Here the view extends all across the Upper Chiascio Valley all the way to Scheggia and the long ridge of Mt. Cucco. This route was used as an observation point to spot enemies in the Middle Age. In a few minutes they could signal the danger to Fossato’s residents. Continue walking past a panel for communications on your right, leave the main trail at the following fork and take a secondary branch on the left, indicated by signpost No. 9. Here meadows are spotted with bush and eventually leave space to new coppice. You do not climb any further: A pleasant mule track along the hillside leads you to the Pass of Fossato. Until the second half of the nineteenth century, the pass used to be crossed by shepherds heading down to Maremma with their herds. Below you can see the main road and the railway, both going into the tunnel nearby across the mountain. Here you get closer to the Apennine watershed and return to open spaces by carefully taking the crossing point.