Italy's Sibillini National Park. Gillian Price

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      Preci cascades down a hillside (Walk 13)

      Norcia is another key gateway to the Sibillini and has fine tourist facilities and good bus links. Sometimes called Nursia in English, the town’s name comes from Northia, Goddess of Fortune, venerated by the Etruscans. This relaxed, charming town is set amidst vast farming plains on the easternmost edge of Umbria. Best known as the birthplace of high profile St Benedict, founder of the Benedictine monastic movement, for Italians it is also famous for norcineria or the noble art of sausage and salami making. Shop fronts are draped with strings of tasty specimens and even family names reflect the ancient trade (such as Ansuini, from ‘swine’). Though a little out of the way for the bulk of the walks, Norcia is handy for Walk 14.

      A minor road via Forca d’Ancarano goes to peaceful Preci, on the park’s western edge, where lovely old houses cascade down a steep hillside. With good accommodation and bus links, it is the base for Walk 13. From Preci drivers can loop via canyon-like Nera valley to Visso (see below).

      From Castelluccio a road continues northwest to the pass Forca di Gualdo, aka Madonna della Cona, where a detour east terminates at Monte Prata and its hotel, the start of Walk 11. The pass marks an entrance into the inner heart of the Sibillini, a dramatically contrasting world of dense woods of beech, oak and chestnut which provide cover for many animals. Here, deep, plunging valleys are surrounded by bare-topped mountains. The road drops in tight zigzags to the valley floor and Castelsantangelo sul Nera. Quite central to the park area, this charming place has a heritage of monasteries and castles whose fortifications straggle up the mountainside forming an inverted ‘V’. Nera may derive from narici or nostrils, a reference to the two holes in the rock at the base of the spring where the eponymous river rises. Adjacent Valle Infante is fast becoming a favourite haunt for both deer and elusive wolves. Nearby Nocelleto and its guesthouse is the start of Walk 12. A minor road climbs to the modest ski resort of Frontignano. Dominated by Monte Bove it has hotels and Walk 8. The road then descends to Ussita.

      From Castelsantangelo, the steep-sided, poplar-lined Valnerina proceeds northwest, alongside the river which feeds a mineral water bottling plant and trout farm. The next landmark is attractive Visso, which has a well-preserved historic centre and is the HQ of the Sibillini National Park. Old castles stand out on the surrounding mountainsides while stern, carved stone gateways open onto the town’s late medieval heart with its lovely Romanesque churches and paved alleys. Set at the confluence of three valleys and consequently three gushing rivers, Visso was repeatedly flooded and in the mid-1800s an expert engineer had to be called in – from Venice, no less. Torrente Ussita, the offending watercourse, now flows obediently through an artificial channel, which makes for a curious sight. Visso is the official start of the GAS trek, and has decent bus services, shops and tourist facilities.

      Off to the east in a river valley with dizzy cliffsides stands Ussita, reachable by bus. The road continues up the valley to Casali, a pretty hamlet with accommodation, at the base of Monte Bove Nord and a convenient base for Walk 6. A motorable lane climbs to Forcella del Fargno and Walk 7.

      From Visso a busy road climbs north towards Camerino, with branches soon turning off for Fiastra and its lake. This scatter of hamlets, including low-key lakeside tourist facilities, serves as a stopover on the GAS, as well as the start of Walk 2. Walk 1 can be accessed from Monastero, a short drive northeast.

      Penetrating the inner Sibillini, a winding road leads southeast to Bolognola with its decent tourist amenities. Its name is believed to derive from Bologna, as it was founded by three exiled families from the north. Another theory claims links with Bona, worshipped by the ancient Sabini people as protector of fertility for land and women alike. Now a small, sleepy settlement, it was once immensely important for the wool trade. Walks 3 and 4 begin in the village itself, while up a dirt road climbing south, at Forcella del Fargno, is the start of Walk 7.

      From M Vettore to Pizzo del Diavolo and Lago di Pilato (Walk 17)

Information

      In addition to the website for the Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini (www.sibillini.net), Visitors’ Centres (referred to as Case del Parco) operate through the summer months. Information is on offer at park headquarters at Visso ( 073795219), as well as Amandola ( 0736848598), Castelsantangelo sul Nera ( 073798152), Fiastra ( 073752185), Montemonaco ( 0736856462), Norcia ( 0743 817090), Preci ( 0743 937000) and Ussita ( 0737 99190) among others.

      Norcia also has a general tourist office ( 0743 828173, www.norcia.net). An excellent resource for the Marche region is English-language website www.le-marche.com, free-phone (from Italy) 800 222111. For Umbria visit www.english.umbria2000.it.

How to Use this Guide

      The headings for each walk give:

      Walking Time: this does not include pauses for picnics, admiring views, photos and nature stops, so always add on a couple of hours to be realistic.

      Difficulty: Grade 1 means a straightforward route on mostly level ground, with no difficulty. Grade 2 is suitable for reasonably fit walkers with minimum mountain experience. (The long-distance GAS is rated Grade 2.) Tackling a Grade 3 route is inadvisable for beginners as it may entail exposed passages and/or orientation problems. That said, everyone should bear in mind that adverse weather such as mist and low visibility, strong wind or rain, can increase difficulty making even a Grade 1 path downright dangerous. Common sense is the best rule.

      Above Fonte delle Cacere (GAS, Stage 6)

      Ascent/Descent: those accustomed to alpine terrain will appreciate the importance of this figure, especially when it is taken into consideration alongside timing and distance. For instance an ascent of 300m in 1hr is fairly leisurely, whereas 600m in the same time means you can expect to be puffing hard up a СКАЧАТЬ