The Way of St. Francis from Rimini to the Sanctuary of La Verna is an itinerary that retraces historical places and Franciscan tradition in Valmarecchia, rediscovered and proposed to anyone wishing to deepen the life of the Saint and his important legacy in this part of the central Apennine area. north, on the border between Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, largely identifiable with the historic region of Montefeltro. The idea of ​​the Way has its roots in the town of San Leo, a beautiful village in the middle of Valmarecchia whose history is linked to the toponym Mons Feretri from the Roman age, a toponym that later gave its name to the historic region of Montefeltro. In San Leo Francesco was given the mountain of Vernad by Count Orlando Cattani of Chiusi in the Casentino. But the passage of the Saint in this territory is also recognized in the numerous places that document his presence or recall his tradition.

Program:

1st day: Rimini - Villa Verucchio. The first stage starts from the Duomo (Malatesta temple - former church of San Francesco), reaching the beautiful historical-naturalistic path along the bank of the Marecchia river up to Villa Verucchio. Tradition tells us that San Francesco, traveling through the Valmarecchia, probably coming from Rimini in 1215, stopped here at a country chapel dedicated to the Holy Cross and erected a poor hut in wood and branches, the first nucleus of the current convent, documented for the first time in 1311. To visit the church, built in the century. XIV and consecrated on 16 June 1400; the cloister with the famous cypress and the chapel of San Francesco. Stay and dinner. Difference in height: 415. Difficulty: Medium. KM: 22. Travel time: 6 h. Road surface: cart tracks, secondary roads

2nd day: Villa Verucchio - San Leo. The route enters the stupendous landscape of the medium-high Valmarecchia, dominated by rugged cliffs, dominated by fortified fortresses. You walk mainly on dirt roads and some stretches of asphalt. Among pastures, cultivated fields and wooded spots, you reach the Convent of Sant'Igne, one of the most significant destinations of the Way. From the convent, you will soon reach San Leo, completing the last stretch with the beautiful view of the cliff dominated by an imposing fortress, as Dante recalls in the Divine Comedy. Here on May 8, 1213, St. Francis received the Verna mountain as a gift from Count Orlando Catani of Chiusi, which later became one of the most important places in the history of Franciscanism. Stay and dinner. Difference in height: 909. Difficulty: Medium. KM: 22. Travel time: 6 h. Road surface: cart tracks, secondary roads, dirt road

3rd day: San Leo - Sant'Agata Feltria. With this stage you go down again to the valley floor and then go up to the opposite ridge that delimits the left hydrographic bank, beyond which, in the Savio Valley, you will find Sant’Agata Feltria. The route winds almost entirely on sheep tracks and dirt roads, with some stretches of asphalt, up to Sant’Agata Feltria, at the entrance to which we find the Convent of the Capuchin Friars (guesthouse) and the Convent of the Poor Clares (guesthouse). The village is one of the main Franciscan places in Montefeltro. Stay and dinner. Difference in height: - 840. Difficulty: Medium. KM: 20. Travel time: 6 h. Road surface: cart tracks, wooded paths, secondary roads

4th Day: Sant'Agata - Balze di Verghereto. You return to Valmarecchia, in the highest part of the valley. The landscape changes radically, passing from a bucolic and rural environment to a mountain one, typical of the Apennines. The stage takes place mainly on gravel roads and asphalted roads but with little traffic that make the journey faster while enjoying the views that can be admired. Near the Verghereto, we find the Hermitage of Sant’Alberico. Its presence has been documented since 1043 and, according to an ancient tradition, it was founded by San Romualdo. San Francesco passed through here, returning to La Verna from the nearby cell hermitage. Continuing in the woods at the bottom of the valley, first on a beautiful mule track flanked for a stretch by stations of the Via Crucis; then on a splendid stone road, called “Via Granducale”, because it was built by the Grand Duke Leopoldo II of Tuscany for a grace received, we reach the locality of Balze. Stay and dinner. Difference in height: 1282. Difficulty: Medium. KM: 21. Travel time: 7 h. Road surface: cart tracks, paths, secondary roads

5th Day: Balze - La Verna. This stage takes place between Romagna and Tuscany, in a landscape that ranges between Valmarecchia, Valle del Savio and Valtiberina. Here the ridge path, which is part of an ancient medieval road, heads decisively south along the border of the Alta Valle del Tevere Nature Reserve and, after a flat stretch, reaches a knoll from which you can see the unmistakable Monte Penna for the large and flat summit, behind which La Verna rises. Stay and dinner. Difference in height: 1258. Difficulty: Medium. KM: 22. Travel time: 7 h. Road surface: cart tracks, wooded paths, secondary roads

6th Day: End of the services and return to their destinations

Total km: 107