And as I stated in the last post, we decided this time to head for an unknown location, called Fiumari. We only read about it in the signpost beside Sant’Agostino church and, since it was reachable by car, we decided to begin our next exploration there.
TIMETABLE
| LOCATION | ELEVATION | COORDS | TIME | DISTANCE |
| Fiumari | 692m | N43°53’6.28” E011°46’49.17” | 0m | 0m |
| Casa Campodonato | 891m | N43°52’43.82” E011°47’28.46” | 55m | 2.59km |
| Sant’Agostino (old) | 1017m | N43°52’40.31” E011°47’48.18” | 1h15m | 3.23km |
| San Paolo in Alpe | 1025m | N43°52’37.04” E011°47’56.27” | 1h24m | 3.77km |
| Ronco dei Preti | 1108m | N43°53’10.25” E011°48’6.78” | 1h59m | 5.74km |
| Casa Ristefani | 840m | N43°53’17.62” E011°47’22.15” | 2h44m | 8.27km |
| Sant’Agostino (new) | 669m | N43°52’48.27” E011°46’16.50” | 3h38m | 11.4km |
| Fiumari | 692m | N43°53’6.28” E011°46’49.17” | 3h58m | 13km |
OVERVIEW MAP
You can download this trip GPX here.
SUGGESTED MAPS
20 – PARCO NAZIONALE FORESTE CASENTINESI (Monti Editore) – 1:25000
As I was writing we decided to reach again San Paolo in Alpe, since we loved it so much, but from the opposite side. We parked our car nearby Fiumari houses, along the graveled road, and in the darkness we began our journey. We immediately got the wrong way, since I didn’t spotted the correct deviation, but luckily we noticed it nearly immediately. The path go down on a little bridge over a little creek, Fosso Fiumicino, and there’s immediately a junction. It doesn’t matter where we go, since both the trails arrive nearby our destination, but we choose the one on the right: CAI 255.
It’s really dark and the wind is blowing fiercely. REALLY fiercely. Expecially on some part of the trail, where I can barely stand due to the bad condition of the terrain. While we begin going uphill we see, on the other side of the mountain (I think at least?) a pair of moving lights: maybe another couple of crazy hiker too early in the morning. We reach the first group of houses, Casa Campodonato, and we spot a little deer running behind it and stopping to look at us: it doesn’t seems scared at all. After quite some more uphill path we reach the old graveyard of San Paolo in Alpe and then, finally, the church.
Time for a quick break in the shelter, but while it’s still dark we have an idea: why don’t we reach the nearby summit to watch the sunrise? So we quickly go ahead another path, CAI 257, as the road goes uphill again (but it’s way larger). Now we can see around us, so we have to be swift to reach the top before the sun begins to shines. We finally see a little deviation from the road that allow us to reach the top of Ronco dei Preti. And we sit down to wait. And it appears. As everyday it does 🙂
Pinky San Paolo 
This is the way we will go on later 
After a bit of silent meditation is time to go back, but from a different way. We firstly discover a nearby IGM location point planted on the ground, with a great point of view on the other valley! Then we head into CAI 283 to go back to Fiumari. We quickly reach another group of abandoned houses, Casa Ristefani, and keep going down. There are many great landscapes to see and a couple of path that we will surely explore in the future. It doesn’t take much since we are back to the initial junction. As we approach the car we decide, since it’s still pretty early, to head down another graveled road with the sign “Sant’Agostino”. In less than 20 minutes we arrive at the church: this is the “new version” of the one we found nearby San Paolo in Alpe (both are in fact called Sant’Agostino), since after a couple of earthquakes in ~1950 the local population decided to re-build it in a more reachable place.
The view from the IGM point 
Casa Ristefani 
Sant’Agostino 
This, again, is for another tale 🙂
While we are looking around I hear a noise: going to check for it I’m greeted, beside a bush, by the magnificent view of a Royal Deer. I’m stunned, as I’m afraid that moving would result in it running away. Instead it seems very calm: he just watch us curious and, after a bit, he run a bit farther away. Then it stops looking at us again and run away from our view. It was at less than 10 meters from me. I never saw a deer from such a short distance… amazing!
Since the hike was shorter then expected we decide to reach the border with Tuscany, Passo della Calla, to check for idea for potential future hike. I basically take a picture of any interesting signpost but the wind is SO strong that I can barely stand. And suddenly another old man emerge from the fog: I ask if he knows any particular hike and he suggest me an Android App specific for this Park 😀
The border. Never cross it alone 
The old man told us that it’s dangerous to go down there 
So many possibilities…
And it’s time to go home. We are beginning to become fond of this zone, we want to explore it in deep. And we will do it in the future 🙂
