29. Valle Santa – Chitignano

The stage starts from two different origins: either from Casa Santicchio (Vallesanta, historical route) or from the Sanctuary of La Verna (variant). They are both short and easy. You cross paths, cart roads. There are very beautiful small inhabited areas, largely recovered with several second hauses.

HISTORICAL ROUTE: to continue our journey following the “Melior via” indicated by Monaco Alberto, we leave Casa Santicchio and proceed on the ancient road in the middle of the forest. After the village of Pezza, with a beautiful spring, we pass through Giona, Moscaio, Banzena and Caselle, where we cross the road to La Verna and continue to Querceto. You then arrive in Campi, near an ancient bridge over the Corsalone river, on the road that leads to La Verna, now replaced by a modern wooden footbridge. Once in Campi, you go towards Camparsena, an Etruscan toponym of a building abandoned for a long time and now renovated; after the Fosso Grande, we go up to Sarna (Chiusi). It is a village-castle with a 10th century tower, remodeled into a lord’s house in later periods: a fortified castle gate and a hospice next to it, both from the 14th century. After passing through the small inhabited centre, and then Croce di Sarna, you come across the route that comes from La Verna (from Casa Santicchio to Croce di Sarna it is approximately 16.3 km).

VARIANT DE LA VERNA: to return from the Sanctuary of La Verna on the historical route, you leave the Sanctuary through the ancient gate and go down to Beccia, the hamlet (once a women’s hotel, since women could not stay overnight in the monastery) located just below the rock on which the sanctuary stands. Then there is the pretty village of Chiusi della Verna where we can stock up on food and water. Take the small hamlet of Vezzano: on the wall of the church there is a plaque commemorating the baptism of Michelangelo Buonarroti. Starting again we take various small roads until we come to cross the first path in Croce di Sarna.
Note: mainly downhill route; from Vezzano to Sarna trekking shoes and a water reserve are recommended. The route is classified EE due to the very irregular surface; from La Verna to Croce di Sarna it is about 10 km (cyclists from the sanctuary take the paved road of La Verna, arriving in Chiusi and the SP 60 up to Chitignano. In all, 14.7 km).

From Croce di Sarna you go down to Ròsina. After crossing a stream (note the source of the ferruginous waters), you go up to Chitignano (about 3.5 km from Croce di Sarna to Chitignano).

TO VISIT: before reaching Campi (Campeàn degli Annales Stadenses) you can take a path to visit Bibbiena. At the crossroads after Querceto, you go down to the Convent of the Dominicans, Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Sasso, an institution of Medici origin, rich in works of art and a good place for refreshment and rest. Then you can continue up to Bibbiena. However, it is necessary to retrace our steps to resume the Via Romea

UPDATES: Once in Campi you go towards the Corsalone river; the footbridge that crosses the river is not currently usable, so it is best to check the water level before venturing across the ford. If it is not possible to reach the other bank of the river, take the road that runs along the river itself up to the intersection with the SS 71. Head in the direction of La Lappola. Following the Corsalone river, past the tiny village of La Lappola, you arrive at the path that goes up to Sarna. Unfortunately, the detour extends the stage by 5 km, but does not present any difficulty in terms of height difference and traffic.