Diaries
04 Aug 2025

From Loreto to Rome: Paul’s Via Lauretana between faith and history

Among villages , ancient basilicas and roads laden with history, a small group of pilgrims decided to set out again along the ancient Via Lauretana, from Loreto to Rome. These are days of toil and wonder, laughter and prayer, unexpected encounters and solitude in the woods. Paul, together with his companions, traverses valleys and hills following in the footsteps of the wayfarers of old: the Roman Flaminian Way, customs towers, medieval churches and the remains of monumental bridges form the backdrop to a journey that is both physical and spiritual. This journal collects the stages, emotions and discoveries of a journey that links the Shrine of the Holy House in Loreto with the Basilicas of the Apostles in Rome: an interweaving of history, faith and Italian landscapes, in which every step tells an ancient story and every encounter leaves a mark.

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STAGE 01: Serravalle – Casenove

Three of us, Claudio Egidio and I, set off. Piera, kindly, drives us to Serravalle. We stamp our credentials courtesy of a municipal employee because the town hall is closed and the church also (still caged by scaffolding). We drive through a deserted village and onto grassy paths

Then at times we walk on paved back roads. Egidio says he saw a wolf in the distance, we joke about it. Shortly afterwards a car stops with valley people who confirm that there is a wolf nearby. We follow the old provincial road, passing under the customs tower.

A little before Colfiorito and the splendid ancient basilica of Plestia we go along a path on the right between fields of vegetables and corn. At one point we get lost in the swamp. We manage to get out after half an hour of walking through reeds and bushes. We take a small asphalt road that leads us to Colfiorito. After the village we go on stony paths uphill through oak forests.

On the horizon overlapping valleys and hill profiles, we climb along unmarked paths. At one point we descend into the valley toward a clump of houses; it is Cupignolo. We cross the state highway and enter the woods again toward the hamlet of Cifo. From there we descend again along the old state highway toward Casenove.

Excellent and simple dinner truffle tagliatelle in a quaint tavern in Colfiorito. Stefano the owner welcomes us with elegance and great courtesy. He explains that the restaurant is set in a place that was during the war an Italian concentration camp for Slavic prisoner soldiers. Here we breathe the air of the border between mountain passes, customs towers, but we also follow traces of ancient history, the basilica of Plestia, Roman tunnels etc.

STAGE 02: Casenove – Foligno

In Casenove, early in the morning we find the church strangely open. In the darkness we notice a person praying. It is the parish priest Don Gianluca. We approach hesitantly so as not to disturb him. We ask him about ‘pilgrim hospitality on site and about possible paths to Ponte Santa Lucia that would allow us to avoid the state highway; kindly he points us to the Madonna del Sasso trail to Scopello. After a pause for silence and prayer, we head out of the village in the direction of Madonna del Sasso.

The heavy rain the day before yesterday made the trail almost a creek. We walk through puddles. To take the trail that starts from the sanctuary and follows the right side of the Menotre River, we have to ford the river. We can’t make it, the water is too high. We turn back and through the brambles we make our way toward the state highway, which we follow to Scopello. Here we leave the state highway and descend a steep little road below the striking Castrense church, from where we take a beautiful grassy path that runs alongside the river. The gentle rustle of clear water, shimmering shrubs accompany us to the wellness area park at Ponte Santa Lucia.

From there, having crossed the state highway, we head along steadily descending paths to the ancient castle of Pale, the glittering Menotre Falls, pass over a small Roman Aqueduct, follow paths carved into the tuff that then slowly open up into the hills and thread their way through the olive trees and down almost at a run to the beautiful medieval village of Belfiore. A few more kilometers and here is the walled city of Foligno. We stop at the ‘intersection with the Via Flaminia nord in the Vescia area where we find hospitality in a dignified little hotel frequented by pilgrims.

STAGE 03: Foligno – Spoleto

From Foligno via Viale Roma, then right via Intermezzi continue via Parma, via old houses until meeting the bike path along the Moreggia River, a section of the Assisi Spoleto bike path that runs parallel to the west of the Flaminia. There are numerous accesses to the many sites (Clitunno springs, basilica of San Sabino etc ) and villages along the consular. We stop for lunch in the fortified village of San Giacomo. The frescoes in the apse of the church are spectacular (miracle of the rooster etc). We arrive at the sports facilities and are now in central Spoleto.

STAGE 04: Spoleto – Terni – Narni

We set off in reinforced ranks. Claudio Egidio Paolo Anna Daria and Luciana with Giuseppe following us at times on his bike. We set out early on Via Matteotti in the direction of St. Peter’s Cathedral extra moenia. A brief stop for a prayer and off we go. We cross the state highway carefully because the intersection is very dangerous and shortly after we take a dirt road on the left that goes into the countryside on the slopes of the hills parallel to the Flaminia state highway. After a while we find a gate barring our way.

We pass it but a small pack of dogs quickly makes us realize that we had better turn back toward the edge of the Tessino creek. We walk for kilometers through shrubs and brambles climbing with difficulty over small barrier walls, almost on the dry creek bed. Finally we come upon near the freeway a rough ribbon of asphalt that is the route of the old state highway.

After a few kilometers you come out on the freeway, which must be crossed to enter immediately on the right on asphalt road with arrow for Valdarena and Monte Ridico-provincial road 464. You climb for 1 km in the middle of the woods, after an abandoned cantoniera house you turn downhill to the left arriving at Strettura, an ancient post station. A restorative stop at the excellent palazzo dei papi restaurant and then off you go.

Unfortunately, after a few hundred meters the old section of state highway ends and we return to the busy and dangerous SS 3. We decide with Giuseppe’s help to bypass by car a stretch of about 5 km. After a semi-curve we descend to take on the left (300 m after the yellow house and arrow for Battiferro to be ignored) a small asphalt escarpment, we continue, walking on the right along the edge of the stream. Again through shrubs and brambles and after a while we take San Carlo road. We continue along the long avenue Trevenezie arriving in town.

Terni/Narni section

We pass through the unattractive suburbs of Terni, at the end of the interminable Trevenezie Avenue short stop to regain our strength. The weather forecast does not bode well for the next few days. It is decided to make an extra effort (have already made 25 km) to arrive the same evening in Narni. Alternatives to avoid the Flaminia highway are not many.

We follow back roads through the industrial area south of Terni that never seems to end. The fatigue takes its toll, all right! We arrive in Narni scalo with darkness along busy country roads. We climb to Narni city, by now exhausted, passing by the monumental and elegant Augustus Bridge, after 41 km of walking. The beauty and charm of this ancient city we manage to appreciate only after a shower and an excellent dinner in a good restaurant in the wonderful medieval old town.

STAGE 05: Narni – Otricoli

We have an appointment with Daniele, a friend and expert in local history and trails. I asked him to help us find and follow trails that would take us to Otricoli without touching asphalt. He accommodated us! 26 kilometers of scenic beauty, dazzled by the blue waters of the Nera River, accompanied by tales of history and stories, among medieval villages where time seems not to have passed, along paths that lead to ancient elegant and mysterious Longobard churches.

To arrive towards dusk after about 26 kilometers of walking at the Roman port on the Tiber of Ocriculum. We pass through a countryside dotted with monumental remains that testify to the considerable strategic importance of this center in Roman times. Tiredness does not veil the awe and wonder!

Thank you Daniele also for your thousands of stories of local stories, archaeological finds, local legends and memories that made this STAGE precious and special. We stay overnight in the ‘only hotel in Otricoli not without an excellent dinner with good value for money.

STAGE 06: Otricoli – Civita Castellana

We leave earlier than usual at dawn. We pass through the beautiful medieval village that is still deserted. After a few hundred meters we get onto the Flaminia There is no alternative unfortunately to the long ribbon of busy asphalt, with the roadsides with no signs of maintenance and progressively past the border with Lazio, increasingly covered with garbage. The weather does not bode well, raining in places.

For a few kilometers to avoid dangerous traffic we walk parallel to the road between freshly plowed fields or alfalfa meadows. The difficulty, fatigue and tension are considerable. We pass, in the rain near Ant Castle, then under the ruins of Borghetto Castle. Before reaching Civita we stop for a restorative stop at a roadside cafe. Never was the choice more fortunate and propitious.

We thus avoid a real downpour that lasts half an hour. We set off again for Civita, which we cross not without stopping for a coffee and to visit the beautiful cathedral. At the central café we gather some information about alternative paths to the Flaminia. We set out wearily, following the advice we have received, along a track that descends into the gorge surrounding the town, crossed by the Treia River. Finally, after a few kilometers we arrive at the agriturismo where we stay overnight. Excellent dinner.

STAGE 07: Civita Castellana – Castelnuovo di porto

We leave the farmhouse around 7 amid the scent of grass and low mist. We are at the bottom of a green ravine and the atmosphere is charged with moisture. We walk fast on uphill paths that take us back to the Flaminia. A brief stop in front of an elegant medieval gate and then we set out again on SS 3. The route is monotonous and actually quite risky given the traffic. The roadside for miles is a veritable open-air garbage dump. Restorative stop in Rignano Flaminio. We set off again, walking for stretches on the paving stones of the Roman Flaminia.

This is enough to repay us for the bitterness and anger at the degradation and disrespect for the environment we have just seen. In Morlupo we stop to refresh ourselves at lunchtime in one of the few places open. We continue on the increasingly busy state highway to the medieval village of Castelnuovo di porto, the destination of today’s STAGE. Asking for information, we find a paved side road that takes us in the direction of Malborghetto, so we decide to continue.

Finally a restful walk in the Roman countryside that takes us to the impressive remains of a Roman tetrapil arch, later converted into a post station/house. Legend has it that the famous battle between Constantine and Maxentius would have taken place near this site. We stop to admire this imposing building overlooking the Roman countryside and then cross the Sacrofano train station to the village Fraterna domus where we will dine and stay overnight.

STAGE 08: Sacrofano Rome

We leave the village at dawn. We try to get our bearings to avoid miles of busy and dangerous narrow state road. We find signs for via pineto then turn left onto the provincial road Via Sacrofano Prima porta. It is a secondary road, a narrow ribbon of asphalt clinging to the green Roman hills that runs in the direction of Prima porta. One breathes in green and silence at the top of one’s lungs.

At Prima Porta again the problem is to avoid the state highway. We turn onto side streets that run through the neighborhood and lead to the Labaro train station. Here we pass the station through an underpass and head for the beautiful bicycle path that runs along the banks of the Tiber, among the green countryside and the many sports facilities. At Ponte Milvio vecchio where the Flaminia passes, we leave the bike path and head toward Piazza del Popolo, the starting point of the ancient Via Lauretana. Our effort does not end here.

One last effort to cross the city in the direction of St. Peter’s our destination. We enter the basilica movingly and make our way to the bronze statue of the first of the apostles at the far right of the immense and grand nave. Peter’s feet are worn by the hands of the countless pilgrims who have come here over the centuries to pay homage to Peter, ad limina apostolorum.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to touch Peter’s feet now, but we get as close as possible to the statue and do so in inspiration. We ask him to watch over us and his and our church! As we leave, it is a must to go to the offices of the Roman Opera to hand in our credentials and collect our testimonium, which attests to our journey of effort and our Cammino dell’Anima from Loreto to Rome. Thank God we managed to reach our destination in health and joy!

STAGE 09: Abbey of Farfa

Driving back from Rome I insist with friends on a detour to the very ancient abbey of Farfa. Mystery, charm, silence and walls dripping with history. Inside the abbey church we discover a small niche with keys that tradition reports are the keys to the Holy House of Loreto! Nothing happens by accident! We are right at the end of the Loreto walk.

Conclusions

It was good to share a strong and beautiful experience of toil , of beauty of relationships, of gifts, of encounters. A journey that was ancient but at the same time new, because somehow in the Spoleto Rome section along the Via Flaminia, the ancient postal road of the popes, we were vanguards.

Now, to others to treasure our experience to define a structured proposal of walking through villages and cities valleys and wonderful mountains, between the most important Marian shrine in the world and the basilicas of the apostles Peter and Paul. Thanks to all the pilgrim friends. Thanks to Joseph for support and also to Piera for help and support in the explorations that preceded our walk.

Articolo di
Paolo Spolaore