Umbrian Valleys

18 October 2021 Redazione Panoramic Roads, Road Trips

The Apennine stretch that crosses the three Umbrian valleys is a 70 km road that winds its way into the heart of the peninsula, among unspoilt landscapes, wonderful villages and the typical local hospitality. These are the Val Tiberina, Valnerina and Valle Spoletana and helps to connect the Tyrrhenian banks with the Adriatic ones. Focusing on the road of our itinerary and setting the small village of San Giovanni di Baiano as our starting point, we drive for a few kilometers and immediately arrive in Spoleto, named one of the most beautiful towns in Italy and where it is possible to visit the Baths of Amerino.

Getting back on the road and passing Sant’Anatolia di Narco, we take the involving SS685 to Borgo Cerreto and then the SR320 towards Norcia, which obviously deserves a stop and, if you are here in the right season, time to enjoy the excellent black truffle (in summer). Norcia is an ancient village of just over 4,500 inhabitants, famous for its artistic heritage and for the beautiful architectural remains bequeathed to a place that seems crystallized in time, where life takes the right rhythms, a utopia in the always more crowded and hectic cities we’re used to live. Last kilometers turning on the panoramic SP64, where numerous curves and an even more pristine landscape await us, to then reach Arquata del Tronto, which is the only European town to belong to two protected natural areas: the Gran Sasso National Park and that of the Sibillini Mountains. Unfortunately, due to the earthquake happened in 2016, the village has suffered serious damage, but the charm of its medieval fortress built in the XIII century has remained almost intact.