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In Umbria “Sentieri, Vicoli e Racconti” (Paths, alleys and stories)
Umbria (Italy) – From 6 March to 18 April 2022, in Vallo di Nera, experiences in nature and in cultural places to be covered by walking. A programme of walks in the open air, accompanied by stories of tradition and tastings of local products, to discover the heritage of this “village-monument”.
Sunday 6 March the first appointment with “Trekking, frescoes and sacred music”.
In the village-monument of Vallo di Nera (Pg), land of tales, which with its castle dominates the Valnerina, with the centres set among the rocks, the Maggiore and Coscerno mountains and the Nera river, from next 6th March until Easter Monday, 18th April 2022, there will be the appointments of “Paths, alleys and tales”. A series of naturalistic/cultural experiences to discover the rich cultural heritage of this village on foot, accompanied by visits to the cultural emergencies of the castle and the hamlets of Vallo di Nera, during which you can enjoy the traditional stories told by the inhabitants, actors or musicians, ending with a moment of tasting the excellent local products.
Vallo di Nera, nestled between the peaks of Monte Coscerno and Monte Maggiore, surrounded by numerous plateaus resting with green flanks on the valley floor, has preserved its original layout, dating back to 1217, of a castle with a circular plan: stone houses that neatly follow the contours of the hill, rampant arches, alleys, stairways, buttresses, walls and towers. A fairy-tale appearance surrounded by a sea of green that loses itself in the irregular line of the mountains. An interweaving of nature and human activity of great beauty.
To get to Vallo di Nera you have to take the Valnerina, the valley of the Nera river, which springs from the Sibillini mountains and flows impetuously to give life to the grandiose Marmore waterfall, crossing a natural landscape that is sometimes wooded, sometimes cultivated. A dense network of paths connects the inhabited centres of the hamlets – Piedipaterno, Geppa, Paterno, Montefiorello, Meggiano, Piedilacosta, Roccagelli – the urban heritage of medieval settlements. Among them, the clear architecture of Vallo di Nera stands out, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, Orange Flag of the Touring Club, Bee Friendly Municipality, Flowery Municipality and member of the national associations Truffle City and Oil City.
The exceptional characteristic of Vallo di Nera is not only that of being a castle that is still intact, but also that of possessing a truly imposing and valuable density of frescoed surfaces. In addition, among the ancient towers and noble palaces, it is now possible to find the “Casa dei Racconti” (House of Tales), a documentation centre of the oral literary tradition and the memory of the elderly, where the “Vallanate” are preserved, the octave rhymed verses of transhumant shepherds, who declaimed their deeds using rhythmic endecasyllables.
The project “Sentieri, Vicoli e Racconti” (Paths, Lanes and Tales) will be launched on 6 March, with the contribution of the Umbria Region and organised by ADD Communication and Events. Through naturalistic and cultural trekking itineraries, Vallo di Nera will become a destination for slow tourism, authenticity, sustainability and awareness, but also an interesting discovery for local tourism.
The first excursion, organised by ASD Orme Camminare Liberi and entitled “Trekking, frescoes and sacred music”, will be held on Sunday 6 March with departure at 9.00 a.m. from the historic centre of Vallo di Nera, in the direction of the Chapel of the Immagine delle Forche, also known as the Madonna della Neve, a building dating back to the second half of the 15th century with an entirely frescoed interior and a single barrel-vaulted nave; it will then continue along a lovely path to the Abbey of San Felice. From here, along the route of the former Spoleto-Norcia railway, we return to Vallo di Nera.
The walk covers a distance of around 10 km, with a difference in altitude of around 200 metres, and will end with a tasting of products from the Vallo di Nera area and a guided tour of the village. Afterwards, at 4 p.m. it will be possible to attend the inaugural moment of the project “Sentieri, Vicoli e Racconti” (Paths, alleys and stories), which will be held at the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, a jewel dating back to around 1176, where Maestro Alessio Passagrilli will perform on the accordion, playing sacred music by Bellini, Pergolesi and Vivaldi.
