The Hermitage Loop in the Casentino Forests

Between Tuscany and Romagna lies one of the oldest and best-preserved forests on the continent. The Casentino Forests, Monte Falterona and Campigna National Park guards woods of beech and silver fir that in some places have gone untouched for centuries, the legacy of the monks who protected these slopes for more than a thousand years. And yet, while millions of visitors crowd Florence, Siena and the Chianti hills, these mountains remain a silent corner, frequented above all by those seeking slow travel and spirituality.

The hermitages

The loop that connects the park's great sacred places is its most emblematic experience. At the heart of the crossing is the Hermitage of Camaldoli, founded by Saint Romuald in the early 11th century, set within a protected and majestic wood; a little lower down stands the Monastery of Camaldoli with its ancient pharmacy. From here the trails climb toward the Apennine crest, touching the area of the Foresta della Lama and Campigna, where monumental firs survive, and reaching viewpoints such as Poggio Scali and the area of Monte Falco and Monte Falterona, where the Arno rises.

The other pole of the walk is the Sanctuary of La Verna, perched on a spur of rock, the place where, according to tradition, Saint Francis received the stigmata. The forest that surrounds it, dominated by enormous beeches, is among the most evocative in the whole Apennines. Between Camaldoli and La Verna wind ancient pilgrims' and charcoal-burners' paths, well marked by the park and CAI network, crossing lonely valleys and clearings where it is not unusual to spot red deer, fallow deer and, with luck and silence, the signs of the wolf.

The walk

From a hiking standpoint this is a multi-stage route over hilly and mountainous terrain, with constant ups and downs but no alpine difficulty: no exposed passages, only woodland trails and stretches of crest. The effort lies in the overall elevation gain and the length, so it pays to split the loop over several days, sleeping in the villages, on farm stays or in the monastic guesthouses. It is a trek suited to anyone with a minimum of fitness and a desire to walk immersed in the trees.

Getting there

To reach the area you arrive in the Casentino from Arezzo, heading up the valley by car toward Bibbiena, Poppi and the towns near the park entrances, or from the Romagna side by way of Bagno di Romagna. Public transport serves the valley floors but thins out considerably toward the hermitages, so a car makes it easier to move between trailheads; alternatively you can plan a point-to-point walk relying on the villages.

When to go

The ideal season is tied to colour and silence. May brings the tender green of the newly reborn beech woods and the flowering meadows on the crest, while October and November are the time of the foliage, when the woods blaze yellow, orange and red and the air fills with the bellowing of rutting deer. These are months when the great Tuscan destinations are still running at full tilt, yet these forests stay peaceful, walked only by a few hikers and pilgrims. It is precisely the largely religious fame of the two sanctuaries that keeps mass tourism away, leaving the forest to those who know how to listen to it.

A practical tip: in autumn the days shorten quickly and in the thick of the forest it grows dark earlier, so calculate your walking times carefully and set off early in the morning. Bring warm layers even if it is mild in the valley, because on the crest the climate is harsher and damper. Then make the most of the silence by pausing to listen to the forest and to visit the hermitages unhurriedly, where the spiritual dimension of the walk blends with the natural one: in few other forests in Europe can you feel so powerfully the weight of the centuries and the care of those who protected them.

Practical guides for Arezzo

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