The Way of Saint Benedict: Walking from Norcia to Subiaco Across the Apennines

The Way of Saint Benedict is a walking route of around 300 kilometres linking Norcia, in Umbria, to Subiaco in Lazio, crossing the central Apennines. It follows in the footsteps of Saint Benedict of Norcia, founder of the Benedictine order, who in the sixth century walked these mountains in search of a place for prayer and solitude.

You begin in Norcia, a city ravaged by the 2016 earthquake yet still alive and defiant. The first stage leads into the Valnerina, following the Nera river through narrow gorges and beech forests. The path alternates between mule tracks, gravel roads and forest trails. This is not flat terrain: you climb and descend continuously, with elevation changes that test you without defeating you.

The opening stages are the wildest: you cross the heart of the Monti Sibillini, their karst plateaus and ancient woods. You sleep in mountain huts, farm stays and the few hotels in villages along the route. In the evening you eat what is available — Castelluccio lentils, cured meats, black truffle — and go to bed early because the next day you start again.

The route then descends into the Velino valley, passing through Cascia — city of Saint Rita — and the medieval borghi of inland Sabina. The landscape changes here: less mountain, more rolling hill, more olive trees and vineyards. Benedictine monasteries begin to appear: first small rural churches, then larger complexes, building toward Montecassino — though the official route does not include it, the detour is unmissable.

The final stretch climbs into the Monti Simbruini and descends to Subiaco, where Saint Benedict lived in a cave for three years before founding his first monastery. The Sacro Speco, embedded in the rock above the town, is the journey's end: a place of absolute silence where medieval frescoes tell the story of a man who sought God by walking.

The Way takes 14 to 18 days. The best time is May–June and September–October. In summer the Velino valley heat is intense; in winter snow on the Sibillini makes some sections impassable.

This is not an easy path, either physically or logistically: accommodation is scarce in some stretches, signage not always clear, water must be carried. But it is a true pilgrimage, where the effort is part of the meaning and the destination is not the finishing point but the journey itself.

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