Trekking 3: The forest and countryside between Monte Pilli and Terzano
Type of route: unpaved, practical on foot, mountain bike or horse.
Duration: 4:30/5:00 ore Distance: 13,3 km
Difference in altitude: 460 m
This route is also a circular one, and starts at the parking lot in La Fonte (Coord. GPS N 43° 44′37″ E 11 20 32″), From here, going back on Via Roma, you can reach the Arco del Camicia to get to Via del Carata. Once having passed the Villa Arco (Villa Maria), take a left after the first farm towards the fields, going straight through every intersection; this portion of the walk will be accompanied by a serene landscape of gently rolling hills.
At the crossroads continue straight on and you will soon reach the Serraglio farmhouse, not far from the white Le Corti farmhouse. To the right yet another farmhouse can be found, and after a few more steps, the ample and severe Le Corti di Ruballa (La Cortaccia) farm. This last complex still has an appearance typical to fortified medieval buildings.
Once crossing Via Roma, take the nearby Via Casone leading to the San Quirico a Ruballa Church. Take a left onto Via San Quirico a Ruballa, passing two farmhouses named “Il Poderino”, towards Querceto. The road then leads slightly downhill past the foundations of Villa Valcelli immersed in a thick patch of oaks and cypress. After a short distance we find the imposing walls of the Bigallo garden. At the junction, turn right onto the Via del Bigallo e Apparita (the old Via Aretina), and head down towards the junction with Via della Bascula. The expansive and renovated Spedale del Bigallo is definitely worth admiring here. Continue along the CAI n. 6 route to climb up to Monte Pilli.
The red chimney of the Furnace and slender white parallelepiped tower, while partially hidden by the cypress trees, can be admired here.
The road leads to the Casa la Bascula and former farmhouse La Fornace, characterized by their crenelated walls. Continuing our dimb through the Cipressaia woods we reach the top of the Monte Pilli. Heading back down towards Bencistà take Via Ponti di Millo on the left. After having passed Casa Montanina and the Le Corazze Villa, take the rocky descent towards the Church of Santa Lucia a Terzano. Taking another left, follow the entire Via di Terzano, running along the left side of the valley through intermittent wooded areas and olive groves. At the junction leading to the Il Palazzo Villa we continue through a pleasant farm and various farmhouses, finally reaching the Rimaggio torrent. After crossing the Ponte del Batacchi, cross a wooded walkway until reaching the junction marked by an Enel electricity pole, then heading down towards the Torre di Terigi.
Taking the Via di Paterno on the left we can observe the former mill Del Paci, and after around 100 meters the medieval structure Vignalla. From the Church of Stefano a Paterno we will go back down to the Arco del Camicia, where we return to the La Fonte parking lot by going down Via Roma.
This post is also available in: Italian
