Crinali della Valdaso Cycle Route - Stage 03 - from Montemonaco to Rotella

Descrizione

We begin our return journey towards the sea, leaving Montemonaco with a beautiful descent that takes us past the Aso river (which has recently begun its journey here, from the nearby source of Mount Porche) to ascend the opposite slope and resume the route on the right-hand ridge of the river.

From the bottom of the valley, taking a right, we can reach Foce, the last outpost to start exploring Mount Vettore and reach the solitary Lago di Pilato. Taking a left, on the other hand, you can quickly reach Lake Gerosa, anticipated by the peculiar architecture of the church of San Giorgio all'Isola.

Our route, however, crosses the river at an altitude of 730 metres above sea level and climbs up the opposite slope to reach an altitude of 950 metres, the point at which the fork for Montegallo branches off to the right. Montegallo is a widespread municipality divided into 23 hamlets, with the municipal seat in the village of Balzo. The village, the closest to the epicentre of the 2016 earthquake, still bears evident signs of the strong tremor, with many of its houses still secured by wooden structures and steel cables. The charm of these villages, at the foot of the imposing mass of Mount Vettore, has remained intact, however, and those who love the mountains cannot miss this diversions.

Resuming the route from the previous fork, the road begins to descend along a very beautiful and scenic stretch. Along this stretch we do not encounter any inhabited centres for a long time, but only silent hamlets and solitary churches, such as San Vito at Propezzano or Santa Maria Assunta at Polverina. It should therefore be borne in mind that for the first twenty kilometres, from Montemonaco to the tavern of the Croce di Casale hamlet, we will have no possibility of provisioning, while to reach the first real town, Force, we will have to arrive at kilometre 32.

However, the road accompanies us on a quiet descent or slight falsopiano for the first 25 kilometres, when we join Provincial Road SP 93, which we take to the left towards Force, beginning a 7/8 % climb of about 1.5 kilometres.

The road then continues falsopiano until km 30, when we arrive at the junction for Force, a village perched on a side ridge that we reach in just over a couple of kilometres by taking a left. Force has a beautiful historic centre and is known for being the town of copper and copper workers. The village is home to the Copper Museum and also one of the Sistine Museums of Sacred Art.

Returning from our diversions, we take a left to pass the hamlet of Castel di Croce and finally reach Rotella, a village still guarded by the 15th-century clock tower and home to the interesting Piccolomini Museum of Sacred Art.