A Hike Between History and Nature
The Eremo di Poggio Conte sits on the border between Tuscany and Lazio, along the Fiora river valley, in what was once frontier land between the Papal States and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Its origins probably date back to around 1000 AD, when these woods along the Fiora became a refuge for hermits seeking isolation.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Unmarked trail on natural terrain, with river crossings on the Fiora. Hiking boots recommended.
You meet at the trailhead. From here you walk along the Fiora river, in the shade of turkey oak and holm oak woods that have stood here for centuries. The place is still uninhabited and on any map: to reach it, you need to know the way.
Along the way you pass chambers carved into the rock, remains of the ancient monastic settlement, and Etruscan chamber tombs — burial rooms cut into the tufa, typical of this strip of land between Sorano and the Fiora. Once you’re out of the woods you reach a natural rock amphitheater: on the right, a waterfall where water falls from above onto a pointed rock. On the left wall, the entrance to Poggio Conte.
Once at the hermitage, let the world slow down as you immerse yourself in the stillness of the stone. Then, at the foot of the waterfall, with the sound of water and the woods around you, an aperitivo with local produce — because even the simplest thing tastes different in a place like this.
At sunset you follow the trail back. Between late June and early July, hundreds of fireflies light up the path through the dark woods.
As you walk away, it’s as if the woods themselves are saying farewell, slowly closing the path to the hermitage behind you.
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