Grande Anello di Arquata Stage 1: Pretare to Spelonga

The route of Grande Anello di Arquata Stage 1

From the SAE area of Pretare a small road leaves the SP89 along the edge of the municipal park and descends for about a hundred meters before entering the woods. The route heads south, almost parallel to the Fosso della Pianella, and passes the ruins of an old mill: the structure is unsafe and should not be approached. Halfway along is Fonte Sant'Egidio; then a footbridge along a ditch and a small wooden bridge lead to Piedilama.

Piedilama is the only red zone on the Grande Anello di Arquata. For about 300 m it is necessary to stay on the route, follow the red-and-white flags and the GPS track, keep away from the buildings and not take photos. The route then crosses the SP89 and, at the two junctions in the village, keeps right.

A mule track climbs for a couple of kilometers to Colle Forcella, then descends and, at a junction in the woods, turns left along the slope of the Pisciallonga: from here a proper woodland path descends, steep in places, to a gravel road. Here the stage turns right, climbs for about 150 m to the highest viewpoint and descends toward Trisungo among fields and Turkey oak woods.

From the old bridge at Trisungo a path climbs to Faete, near the Church of San Matteo. Passing to the right of the church, without entering the SAE area, a mule track crosses a centuries-old chestnut grove; at a junction halfway along, the route climbs left among dry stone walls to Spelonga and the square of the Church of Sant'Agata.

Stage 1 technical data: Grande Anello di Arquata

• Start: SAE area of Pretare, on the SP89
• Finish: Spelonga, square of the Chiesa di Sant'Agata
• Length: 8.5 km
• Lowest and highest altitude: 585 m and 945 m
• Elevation change: +465 m of ascent, −470 m of descent
• Waymarking: present
• Difficulty: the complete Grande Anello di Arquata is classified EE, for expert hikers

Drinking water is available at the fountain in the Pretare municipal park, at Fonte Sant'Egidio, at the spring at the foot of the Trisungo bridge, at the start of the turnoff for Faete and in the square of Spelonga. The Palombini fountain, on the road toward Borgo, has non-drinkable water. In Spelonga there is a place to stay overnight at the end of the stage. An overview of the other stages is on the Grande Anello di Arquata page; the next stage is Grande Anello di Arquata stage 2.

Map of Grande Anello di Arquata Stage 1

Arquata Potest publishes the GPS track of stage 1 and a GADA brochure for download. On the ground the direction is shown by painted waymarks and, in Piedilama, by the red-and-white flags; the track is essential in the red zone.

Points of interest along Grande Anello di Arquata Stage 1

Fonte Sant'Egidio. A pool of drinking water welling up at the foot of a large rock, forming a grotto, with the statue of the patron saint of Piedilama. The inhabitants considered it miraculous and used its water for the sick.

Colle Forcella. From the mule track, Monte Vettore, at 2,476 m, is visible to the north, and Pizzo di Sevo, at 2,419 m, to the south, toward the Monti della Laga.

Borgo di Arquata. The hamlet that gives its name to the area crossed by the stage is home to the Chiesa di San Francesco, part of a Franciscan convent founded in the second half of the 13th century along the via Salaria. Badly damaged by the 2016-2017 earthquakes, it obtained approval for its restoration project in October 2026.

Edicola della Madonna delle Grazie. Just above Trisungo, this wayside shrine is dedicated to the Madonna delle Grazie, patron saint of Trisungo, and to San Francesco, patron saint of Borgo, and was blessed on July 26, 2020.

Faete chestnut grove. From the mule track after Faete, a viewpoint opens over the main village of Arquata and its Rocca (fortress).