Stage 14 · Norcia → Subiaco
- Distance
- 165 km
- Elevation gain
- 2,810 m D+
- Suggested days
- 2
- Difficulty
- Challenging
- Surface
- 92% asphalt, 8% gravel · 16% on cycle routes
- Terrain
- Sabini Mountains, Simbruini Mountains
- Hospitality
- Monastery
GPX 1.1 file with the track, elevation and the abbeys as waypoints. Tracks are calculated on real roads and cycle routes (OpenStreetMap): check them on the ground before you set off.
Gravel variant: 175 km · D+ 3,710 m · 24% unpaved (main track: 8%)
Calculated with a profile that prefers gravel roads and dirt tracks (BRouter on OpenStreetMap data): more natural surface and less traffic, sometimes slower. Check it on the ground, especially after rain.
Stage map
Map of the stage Norcia → Subiaco: track, start, finish, places to stay and abbeys
Hover the profile to see the spot on the map
Tracks calculated on real roads and cycle paths (OpenStreetMap); elevations from SRTM data — to be checked on the ground
Main climb: 3.8 km at 10.6% (up to 1,087 m)
Other climb: 3.2 km at 12.7% (up to 976 m)
This stage on Komoot
The same track is on the project's Komoot profile: save it in the app and ride it with voice navigation.
Overview
The most remote and demanding section of the entire route: from the Sibillini to the Simbruini Mountains, from Norcia towards Subiaco through the wildest terrain of the pilgrimage.
Notes from the road
From Norcia the road drops toward Cascia with few ups and downs and little traffic. The climb to Sella di Leonessa weighs on the legs, four hundred fifty metres between exposed rock and cold wind. One hundred sixty-five kilometres is too many for a single day, better split with a stop in Rieti or Contigliano. The Rieti plateau then opens in silence, Terminillo dominating the horizon. From Rieti the road toward Lake Turano is almost uninhabited, its colours almost Scottish.
What to see
Castelluccio plains and Sibillini Mountains, karst plateaux, mountain passes, valleys of the Reatini Mountains, approach to Subiaco through the Aniene gorge
Where to sleep
Subiaco: Santa Scolastica guesthouse (€37 B&B – €60 full board, monastic hospitality), small hotels (55-85€), B&Bs (50-80€)
Where to eat
Mountain cooking: Aniene trout, mushrooms, local cheeses, pulses, simple monastery meals if staying at the abbey
Tips
Critical stage: the most demanding and isolated of the whole route. A serious Apennine crossing, nothing like a scenic outing. Carry a full emergency kit, plenty of water and food. Best split over two days: Leonessa, about fifty kilometres from Norcia, has services and beds; Rieti comes further on. On the real track it is 165 km and 2,810 m of climbing: better over two days, stopping at Rieti (around km 85).
Water & supplies
A very lonely inland Apennine leg: water in Cascia at the start and in the small mountain villages, then 20-25 km gaps with no refreshments and phone coverage absent in places. High altitude and changeable weather: a windproof is essential. Last full shop in Norcia.
Places to stay on this stage
- Foresteria del Monastero di Santa Scolasticaguesthouse
Subiaco (RM)- Price:
- from ~€37 (B&B) to ~€60 (full board), to be checked
- Open:
- year-round (tel. 0774 85569)
- Facilities:
- 50 en-suite rooms (100 beds), restaurant, bar, private parking, grounds; welcomes Cammino di San Benedetto pilgrims
- Source:
- benedettini-subiaco.org/foresteria · camminodibenedetto.it
Sleep in the Benedictine monastery of Santa Scolastica, stage finish at Subiaco: the route's signature overnight stop.
Abbeys on this stage
- Finish abbey: Monastero S. Benedetto (Subiaco)
An amateur, non-profit project. The tracks are indicative: everyone rides independently, at their own risk.