Stage 10 · Urbino → Fonte Avellana
- Distance
- 43 km
- Elevation gain
- 1,010 m D+
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Surface
- 100% asphalt, 0% gravel · 40% on cycle routes
- Terrain
- Monte Catria
- Hospitality
- Guesthouse
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.
Stage map
Map of the stage Urbino → Fonte Avellana: 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: 6.6 km at 5.5% (up to 773 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
A scenic mountain stage climbing deeper into the Apennines, from Urbino to the thousand-year silence of the hermitage of Fonte Avellana, on the wooded slopes of Mount Catria, cited by Dante in the Paradiso.
Notes from the road
The climb to Catria lengthens unhurried, one hairpin after another through beech woods. The phone loses signal right when it would help most. Arriving at Fonte Avellana in late afternoon gives the silence of vespers. The bike stays outside, leaning on the monastery wall, while inside time slows.
What to see
Ducal Palace of Urbino, Furlo gorge (detour), Fermignano birthplace of Bramante, Cagli, Frontone with its castle, beech woods of Mount Catria, Monastery of Fonte Avellana with its scriptorium
Where to sleep
Guesthouse of the Monastery of Fonte Avellana; mountain agriturismo (55-80€); village B&Bs (60-85€)
Where to eat
Crescia sfogliata, casciotta d'Urbino DOP, tagliatelle with mountain ragù, game (wild boar, hare), forest mushrooms
Tips
A long climb, steep in places: take the time you need. Minimal services after the last villages: stock up in Cagli or Frontone. The silence of Fonte Avellana is part of the experience: arrive before vespers.
Water & supplies
Bars and fountains in Fermignano and Cagli, at two-thirds distance. The final 12 km of climbing to Monte Catria have no services, with weak mobile coverage on the mountainside. The Fonte Avellana guesthouse has water; carry supplies if arriving in the evening.
Places to stay on this stage
- Foresteria del Monastero di Fonte Avellanaguesthouse
Serra Sant'Abbondio (PU), pendici del Monte Catria- Price:
- Donation-based; 2-night minimum: pilgrims passing through should contact the guesthouse
- Open:
- Year-round except January, February and November (tel. 0721 730261, foresteria@fonteavellana.it)
- Facilities:
- Rooms in the monastery, meals with the community, an atmosphere of silence; groups of 10+ self-catering
- Source:
- https://fonteavellana.it/informazioni/ · https://www.camminodeicappuccini.it/en/where-to-sleep/sleep/fonte-avellana/
Dante's thousand-year-old Camaldolese hermitage at 700 m on Monte Catria: a stage finish and one of the most memorable nights of the whole Via.
Abbeys on this stage
- Finish abbey: Monastero di Fonte Avellana
An amateur, non-profit project. The tracks are indicative: everyone rides independently, at their own risk.