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From Bologna to FlorenceThrough the Mugello along the Route of the Gods
Nights: 10
Starting point: Hotel Touring (3*), Bologna. This comfortable hotel is ideally located in the historic part of the city, quite close to the Piazza Maggiore, the main square. From the roof garden there are superb views of Bologna’s rooftops, towers and medieval buildings. Breakfast only is included, leaving you free to sample the city’s many excellent restaurants. Day 1: spend the day exploring Bologna – be sure to visit the unfinished 14th-century basilica, the ancient university (the oldest in the world), one or both of the city’s excellent art museums, and the Asinelli Tower, which affords marvellous views over the city. Accommodation: Hotel Touring, as above. Day 2: you leave Bologna on foot via its famous portici, the longest arcade in the world, which leads all the way to the hill-top Sanctuary of San Luca, where you are rewarded with wonderful views. From the sanctuary, woodland paths head south following the River Reno. Towards the end of the day you cross wooded, panoramic hills to Battedizzo, from where you are transferred to your hotel. (16km, 6hrs) Accommodation: Locanda dei Cinque Cerri (2*), Sasso Marconi. Charming Alessandra Montanari welcomes you warmly to this delightful small hotel (there are just six rooms) that has been carefully converted from a 19th-century farmstead and is elegantly furnished with many antiques that have been handed down through the family. Day 3: today’s walk takes you to the fringes of the Apennines via two quite different but equally excellent sections of the Via degli Dei. The day begins with a short transfer, after which you ascend dense woodland trails to reach the rocky ledges of Mount Adone (655 metres) for wonderful 360-degree views over the valley. You descend gently from here to catch the bus to Monzuno. From Monzuno, you walk along a high, broad ridge that offers magnificent views towards the highest peaks of the Apennines. (21km, 7.5hrs) Accommodation: Albergo Poli (inn), Madonna dei Fornelli. With its homely furnishings, comfortable atmosphere and village bar, this very simple, unpretentious inn offers a real taste of rural Italy. Day 4: this wonderful walk is a significant chapter of the journey as it is today that you cross the border between Emilia Romagna and Tuscany. This is one of the most remote sections of the Via degli Dei, and leads along a high and panoramic ridge (you pass over summits over 1,100 metres above sea level), through silent woodland and past abandoned farmsteads. Several stretches are along ancient cobbled trails. (14.5km, 5.5hrs) Accommodation: Albergo da Jolanda (inn), Day 5: the day begins with a short transfer to the Futa Pass (903 metres) just south of the Tuscan border. From here you ascend to Mount Gazzaro (1,125 metres) before descending through woodland which shelters fallow deer and wild boar into the softer, more open landscapes of the Mugello area. Although you are much lower here, the views of the surrounding valleys are remarkable. (22km, 7hrs) Accommodation: Hotel la Felicina (2*), San Piero a Sieve. Located in the old town close to the fortress, this friendly village hotel has been offering hospitality to travellers since the 18th century, and has been owned by the Ducci family for over 100 years. The restaurant serves good Tuscan country cooking. Day 6: a secret trail leads from the outskirts of San Piero through beautiful woodland in which sightings of fallow and roe deer are common. You are now in the Mugello Hills and the route passes between two fine abbeys: the Abbey of Buonsollazzo and the Monastery of Monte Senario. From the latter the views stretch over the entire Mugello Valley. The landscape gradually softens some more as you wander along quiet country lanes, across fields and over a small ridge to Olmo. (14.5km, 5.5hrs) Accommodation: Hotel-Ristorante Dino (3*), Olmo. Built in local style, this comfortable hotel is popular among people from Florence, and the restaurant also enjoys an excellent reputation locally. Day 7: you start by crossing terraces of vines and olive trees to the small chapel of Montereggi, from where pleasant woodland tracks ascend past a breathtaking viewpoint over Florence to a panoramic ridge. The last part of the walk leads along quiet country lanes and paths past more olive groves to reach the wooded promontory of Mount Ceceri, famed for its terraces overlooking Florence. As this is a short route, you can take time in the afternoon to explore Fiesole, its archaeological museum, Roman theatre, and fine church. (12.5km, 4.5hrs) Accommodation: Pensione Bencistá (3*), Fiesole. Furnished with beautiful antiques, this elegant villa – one of the best hotels on the holiday – is set on the hillside amid gardens and lemon groves, with astonishing views over the rooftops of Florence from the rooms and terrace. Day 8: your last walk is easy and relaxing – the route winds across panoramic hills coated with olive groves to the suburbs of Florence and then follows wide, elegant avenues into the historic centre. (10km, 3.5hrs) Accommodation: Hotel Il Guelfo Bianco (3*), Florence. This is a very high-quality 3-star hotel converted from an attractive 15th-century town house. A wonderful blend of old and new, it is exquisitely furnished, with the walls of the individually decorated bedrooms and public areas hung with original paintings by well-known modern artists. Breakfast only is included. A fantastic place to end your holiday. Day 9: spend your final day visiting some of Florence’s many art treasures and strolling through the ancient streets. Accommodation: Hotel Il Guelfo Bianco, as above. Walking chart: the chart gives the distance and an approximation of the ascents and descents involved each day. If comparing holidays, please note the scale of each chart as this can differ.
Recommendations for extra nights: extra nights at the Hotel Touring (Bologna) and Hotel Il Guelfo Bianco (Florence) will allow more time for sightseeing. Other information: if you would like to see the brochure page, you can download this (and the pages for any other holidays you are interested in) by using our brochure creation system. You can also read a travel diary for a personal account of the holiday. Similar holidays: The Secret Apennines (grade 2-3), Italy's Green Heart (grade 2-3), The Catalan Pyrenees (grade 2-3), The Castles of the Cathars (grade 2-3) Prices & travel 2008:
Recommended destination airports: arrival Bologna & Bologna Forli; departure Pisa or Bologna Extra night prices 2008 (extra nights can be booked at any hotel):
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Combining
culture and full, rewarding days of walking, much of which is through majestic woodland, this is a magnificent pilgrimage
between two great cities: Bologna, Italy’s gastronomic capital, in
Emilia Romagna and Florence, perhaps the world’s greatest art city,
in Tuscany. Linking the two is the Via degli Dei (the Route of the Gods),
a series of ancient drovers’ roads and mule tracks that lead through
beech woods and along broad, grassy ridges between rugged peaks named
after gods. You follow this most of the way, with stays at traditional
wayside inns adding to this sense of pilgrimage. The views from the ridges
are inspirational, and to witness the subtle daily changes in landscapes
as you walk from the Apennines into Tuscany's Mugello Hills is immensely satisfying.
Enjoy fantastic views 
