Bosco Sacro di Monteluco
Rising steeply behind the Ponte delle Torri, the Bosco Sacro — Sacred Wood — of Monteluco is a forest of ancient ilex oaks that has been protected by law since the 3rd century BC, when the Umbrian tribe of the Spoletini made it illegal to cut a single branch under pain of a sacred fine. Today it is one of the oldest continuously protected natural sites in the world and a wonderfully cool escape on
Walking the sacred forest
A network of marked trails winds through the dense ilex canopy, connecting the Ponte delle Torri viewpoint with the small hilltop village of Monteluco and the Franciscan convent of San Francesco di Monteluco, where St Francis himself retreated in 1218 and which still houses a small community of friars.
The main trail from the bridge to the convent takes about 40 minutes at an easy pace. The forest floor is carpeted with ferns and wild cyclamen in spring, and the light filtering through the evergreen canopy gives the whole wood a cathedral-like quality.
The hilltop village and the view
The tiny village of Monteluco at the summit has a handful of stone houses, a simple trattoria and a terrace that looks out over the full sweep of the Spoleto valley — on clear days you can see as far as the Sibillini mountains on the eastern horizon.
The convent church of San Francesco is open to visitors and the friars are often willing to show guests the small cloister where St Francis is said to have planted a holm oak that still stands today. Ring the bell at the wooden door to ask.
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