Monte Subasio Loop
How would you rate Monte Subasio Loop?
Tap a star to share your experience and help other hikers.
Monte Subasio Loop: Assisi’s Mountain Day Hike
HikeList Score
Monte Subasio Loop scored 80/100 on HikeList's trail-quality metrics.
See score breakdownHide breakdown
- Ideal length 55
- Balanced challenge 100
- Scenery & wildness 66
- Varied terrain 100
- Accommodation 92
- Food & support 81
- Path quality 84
- Season flexibility 89
Computed from length, challenge, scenery & wildness, terrain variety, accommodation, food & support, path quality and season flexibility.
The Monte Subasio Loop is a circular day walk from Assisi in Umbria, central Italy. Use 17 km as the planning figure, with about 6–7 hours walking and roughly 900 m of ascent. It is listed as moderate, though the sustained climb makes it a solid moderate-to-strenuous day. It suits fit walkers who want woodland, Franciscan history, open limestone pasture and a high point at Monte Subasio’s 1,290 m summit without needing a hut itinerary.
Route Overview
The loop starts and finishes in Assisi’s historic centre, near Porta dei Cappuccini / Rocca Minore. Most variants climb from the olive-grove lower slopes into oak and holm-oak woodland, reaching Eremo delle Carceri about 4 km above Assisi, then continue via waypoints such as Colle San Rufino / San Rufino spring towards the broad summit plateau. The high section crosses exposed grassland around Monte Subasio, Mortaro Grande and Sassopiano / Croce di Sassopiano before returning to Assisi. Trails use CAI waymarks, including routes 50 and 60, with dirt tracks, gravel, rocky paths and short paved sections. For longer Italian walks, compare the Chianti Trail, Crete Senesi Loop or the alpine Alta Via 1.
Franciscan History on Monte Subasio
Monte Subasio is closely tied to St Francis of Assisi. In the early 13th century, Francis and his companions withdrew to the mountain’s wooded slopes, and Eremo delle Carceri remains a major pilgrimage site. Around 1208, the Benedictine abbot of the monastery on Monte Subasio gave Francis the little church of the Porziuncola, later regarded as the cradle of the Franciscan order. The mountain’s pink limestone was quarried for Assisi’s medieval monuments, including the Basilica of St Francis.
Notable highlights
- Eremo delle Carceri (about 800 m): A Franciscan hermitage set in oak and holm-oak woods above Assisi. Its tiny chapels, caves and quiet woodland setting make it the most important cultural stop on the climb.
- Monte Subasio summit (1,290 m): The high point of the loop is an open, grassy plateau with wide views over the Valle Umbra, Assisi, Spello and the Apennines.
- Assisi: A UNESCO World Heritage hill town built from pink Subasio stone. It is the birthplace of St Francis and St Clare, with the Basilica of St Francis, Rocca Maggiore and Roman remains.
- Mortaro Grande karst sinkholes: Funnel-shaped doline cut into the summit grassland. They show the limestone geology of the massif clearly underfoot.
- Pink stone landscape: Subasio’s rose-coloured limestone gives the trails, walls and buildings around Assisi their distinctive warm tone.
- Beech and oak woods: Shaded mid-slope forest contrasts sharply with the bare summit pasture and can offer welcome shelter on hot or windy days.
Challenges to expect
The main difficulty is the sustained climb from Assisi: the listed loop gains about 900 m, and longer variants reach around 1,000 m. Expect loose rocky sections and some scree on steeper pitches, plus short asphalt sections near the Carceri. The summit plateau is open, almost treeless and can be windy; in summer the lower slopes may be hot. Carry water and follow CAI waymarks carefully where variants split.
HikeList Score
Monte Subasio Loop scored 80/100 on HikeList's trail-quality metrics.
See score breakdownHide breakdown
- Ideal length 55
- Balanced challenge 100
- Scenery & wildness 66
- Varied terrain 100
- Accommodation 92
- Food & support 81
- Path quality 84
- Season flexibility 89
Computed from length, challenge, scenery & wildness, terrain variety, accommodation, food & support, path quality and season flexibility.
ItalyShow more data Show less
- Cultivated Slopes
- Forest
- Grassland
- Pasture
- Mountain Plateau
- Dirt
- Gravel
- Rocky
- Paved
- Hotels
- B&Bs
- Pilgrim Lodgings
- Campsites
- Family Friendly
- Pet Friendly
- Water Sources
- Campsites
- Picnic Areas
Photos from hikers
Taken on the trail by people who've reviewed Monte Subasio Loop.
Start in Assisi near Porta dei Cappuccini / Rocca Minore, climb through olive groves and woodland to Eremo delle Carceri, continue via Colle San Rufino towards the open Monte Subasio plateau, then pass high meadow and karst terrain around Mortaro Grande and Sassopiano / Croce di Sassopiano before descending back to Assisi. Shorter Carceri loops are about 10–12 km; fuller summit rings are about 18–19 km.
Reviews
How would you rate Monte Subasio Loop?
Tap a star to start your review — you could be the first.
