Walking Paths - The Path of the Gods

From Bologna to Florence walking on ancient paths

"Via degli Dei"

It is a hiking route known today with the fascinating name of Via degli Dei indicated by the indications of the CAI (Italian Alpine Club); from a mountaineering point of view the route, whose route can be divided into different stages given the many possibilities of intermediate overnight stays, presents no difficulty and can be classified as type E (Excursion - Easy).

In the Middle Ages this route had various names: via mulattiera for Monzuno, via di Barberino and others, depending on the destination you wanted to indicate, while the current name of Via degli Dei recalls the presence, along the route that leads to the Futa pass, of mountains and places with names of pagan deities such as Monte Adone, Monzuno (Mons Junonis), Monte Venere and Monte Luario (the goddess Lua).

The conclusion of archaeological research begun at the end of the seventies and continued for over twenty years showed that the ancient medieval paths and mule tracks, which ran along the ridge between Savena and Setta, joining Bologna and Florence, partially followed a Roman road.

The studies carried out attribute the numerous archaeological finds discovered on the trans-Apennine road built by C. Flaminio in 187 BC between Bologna and Arezzo, referred to as the Flaminia Militare.

The territory of the municipality of San Benedetto Val di Sambro is cut almost half from this ancient road: the route touches the summit of Monte Galletto, leaves the town of Cedrecchia to the left and enters the town of Madonna dei Fornelli. It then continues to the hamlet of La Bonacca, going up to the Pedrosa and to the top of the Monte dei Cucchi; from here it reaches Pian di Balestra and following the watershed it reaches the slopes of Mount Bastione , to then continue in the Tuscan territory.
The route of the Via degli Dei joins essentially naturalistic excursionist interests, to historical and archaeological interests.
It is worth noting about the latter, near San Benedetto Val di Sambro, the archaeological sites on the Flaminia Militare of Sassorosso, Pedrosa and Monte Bastione.