The Montetiffi Pans Trail represents quite a challenge, where there are some short stretches where you need to have stable and safe pace, with its 9.4 km length and 513 meters of elevation gain; the expected walking time is about 3h 30m. The area offers pleasant views and great biodiversity: in fact, the eastern part of the trail is included within the Montetiffi Alto Uso SCI (Site of Community Interest). The wildlife and plant life is remarkable. The most widespread mammals are roe deer, wild boars, foxes, wolves, hares, badgers and porcupines. Tree species include downy oak, manna ash, juniper, holm oak, and field elm, up to small wild orchids and the rare Aristolochia rotunda, the nurse plant of the Zerynthia Cassandra butterfly.

We start from the parking lot at the entrance to the village of Montetiffi by taking path 015a in the direction of “L’archetta,” a limestone cliff with a peculiar conformation. Then continue along path 111a towards the village of Ville Montetiffi, a small and cozy hamlet in which there is the birthplace of Father Venanzio Reali. A few hundred meters from the path we recommend visiting “Le Teglie di Montetiffi,” the last existing company that produces the pans for cooking piadina using only the ancient artisanal methods.
We continue on path 111a and 111 heading to Vernano locality where there is the ancient Church of San Benedetto, a religious monument dating back to the 12th century. The church is guarded by two giant centuries-old oaks (Quercus pubescens or oak), monumental works of nature. The taller one measures 17 meters with a circumference at the trunk of 3.9 meters.
Continuing on Trail 111, across the paved road, we arrive at Ponte Rosso, where we ascend the Uso stream to the area of the Romanesque Bridge and Cauldrons of the Giants, an ideal place for a rest, it represents one of the most fascinating points of the trail. Built with a round arch around the year 1000 AD, in the past it was an important link between Romagna and Montefeltro, also used for smuggling gunpowder, tobacco, cognac and mistrà. Next to the bridge are the remains of the old Tornani Mill. Here the river preserves corners of rare beauty, characterized by the presence of jumps and waterfalls of the so-called “Marmitte dei Giganti,” suggestive gorges formed over the centuries by the abrasive action of pebbles and that give the landscape a “lunar” character. The ascent to Montetiffi is made via the “Via della rupe,” (path 015a) an ancient path carved into the rock, steep and difficult, once used by the women of the village for water supply and to go to wash clothes at the stream.
On the top of the Montetiffi cliff stands the thousand-year-old Abbey of San Leonardo, built by the Montetiffi people in the 11th century and donated to the Benedictine monks. It is one of the most important Romanesque monuments in Emilia-Romagna; inside are preserved 14th-century frescoes, a 17th-century baptismal font and 14th-century epigraphs. A short distance away is the “Agostino Venanzio Reali Museum – Art and Poetry,” which collects the works of the unique artist “of Faith”: biblical scholar, painter, poet and sculptor.