The departure is from Sogliano al Rubicone in Via XX Settembre, from the ancient walls of the Malatesta castle: a beautiful terrace overlooking San Marino, the valley of the Uso and Montefeltro.
We descend towards the Sports Field (CAI 115 path) reaching the Uso River, skirting it for a long stretch, we will meet the village of Ponte Uso and the locality of Ponte Rosso and path 111b: a slow climb leads to the village of Montetiffi known for being the village of the manufacture of pans, an art handed down for many generations. On the top of a cliff stands the millennia-old Abbey of San Leonardo, built by the people of Montetiff 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, the “Agostino Venanzio Reali Museum-Art and Poetry,” which collects the works of Reali, a biblical scholar, painter, poet and sculptor, can be visited by appointment. This singular “artist of faith.”
Next to the small square of Montetiffi, we descend into the valley along “Via della rupe”(015a) ancient path carved into the rock, steep and difficult that leads to the most fascinating point of the route: The Romanesque Bridge and Marmitte dei Giganti.
This is the ideal place for a break and, in summer, for a refreshing bath. The bridge was built with a round arch around 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 and the so-called “Marmitte dei Giganti,” picturesque gorges formed over the centuries by the abrasive action of pebbles and which give the landscape a “lunar” character.
Continue on Trail 111f and 111c to arrive at Massamanente, where beautiful views of the valley of the Uso and Marecchia Rivers open up.
For several kilometers you walk inside the large Montetiffi Alto Uso Nature Oasis (1,400 hectares) touching, in view of Mount Aquilone, some of the highest points of the Soglianese territory, past the Fosso Chiusa area and up toward Montepetra Alta, surrounded by ancient gullies. Past this last locality, one enters the Rontagnano Nature Oasis and its built-up area and then continues to Cà Domenichino. Upon reaching Meleto di Sopra, continuing toward Strigara, the elevation gradually begins to decrease but with many ups and downs. The last part of the itinerary takes you back to Sogliano, passing through the evocative gully territory of Passo dei Meloni, the source of the Urgòn and crossing the Rubicon River.
