The best waterfall hikes and walks around Parco naturale regionale del Sasso Simone e Simoncello

.... here too: in spring/April: take off your shoes and look for the flattest spot to cross! A bit more effort but doable!

Perhaps, in front of this small sacred monument, which the hiker encounters here in the form of a cross, a few short sentences by Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday last year, might be of interest (address of April 5, 2024): “Feel called (...) to carry into the Church and into the world a little of this immeasurable love that compelled Jesus to die for us on the cross. May the intimate closeness to Him, as it did for Francis [of Assisi], make you ever more humble, more united, more joyful, and more essential in your love for the cross and in your concern for the poor, witnesses of peace and prophets of hope in this age of ours, which struggles so much to recognize the presence of the Lord.” (Pope Francis)

hut with nativity scene

Beautiful in January…

The tiny village of Pietarubbia is located on the slopes of Mount Carpegna in a quiet and panoramic position. It is one of the oldest fortified villages in Montefeltro and is dominated by a Castle of which only one tower remains today. The name derives from Pietra Rubea, meaning "red stone", due to the reddish color of the rocks on which it stands.

Perched on a rock overlooking the Apsa torrent valley, on the southern slopes of Mount Carpegna, the village of Pietrarubbia is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) of the entire Montefeltro, with its origins that can be dated around the year 1000 ... What is certainly certain is that the village belonged to the Counts of Carpegna as early as 1137, and was equipped with an imposing Castle that stood on a red stone rock (from which the name petra rubea derives, later becoming Pietrarubbia) overlooking the valley below, characterized by excellent natural defenses so much so that it was later called "castrum inexpugnabile". The Montefeltro family originated from a branch of the Counts of Carpegna family, which gradually extended its influence throughout the Duchy of Urbino, with Pietrarubbia playing the role of an important defensive bulwark ... In the following centuries Pietrarubbia was the scene of bloody battles, first between the Guelph and Ghibelline factions within the Montefeltro family, and then between the Montefeltros and the Malatestas, who fought for a long time for control of the Castle, which changed hands several times. ... The following centuries were certainly quieter than the era of great battles that had just ended, however Pietrarubbia, precisely because of its particular conformation that transformed it into an almost impregnable fortress, went through a phase of decline and progressive abandonment, as in a period of peace the defensive function of the Castle became superfluous, and the inhabitants gradually but inexorably moved towards the valley ... The ancient village was completely depopulated around 1960, going through a phase of further decline, interrupted in the last years of the last century thanks also to the intervention of the famous sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro who, after having acquired the ownership of some of the most important buildings in the town, founded in 1990 the T.A.M., a school dedicated to the treatment of metals located right inside the historic center of Pietrarubbia. Nowadays the village is completely renovated and, although not permanently inhabited, it is very popular with tourists or simply curious people attracted by this place that presents itself as a real open-air museum. (Source: https://www.borghipesarourbino.it/castelli-e-rocche/pietrarubbia/ )

Pietrarubbia Castle is an ancient manor house located in the village of the same name, perched on a spur of red rock approximately 700-760 meters above sea level. Built by the Counts of Carpegna around the year 1100, the castle enjoyed excellent natural defenses and was called "impregnable castrum"

The panoramic view from this place is magnificent.