Articolo disponibile anche in: Italian
We are going upstream from the town of Sambuca, along the pedestrian/cyclist path, along the river Pesa leaving from the Masso di Particino in via dell’Abate.
The presence of this “mass” is tied to Saint Giovanni Gualberto: it is told that the devil stood on the hill and threw large boulders at the saint.
The saint stopped them one by one and placed them on the ground. Further ahead is the Chapel of Saint Giovanni Gualberto which holds the mass on which the saint supposedly lay down, leaving an imprint of his body on the boulder.
Close by, going up into the forest (unfortunately there aren’t directions) you arrive in an area where the saint, an elderly man, used to travel on his horse from the Abbey towards the “Molino” (windmill) dell’Abate to meet and bless farmers.
During one of his travels, Saint Giovanni supposedly met the devil. Giovanni’s horse, frightened, fell on his knees, leaving an imprint of his knees and hoofs, still visible today, on the rock. Continuing along we find the old Molino dell’Abate, today a private home.
Continuing for Rignana, we reach the top of a small hill, where pleasant donkeys graze behind a fence. From here we return along the Pesa; the water is clean and crystal clear, and at the deepest points the color is a dark blue, and we can observe small and large fish.
There is a lot of vegetation; the path leads from the river and enters the forest at a certain point. We cross over a blanket of uniform leaves where here and there we see mushrooms, berries and flowers (like the mayflower and the iris of San Giovanni).
Finally, at the bridge of Rignana, we meet the countryside on our right and a hill dotted with farm houses and old unpaved roads on the left. It is a spectacular itinerary which merits respect and protection; a beautiful route to discover.