Driving up the road, you don’t realize how high we are and the beautiful view that is waiting for you on top of the mountain! But indeed it is! We are at about 740 m asl, on top of Monte Acuto, where the fortress, known as Roccaccia marks the border between the municipalities of Cingoli and Treia.
The walk to the ruins of the fortress starts from a parking lot, easy to access (here are the Google coordinates). The view is spectacular, but even more is the aura around the ruins of the fortress. Indeed, we know very little about the origins of this castle, except for the fact that it probably dates back to the time where people from the valley escaped from the barbarian invasions looking for safer (and higher) places to settle in.
The function of the Rocca di Monte Acuto is very clear, even to the most distracted eye: it was meant to defend and control the access to the valleys around it.
The legends, however, are unpredictable: we are talking about the mysterious weaver who weaves in the basement of the castle with a gold loom, or the hen that lays golden eggs, or the snake (placed by the devil) to guard the treasure hidden in the dungeons of the castle
We leave the fortress and its legends to go back to the parking lot and to the path that leads to the Cave of Santa Sperandia. She was a Benedictine nun, patron saint of Cingoli, who was born in Gubbio and here lived a life of prayer and penance. The cave was arranged with the stone pavement, the parapet walls and the access stairway during the second half of the 20th century. The construction of the chapel can be traced back to the 19th century.
The path to the cave is steep, with about 430 steps, of which some are made of very deep stone. The path is shady for most of the time, but we suggest to bring water with you anyway.
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