The Martani Mountains are a massif that stretches for about 50 kilometres, in a south-north direction, from Cesi to Giano dell’Umbria, parallel to the Umbrian-Marches Apennines, but separated from it right in the centre of Umbria
These small mountains in the middle – whose grassy, rounded peaks rarely exceed one thousand metres of altitude (Mount Torre Maggiore is the highest peak being 1120 metres high) – are a natural balcony, an ideal spot to take a look around, to cast your eyes over the green Umbrian valley and beyond: from Subasio to Terminillo, from the Sibillini to Gran Sasso, from Assisi to Montefalco, as far as Trevi and Spoleto.
Just by moving to the other part of the ridge, the spectacle of Todi in the middle of the Tiber Valley opens up and the most beautiful Umbrian countryside with the hills of Perugia and the Terni basin.
The Martani mountains are also a treasure trove of history and cultural heritage, with many surprises.
They were the privileged place where the ancient Umbrians built their auspicious observatories and celestial temples, before the Romans also arrived here as conquerors.
The Terre Arnolfe were a Longobard feud, with the Mountain Shire and of the Plane Shire. They were mountainous lands disputed among the warmongering Umbrian municipalities, between Guelphs and Ghibellines. They were the mystical mountains, travelled by monks and saints, above all by St. Francis of Assisi who also left important traces here. And finally they were the place of origin of the Cesi family, with Duke Federico Cesi, who at the beginnings of the 1600s in Acquasparta, gave rise to the Lincean Academy, an institution that has marked the cultural history of our country.
The Martani mountains were therefore a land of work, culture and transit. Then, fatally, like all the internal Apennines, they were left aside.
In terms of tourism, at the end of the 1980s, the Region of Umbria created a long, equipped trekking route on the mountain, the Martani Trekking in 120 kilometres over eight stages.
The trek connected Cesi in the south with Giano dell’Umbria in the north with a figure-of-eight trail that rejoined the ghost village of Scoppio.
Today the trek is only partially useable. However, there are plenty of trekking and cycling trails that run through the Martani territory.
Below are some useful links:
https://www.comunanzaagrariamassamartana.it/turismo-massa-martana/
http://www.massamartanaturismo.it/itinerari
http://www.massamartanaturismo.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=132
The Scoppio Charter and the project of the eight municipalities of the Martani mountains
In the last two years the Martani mountains have been protagonist to a project finally shared by all the municipalities that have a stretch of the massif in their territory: Acquasparta, Castel Ritaldi, Giano dell’Umbria, Gualdo Cattaneo, Massa Martana, San Gemini, Spoleto and Terni.
The eight municipalities have decided to undertake together an administrative path for the tourist and cultural development of the Martani area, on the basis of the Document of Intent signed in July 2021 in the ghost village of Scoppio, in the middle of the Martani mountains, with the name of Scoppio Charter.
The intent of the eight municipalities, which together represent a territory of 172,000 inhabitants central to the Umbria Region, is to create a network project that starts from the involvement of the municipalities themselves and all those for various reasons already operate, or intend to operate in the mountain area, as well as the support of experts in the various sectors that have been identified and of Sviluppumbria. The local administrations, the Cai of Terni and Spoleto, the communities and collective domains plus the Pro Loco (grass-root organizations) have already been involved.
Useful links for project updates:
https://www.comune.terni.it/news/otto-comuni-insieme-la-rinascita-dei-monti-martani
https://www.comune.terni.it/news/monti-martani-gruppo-degli-otto-verso-la-costituzione-di-unats
https://www.comune.terni.it/news/monti-martani-cammino-con-un-nuovo-protocollo-dintesa
