Mount Subasio Park naturally frames the most evocative villages of Umbria: Armenzano, Costa di Trex, Lanciano, Collepino and San Giovanni di Collepino are picturesque places with some extraordinary landscapes.
Armenzano
It stands at the top of a hill at the entrance to the Valley of Fosse Marchetto. A typical example of a feudal settlement that developed in the commune period, it is a compact circular structure bordered by a ring road.
The circle of walls is well preserved; from the round arch a narrow pedestrian path spirals up to the castle keep overlooking the entire complex.
Costa di Trex
It stands in a panoramic location 573 metres a.s.l. and overlooks the River Tescio and Fosso Marchetto below. The name comes from a contraction of “Costa delle Tre Chiese”: it specifically refers to the Church of Santo Stefano (the exterior wall contains a Roman urn), the Church of San Bartolomeo and the Church of San Lorenzo, which is privately owned.
Lanciano
Lanciano is a hamlet in the Municipality of Nocera Umbra. The name Lanciano comes from the Latin Lantius indicating the name of the ancient owner of these lands.
The village centre has an ancient, fortified nucleus, which originally acted as a lookout post. The urban structure of the centre descends the slopes of the hillock dominated by the mediaeval tower and continues along both sides of the ancient link road.
The tiny church of Lanciano stands at the highest point of the hamlet, 676 metres a.s.l.
Collepino
A road surrounded by olive groves, the local cultivation, leads to the village of Collepino, a stone’s throw from Spello. The castle was originally built in the Early Middle Ages and in the 14th century, the surrounding walls and central tower were built to protect the inhabitants, considerable stretches of which still remain.
You first come across it as you ascend from Spello along the road leading to Assisi halfway up the north-east slope of Mount Subasio. Its history is linked to sheep-farming and to the Monastery of San Silvestro, which was especially important over the centuries.
San Giovanni di Collepino
If you continue along the provincial road, you come to the second mediaeval castle in the Municipality of Spello. After the earthquake in 1997, it was completely rebuilt and the Church of San Giovanni was reopened for worship.
Over time, the castle has been devastated several times as a result of the clashes between Spello and Assisi for possession of the fortres, Rocca Paida. This is why it has almost completely lost its town walls. However, it is famous because, as the chronicles of the time reported, Saint Francis performed two miracles here.
