WALK TO THE FAIRY CAVE

Trekking in the Casentino Forests: Davil’s Bridge and Buca delle Fate

This route of about 8 kilometers (10.5 if we decide to also climb Monte Penna) will take us to one of the most beautiful forests in the entire National Park. A fascinating area also for the names it evokes: the devil, the fairies. We will therefore find ourselves walking between legends and nature. The latter will show us forests of fir and beech trees of incredible majesty. A path that we could easily call it "trekking among the sculptural roots of beech trees". In fact, during the journey our attention will often be attracted by these elements of nature that show themselves to be powerful and by the most imaginative shapes.
It will not only be the majesty of the plants to accompany us on this journey, we will also encounter rocky conformations that are not only imposing but that seem modeled by great sculptors. It is precisely this characteristic of the area that gave rise to the Buca delle Fate: a long cavity (about seventy meters with different branches), formed by the movements of the mountain. It is normal that a cave of this kind over the centuries has been the source of inspiration for many legends, some totally imaginative, others, however, connected to historical facts. Still the rock makes a spectacular stream of water that, at the beginning of the route, the Devil's Bridge makes us cross. This is the ditch of Fiume d'Isola known for the waterfall (called Tre Cascate), a few meters from the driveway that from Badia Prataglia climbs to Prato alla Penna and then descends to the Hermitage of Camaldoli. Just over a hundred meters separate the waterfall from the Devil's Bridge. This short section of the stream is incredibly spectacular.
This circular itinerary, defined as medium difficulty, starts in front of the Il Capanno restaurant, two kilometers from Badia Prataglia. It will take us through the Devil's Bridge, the Fosso del Pontone, the Buca delle Fate, the Crocina Pass, Poggio Spillo, the Guerrino Aia, Fangacci Pass. From here, with a constant descent, we will return to the starting point. Even if it flows for a while along the Apennine ridge, it does not offer us particular panoramic views because it is closed by dense vegetation. We can remedy this lack by opting to also climb to 1333 meters of Monte Penna which offers us a spectacular view of Romagna. We will meet the deviation for this peak a few meters before arriving at the Guerrino Aia. A more detailed description of the route can be found on page 1 of this section, together with the map. The following pages will show and describe the entire itinerary.
It should be remembered that the itinerary described above is within the National Park of the Casentinesi Forests, but also within the historic forest of Badia Prataglia, a well-known climatic location built around the abbey of the same name founded around 990. Today's testimony of this ancient monastic place are the church, rebuilt in the fourteenth century, and the suggestive crypt. A few meters from the church there is a Forestry Museum and an arboretum. As part of the walk described above, it is certainly interesting to visit these places as well.