Questa scheda è in bozza: si vede qui sull'anteprima e non sale in produzione.

a tunnel of the old railway at the Biselli gorges, towards Norcia, outside the stretches open in 2026

Photo: LigaDue, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Walks · Spoleto e la Valnerina · Italy

The old Spoleto-Norcia railway by bicycle

the train that climbed from Spoleto and came down into the Valnerina turning back on itself inside tunnels, closed in 1968 and now an unpaved cycle path, with the stretches open in summer 2026

half a dayDuration

the route free, bike hire extraPrice

May to September, setting off in the morningWhen to go

Take me there

The railway between Spoleto and Norcia was opened in 1926 and closed in 1968: fifty-one kilometres of narrow gauge, with nineteen tunnels and twenty-four bridges and viaducts; to climb from Spoleto and come down into the Valnerina the train turned back on itself inside tunnels like Swiss trains, so much so that the line was called the Gotthard of Umbria. Since 2014 part of the route has been an unpaved cycle path, but in 2026 it cannot be ridden all the way: the Umbria Mobilità map updated to 30 July 2026 keeps the summit tunnel of the Caprareccia closed, the one almost two kilometres long, as well as the stretch of the San Martino tunnel, and links the open sections with asphalt roads and steep paths. Three stretches on the railway remain open: from Spoleto to the Caprareccia station, climbing gently among the woods and the viaducts; from Tassinare to San Martino, the curves and the spiral tunnels that go down towards the Nera, which can only be reached by two steep links; and from Sant'Anatolia di Narco to Piedipaterno, on the flat along the river. For a family travelling by motorhome the simplest way is the half day from Spoleto to the Caprareccia and back, with the lights on in the tunnels, which in summer are also the coolest place of the day. From Norcia the most convenient starting point is Sant'Anatolia di Narco, at the bottom of the Valnerina, with its open space and information point.

Getting there

You start from Spoleto, where the cycle path begins near the Spoleto Nord junction, or from Sant'Anatolia di Narco, at the bottom of the Valnerina, which is the most convenient starting point from Norcia.

From Norcia: you reach Spoleto on the SS685 Tre Valli Umbre state road, through the Forca di Cerro tunnel; for Sant'Anatolia di Narco you go down along the Valnerina, passing Triponzo and Piedipaterno. These are the roads the buses take too
By motorhome in Spoleto: in via San Tommaso there is the "La vecchia ferrovia" motorhome area, next to the old station of the line, five hundred metres from the start of the cycle path, with a drain. Whether it is open in 2026 no official source writes, and someone found it closed in November 2025: phone first. The other area in Spoleto is the Ponzianina one, down below the old town
By motorhome in Sant'Anatolia di Narco: in front of the old station, on the SP471 provincial road just off the Valnerina state road, there is a free unpaved open space next to the cycle path, with the information point of the old railway. Whether a long motorhome fits nobody writes
By bicycle from Spoleto to the valley: from the Caprareccia station the cycle path leaves the railway and climbs on the SR395 regional road to Forca di Cerro, asphalted and open to traffic; from there you go down again on the SR395 to Piedipaterno, or by a steep municipal road to Tassinare, where you rejoin the railway

Practical information

The route is open and free; if you do not bring your own bicycle, you hire one in Spoleto or in Sant'Anatolia di Narco.

Duration two and a half or three hours, with stops, from Spoleto to the Caprareccia and back; an hour and a half from Sant'Anatolia di Narco to Piedipaterno and back; a day for those who go as far as Piedipaterno by way of the spirals of Tassinare and San Martino, with the two links for experienced cyclists only

Price the route free, bike hire extra

When to go May to September, setting off in the morning

Suitable for families with children who already ride on their own, on the Spoleto and Sant'Anatolia stretches, and those with an e-bike, which helps on the climbs. The climb from Spoleto is long but gentle. The links between Forca di Cerro and Tassinare and between San Martino and Sant'Anatolia di Narco have steep gradients and a loose surface, and the operator describes them as for experienced cyclists only; those on the SR395 are roads with cars. The right bicycles are the mountain bike, the e-mtb and the gravel bike; not a city bike

Booking not needed for the route; bike hire is booked by phone or by email

Contacts

umbriamobilita.it

info@umbriamobilita.it

075 92803

Where it is

Spoleto e la Valnerina · Umbria

42.745204, 12.745292

You set off from

Norcia

41.4 km

51minutes

Notes

The open stretches, from the map of 30 July 2026: Umbria Mobilità publishes the map of which stretches can be ridden, and Bike in Umbria, the Region's portal, divides it into seven stretches updated on 3 and 4 August 2026, with GPX tracks to download. Open on the railway: Spoleto-Caprareccia station, 7 kilometres almost all unpaved, uphill; Tassinare-San Martino, 6.7 unpaved kilometres downhill towards the valley, with a diversion near Vallegiana; Sant'Anatolia di Narco station-Piedipaterno, 4.8 unpaved kilometres, with the roadworks. The links: Caprareccia-Forca di Cerro, 3 kilometres on the SR395 regional road, for everyone; Forca di Cerro-Piedipaterno, 8.6 kilometres downhill on the SR395, for everyone but with traffic; Forca di Cerro-Tassinare, 3.3 kilometres on a municipal road, for experienced riders only; San Martino-Sant'Anatolia station, 1.4 kilometres on municipal and country roads around the San Martino tunnel, for experienced riders only, following the track and the waymarks
What stays closed: the stretches on the railway between the Caprareccia and Tassinare, that is the summit tunnel, and between San Martino and Sant'Anatolia di Narco are marked in red, "closed and not accessible". Some people say they found the Caprareccia gate open: for the operator it is closed, and you do not go in. The operator warns that conditions may change and asks you to check the Umbria Mobilità updates before setting off. The roadworks: between Castel San Felice and the turn-off for Vallo di Nera there are the ANAS building site and its vehicles, and the passage is regulated by signs and by staff
The stretch from Spoleto, the most suitable for families: you climb on the railway among the woods, with gentle gradients, and the operator warns you to go slowly in the narrow passages. According to Wikipedia there are the two short Cortaccione tunnels, the Cortaccione viaduct, 120 metres long, the Santo Stefano viaduct and, before the station, the giretto della Caprareccia, the spiral loop that leads to the Caprareccia viaduct, 146 metres long.
The spirals between Tassinare and San Martino: coming out of the summit tunnel the train went down towards the Nera with hairpins and two helical loops, according to Wikipedia, which on the Umbria Mobilità map can be seen as two rings above Sant'Anatolia. The tunnels on this stretch are those of Tassinare, 326 metres, of Grotti, two of them, and of Vallegiana, the longest, 454 metres. It is the most beautiful stretch of the railway, and it is also the one that can only be reached by the two difficult links
The tunnels and the lights: none of the open tunnels is lit. You need a proper headlight on the bicycle or on the helmet, not a position light, and a red light at the back; inside it is cool even in August, and an extra layer in the rucksack weighs nothing
Beyond Piedipaterno, towards Norcia: the 2026 map stops at Piedipaterno. Wikipedia describes as passable, while waiting for the Region's works after the 2016 earthquake, also the stretch between the Lastre tunnels and Triponzo, largely on a road with cars, and the last kilometres to Norcia, with the tunnels of the Biselli gorges; with the shock of 30 October 2016 the Norcia station and a portal of a tunnel after Triponzo collapsed. Riding the railway by bicycle all the way to Norcia, today, is something no official source describes
The season: the operator does not give one. In summer the climb from Spoleto is in the woods, but the stretch on the SR395 is in the sun, and it is best to set off in the morning; after thunderstorms the unpaved stretches and the steep links become more difficult. On a day at the end of May or the beginning of June the SpoletoNorcia in MTB ride runs on the railway, with thousands of bicycles: it is on the Norcia page, among the events
Bike hire: in Spoleto there is the Bike Terminal "Casa Coricelli" of the SpoletoNorcia in MTB, the company that organises the ride, with mountain bikes, e-mtbs and city bikes, on 392 934 4767. Its page, read on 16 October 2026, says "closed Monday to Friday" and gives summer hours from 9:00 to 13:00 and from 15:00 to 19:00; it does not publish prices. Those arriving in Spoleto on a Trenitalia regional train get a 15 per cent discount, and the bicycle is brought to them at the station, by writing to bikerental@laspoletonorciainmtb.it: the offer is valid until 31 December 2026. In Sant'Anatolia di Narco there is the Ciclostazione Valnerina of the Zafferano e Dintorni agriturismo, with mountain bikes, e-bikes also for teenagers, child seats, e-bike charging and bicycle transport, on 347 269 2456; the price list it publishes is from 2020. Neither of the two offers in writing a shuttle back to the motorhome with a 2026 price
Getting back to the motorhome: without a shuttle, the safe way is there and back on the same stretch. Those who ride from Spoleto down to Piedipaterno then have 400 metres of climbing on the regional road to get back to Forca di Cerro
In Spoleto, in the old station of the line, there is the railway museum, with photographs, lamps, the piattina, the trolley for inspecting the tracks, and seats from the carriages; the opening hours cannot be found in writing

the old Spoleto station of the Spoleto-Norcia railway, where the museum of the line is today

the corridor of the railway museum in the Spoleto station, with tracks painted on the floor

the piattina, the trolley for inspecting the tracks of the Spoleto-Norcia, at the railway museum in Spoleto

the unpaved cycle path on the old railway passing under a flyover, next to the road

the old station of Sant'Anatolia di Narco, with the cycle path running past in front of it

the facade of the Sant'Anatolia di Narco-Scheggino station, with the name written above the doors

the station house of Castel San Felice, with the houses of the village high up among the trees

the village of Castel San Felice on the side of the Valnerina, above the route of the railway

the stone bridge over the Nera at Castel San Felice

the clear water of the Nera at Castel San Felice, at the bottom of the valley

Sant'Anatolia di Narco from above, with the Nera valley and the fields around

Vallo di Nera from above, the village enclosed in the bend of the road above the valley

the castle of Vallo di Nera at the blue hour, with the streets of the village lit up

the Nera at Piedipaterno, where the open stretch of the cycle path at the bottom of the valley ends

the Nera at Borgo Cerreto, where the Vigi flows in, beyond Piedipaterno towards Norcia

inside a tunnel of the railway at the Biselli gorges, towards Norcia, with the light of the exit at the end

the mouth of a railway tunnel covered in ivy at the Biselli gorges, towards Norcia

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