Via Romea: Santa Sofia - Bagno di Romagna

This stage in the Apennines to Bagno di Romagna can safely be described as a mountain stage, which will show us where our limits lie. In total we will ascend more than 700 meters in altitude, reaching over 800 meters above sea level. The climb begins shortly after Santa Sofia, but the first good 600 meters of elevation are spread over about 10 kilometers, so we have a gentle slope ahead of us, where one can still hike briskly. In the last part of the stage, there is another climb that brings us to a summit, from where you have a beautiful view of San Pietro in Bagno and later also of the stage destination Bagno Di Romagna.
Tomorrow we will have the choice between two alternatives to Poggio D'Acona; the main route via Corezzo and Bibbiena is easier to walk, but the alternative route for mountain-capable pilgrims via La Verna to Poggio offers, after the Passo Serra, an impressive mountain hike over the Apennine ridges and, at the stage destination, the two pilgrimage churches Santuario della Verna and Sanctuario francescano della Verna.

Note(s)
The "Via Romea" carries various names, for example also "Via Romea Stadensis" or "Via Romea Germanica." This pilgrim path leads from northern Germany southwards over the Alpine pass "Brenner" to Rome. The path goes back to Abbot Albert of Stade, who in 1236 set out for Rome to obtain permission from Pope Gregory IX for stricter church discipline.

See also
More about this Italian/German project at www.viaromeadistade.eu/ (Italy) and at www.viaromea.de (Germany).