FOUNTAIN OF THE DRAGON

The excursion starts from Pieve de’ Saddi; place of the cult of St. Crescenziano, first evangelizer in the Upper Tiber Valley and through the beautiful Carpina Valley. The Church was erected where San Crescenziano’s legendary martyrdom took place, it was documented in the 11th century. The Church, that preserves the saint’s relics, is located at about 10 km from Pietralunga, it can be reached from the main road 201, near the stadium, where you take the county road SP 106 to Città di Castello, at the crossroads turn left and then take the small road on the right following the signs for Pieve de’ Saddi. After about 4 Km you cross a bridge over the river Carpina and turn right. You continue straight on for about 6 km heading for the imposing solitary Pieve de’ Saddi on your right. After leaving the Church behind you, you cross the main road and take the route 111, you continue for 600 metres until you reach a fork; here turn right, until reaching a second fork where you continue to keep right. A Turkey oak appears before an uncultivated field, lower down you will notice the glittering dome of the Observatory of Coloti. The path continues along another field with a big oak tree in the centre, that you will pass while keeping the right side at the edge of the forest, which you will cross at the point marked with the white-red sign. You then go down a ravine to the ditch of Casaprete placed underneath. You keep walking alongside the stream, wade through it and continue along a small rocky gorge. You l then climb up through a mixed wood with hornbeams and manna-ashes and go on trekking along a section of trail where the marlstones emerges. Once out of the wood you see a sequence of small mountains crossed by many streams at their foot. Then you run along the right side of the next field until you reach a track rising straight up. You then come to the long ruin of Caimoroni (599m), from where in the background it is possible to see the outline of Rocca d’Aries, framed by mountains, among which Monte Acuto stands out. On a nearby hillock the imposing ruins of Casa Savignano can be seen.
The trail passes near the great run down almond tree at the edge of the Caimoroni building and continues along a farm road. Once at the fork ignore the way uphill and continue on the left; along the way you meet a fountain, go past it and follow the straight path that avoids the house and leads to a large crossroads. Here you leave the trail 111 that continues to Montone, you can in the background, and you take the 14 to the left, in the direction of Coloti. Behind high conifers Pieve de’ Saddi can be seen again. At the next fork follow the road uphill as indicated by the signs, and then get close to the fence preceding the ruins of the Casa Spirineo.
Only a bit lower down there is the Borgo di Coloti (Coloti hamlet) that can be visited with a deviation of 250 m. With the hamlet at your back, take the path, lined by pine trees, that opens in front of you.
After about 200m you turn right, the way back is on the left. The marlstone path runs in the shade of a mixed forest; it follows a trickle for a few metres and then you cross it; the trail continues less marked, you ignore a road that rises to the left and continue straight on and come to a fork: here you take the road uphill signposted as trail 111C. You cross another small ditch, a bit lower down all ditches converge on the roaring Rio Sansa, a tributary of the river Carpina. At the next fork , take the road to the right that descends slightly, in the short stretches where the ancient road is no longer readable, continue alongside the forest until you reach and cross the main stream. At this point you leave a chopped marlstone hillock on the right, it is advisable to keep left at the edge of a ravine where you can discover a simple artifact containing San Crescenziano spring water emerging from underground, with a peculiar sulphurous smell, in the centre of the confluence of three streams. According to the legend, the cave of the dragon killed by the Saint was located here. You leave the source on the left and going up along the trail you enter a forest of oaks and reach a clearing: the country road is now easier to go and you continue on it until you arrive at the back of the cottage that is located right in front of the Church.