In the footsteps of St. Francis

This path, which has undergone a few modifications over the centuries, is linked in the collective imagination to the Franciscan world.

Starting from Piazza della Libertà in Stroncone and after a short uphill stretch of road, passing the ancient Oratory of San Rocco (today the Church of the Madonna del Colle), there is a dirt track immediately to the left that by walking 1 to 1 ½ hours leads to the mountainous area of 'I Prati', which is at an altitude of 1000 metres above sea level. 

The path was travelled by the poor man of Assisi in his wanderings through southern Umbria, as it provided a shorter and faster link between Speco di Narni and the Greccio convent. The ancient sheep-track was then used by the itinerant Franciscans of the 15th century and, among them, Saint Bernardino of Siena. In memory of the saint, Father Giovanni Grimani of the Franciscan family of Stroncone, who interpreted the feeling of popular devotion, placed plaques at points along the route linked to the saint's passage (the chair, the bed, the foot, the knee, the hand, the barrel of Saint Bernardino).

Along the path, about two kilometres away from the oratory of San Rocco, there is a small chapel dedicated to the Madonna known as Madonna del Tresto, who was named after the place. There, according to a local chronicle, the Virgin is said to have spoken to a shepherdess.
In 1738, the precious image was moved in a solemn procession to the oratory, where it is still venerated today.