Castle to Castle
CASTLE TO CASTLE
This is an incredible ride through Lazio and Tuscany not to be missed.It is a travel on horseback from the Santa Cristina Castle estate to the fortress of Proceno, in much the same way as the dukes travelled hundreds of years ago.
From Santa Cristina, we ride towards the medieval town of Onano. The 16th–century church of ‘Madonna delle Grazie’ is half way and from there we have a charming view of the village walls. We then carry on north towards the magical landscape between Lazio and Tuscany. As we cross the Montorio game reserve, we may be lucky enough to see wild pheasants, fallow deers and wild pigs. Before crossing into tuscan territory we wade a ford in the Stridolone river, before carrying up onto a hilltop which looks over the fortress of Proceno itself.
Proceno is a village dominated by its fortress ,dating back to the medieval times around year 1000.
After lunching on delicious Italian cuisine, we cross the river again and climb up onto a plateau, through thick vegetation, using an old farmers’ trail. As we head home, we ride past vineyards, fields and finally a former nuns’ convent of the 18th century, with a sad past. Finally, we return to the castle from the northeast after 40 km of beautiful riding.
