Spoleto, damage from 2016 earthquake

[Pauline]

The earthquake that hit central Italy in August 2016 had an effect on Spoleto, even though the center of the quake was in Accumoli and Amatrice, over 70kms east.

The famous medieval bridge the Ponte delle Torri is closed. This bridge leads to the main hiking trails up to Monteluco (trail 1). You can still do this trail, but you have to walk a few extra kilometers and do a climb.

There are two ways to get to the other side of the Ponte delle Torri.

• On the north side of town, go over the Ponzianina Bridge, away from the historic center, right on Via del Tiro a Segno, under the highway, then right to trail 3. Climb up the hill until you reach a T-junction. Right takes you to the Ponte delle Torri and trail 1. Left takes you on trail 3.
• On the south side of town, walk to the road to Monteluco (the church San Pietro is at the start of this road). Follow the road to the first switchback. At that point, go straight, leaving the road, and you come to the Ponte delle Torri.

The Spoleto - Noricia railway line walking trail (Ex Ferrovia) is closed. This railway line had been turned into a walking trail. It is now closed because of damage to the tunnels and bridges.

Ponte delle Torri is closed. You cannot walk across it to get to the mountain hiking trails.

There is construction in the Piazza del Mercato to replace water, sewer lines, etc. I don't think this has anything to do with the earthquake. You can walk around it easily and it is not that noisy.

 

[Matt D]

I'm really surprised to hear about the Ponte delle Torri. We have friends in Spoleto who told us there was no damage when we contacted them after the quake. Hope all gets fixed soon. San Pietro is well worth a look anyway, but you have to cross the busy highway to get to it. Almost no one goes there, but the low reliefs on the facade are very reminiscent of the Orvieto Duomo - very impressive.

 

[Pauline]

We walked the "detours" to get to the other side of Ponte delle Torri and walking up the north side takes over an hour, but going via San Pietro on the south side is only 30 minutes. You do have to cross the highway as Matt said, but it was easy to cross.

We could not see any damage on Ponte delle Torri and Rebecca told us that people jump the barrier and cross on it anyway. We didn't see anyone doing that. Someone else told us it is closed and awaiting inspection for damage.

The road from Norcia to Castelluccio and the Piano Grande is closed. @Jim Zurer said there was a lot of damage in Norcia.