from Vernio to Vaiano

km: 21
Difference in altitude +/-: +1000 m/ - 1100 m
Time: 7 h

With the fifth stage you will leave behind the woods and fir forests, continuing your journey along the Calvana ridge, rugged and rocky, which once hosted the bed of the ancient Bisenzio. We begin our journey from the Circolo Arci Stella Rossa, from here we head towards Piazza San Lorenzo and then along Via della Pioggia Alta and Via delle Soda. After the crossroads for the Corboli company, we reach another, from which we will take the CAI 60 path up to the Cotone farmhouse and, after passing this, up to the locality of Le Soda (here the ancient roads for Felsina and Kainua, i.e. Bologna and Marzabotto, crossed). At this point we take path 20 up to Dogana and, from the dirt ridge, we reach Montecuccoli. You must always continue on the CAI 20 path until the intersection with a dirt road that leads to the Santo Stefano area (a place of sheep farming). Here we officially enter the territory of Calvana.
Calvana is a unique, wild place, capable of exciting with its rough beauty. It is the land where wild horses live and is a true karst treasure, where we find a unique geological history for the area and which has been shaped over the ages, revealing today also caves, sinkholes and springs.

We continue the journey passing Poggio Montecuccoli, Poggio Brioli and Masso di Costa, thus entering an area that has small reforestations of pine trees. Once we reach Monte Il Prataccio we continue walking in the same direction on path 46a, towards Vaiano. Once past the Fosso and the Fonte del Favo the path descends from the Passo della Croce among shrubs and brooms, reaching the village of Sofignano.
interesting facts: Sofignano together with other settlements in this area on the slopes of Calvana finds its origins in the Etruscan and Roman era. In the territory the centuries have left traces of production and industriousness: from the sharecropping settings of the settlements to the buildings used as furnaces.

The CAI 46 ends, but it will be enough to continue along via di Sofignano to reach the village of Le Fornaci, where lime was once produced. At this point we take via di Larciano, a gravel road that then becomes a hilly road that winds between dry stone walls, vineyards and hedges. Once we reach the crossroads with via di Moschigiano, turn in that direction to reach the village of Vaiano, where you can admire the ancient Badia di San Salvatore and the museum dedicated to wool processing.
Curiosity:
The Badia di San Salvatore was built by the Benedictine monks of Cassino between the 9th and 10th centuries and over the centuries it has undergone a series of restorations that have preserved and influenced both the exterior and interior of the building. The external façade is made with alternating blocks of alberese and green serpentine, the archivolt is adorned with a painting by Leonetto Tintori and we also find the majestic 13th century bell tower, which rises for a good 40 meters. The interior maintains traces of the Benedictine system and we find a cloister that is a true Renaissance jewel, added to the complex in the 15th century.

VARIANT: At the level of Mount Il Prataccio it is possible to continue the walk entirely on the ridge, reaching the plateau of Aia Padre until you descend to the Passo della Croce, where you will find path 46 that descends towards Sofignano and Le Fornaci.