Ponteprimario – Pucara – Novella – Gete – Polvica – Paterno Sant’Arcangelo -Paterno Sant’Elia
Durata : 11,2 km
Travel time: 6h30 ‘
Route – Very easy but long route.
Logistics – Departure and arrival coincide. Parking is possible along the road from Maiori to the Chiunzi pass, in correspondence with Ponte-primary. SITA bus stop in Ponteprimario.
Services and Refreshments – bars in almost all the hamlets crossed. Restaurants in the hamlet of Polvica (halfway along the entire route), a good lunch stop on a day trip
Notes – The rock chapel of San Michele Arcangelo is accessible all year round.
The departure and arrival point is the hamlet of Ponteprimario, a few kilometers from Maiori in the direction of the Chiunzi pass. ‘From the bridge that connects the hamlet to the road, go up the latter for about 500 meters; after a back turn to the left, take the steps on the right that cross the building in the Santa Croce area “After the last houses, after about 300 meters, at the first crossroads, turn right, following the uphill road up to the monastic complex of Santi Teresa and Giuliano. Leaving the church to the right, follow the road downhill and then immediately turn right. After passing the gate of the church of Sant’Erasmo, turn right and continue straight ahead without turning and enter the open countryside. Via turns into a dirt road and crosses a valley to reach the church of San Bartolomeo in the hamlet of Novella.Proceed for another 200 meters following the road and, when you reach the first bend, turn right into the pedestrian slope. In some places, the road turns into a path created between cultivated terraces. The next stop is the Pendolo block, which you cross until you reach church of San Michele Arcangelo. Shortly before this, it is worth making a detour by taking the stairs to the right which, in less than five minutes, lead to the Grotta dell’Angelo (rock chapel of San Michele Arcangelo). The structure dates back to the period between the 8th and 12th centuries or, according to others, even from the 5th century. Back on the road, continue leaving the church dedicated to San Michele on the right and, after 300 meters, turn right into a side street that leads to a square. At the bottom there is a staircase that leads to the road that comes from the Chiunzi pass. Follow the road downhill through a block of flats, follow a curve to the right then a hairpin bend to the left. A few tens of meters and you are at the crossroads for the hamlet of Polvica. La dicessa crosses another building and, immediately after the bridge over the stream, which flows at the bottom of the valley, you take the stairs that go up on the left. You find yourself on a wide asphalted road, pass a fork (after 800 meters) keeping left until you reach a second crossroads after another 900 meters. Here you turn left, down, up to the Church of the Ascension.
At the next crossroads, go up to the left to reach a small parking area in front of the ruins of the church of the Madonna del Rosario. Go ahead, to the right, for a few tens of meters up to the crossroads where the path continues to the right again. Along the way, the houses thin out and you find yourself among cultivated terraces until you reach the stream at the bottom of the valley. Here there is a small rest area complete with a bench and a fountain. Go up a wooden staircase then continue along a path, which crosses a wooded area, up to the church of Sant’Elia. Take the asphalted road and, after about 450 meters, at a sharp bend to the left, take the small road that goes to the right. Continue on an ancient connecting road, without deviating from the main route, cross a ridge and re-enter a valley to get to the next ridge. Once you reach the highest part of Ponteprimario, the route has a solid ground again. Here you have to choose between two opportunities to reach the valley floor. Go down to the right, then always keeping to the left, or to the left between the houses of the hamlet. In both cases you pass in front of the church of the Madonna del Principio, going around it to the right. Cross a clearing and, after a short staircase, a bridge on the right leads to the state road.
