Monterotondo is the connection between the area of Sabina Romana and Rome. Today's leg entails a challenging route and you will need to leave early. Alternatively, you can find accommodation at one of the intermediate stop-over places: Montelibretti, Nerola, Acquaviva and Poggio Corese. Along the way, in the first part, you need to pay attention to the traffic on the roads. After the underpass, you will see the medieval ruins of the towering “Torre della Fiora”. The route takes you through the Macchia di Gattaceca. The area is protected because of the botanical value of its fragmented forest and the intense karstification that can be seen in the caves and ponors.
In Lazio, the St Francis' Way evokes and retraces, in several points, the ancient Roman consular roads that are still used today for traffic: the Via Veccha Nomentana road and the Salaria Vecchia road. The route alternates between uphill and downhill stretches as far as Montelibretti. After stopping in the village, you set off again towards Acquaviva, Nerola with its towering Orsini castle and Passo Corese. The last part is not steep but climbs gradually and constantly until you get to the end of the leg: Ponticelli.