From here it descended to “Val di Caselle” and continued to the church of Saints Quirico and Giuditta di Caselle.

This church had a special dignity, in fact it was the only one among the 34 -who were part of the Piviere di Apecchio– that did not depend on the archpriest of the parish and made account of its administration directly to the bishop of Città di Castello.

We are in the territory of the ancient Casilates tribe; in this area have come to light both Umbrian and Roman archaeological finds of considerable importance. From there we proceeded to “Salceto” and “Fonte Somma”: this was a copious source that flowing fresh clear and abundant water allowed shrimp and fish breeding. Shortly after it, we made the way to the “Guardate“, the name perhaps calls a guard post; then we arrived at the pass in the locality of “Chi Luzzi”: here we observe findings of very rich Roman tombs, which occurred around 1920, containing ceramic and bronze vases.

On the opposite side, on the top of a hill was the “Vergonzana” castle; from a research done by Paolo Rinolfi, it turns out to be called Urgonzana, that is, Terra di Ugone. Such Ugone, noble Franco, perhaps one of the Comites, comrades ofCharlemagne, left a nobility so important to that place that Ottaviano Ubaldini, in 1400, used to sign “Count of Mercatello,Apecchio, La Carda and Vergonzana“; with all the places he owned, mentioning Vergonzana gave him a special dignity that we cannot know today.

Between the two structures just described it is still visible a ruin that could be the Scrofea Ospedale. The “ospedali” (plural ofospedale, meaning hospitals) of the time were considered places of hospitality for the night; the travelers stopped to sleep in safety, they let the horses rest and if necessary, they could buy supplies to continue their journey. Specifically, the name “Scrofea” suggests that it was a pig farm, so the pilgrim could buy sausages or the pig alive to take during the trip. These structures were located outside the built-up areas because, when epidemics broke out, the sick people would gather there to contain the disease. In this regard, the “Madonna della Vita of Apecchio” Hospital, located where the “Madonnadella Vita” Sanctuary stands, has been well documented since 1200 and it was also outside the castle walls.