Probably one of the stages richest in cultural crossings and historical, landscape and religious features. The third stage of the path climbs up from the small eastern hamlets - Croce, Alessia, San Liberatore, Molina, Dragonea and San Vincenzo - small historical clusters characterised by narrow alleys, ancient churches and still legible traces of the terraced agriculture that has shaped the landscape for centuries. These hamlets, already mentioned in medieval documents as transit points between the coast and the Cava plateau, still preserve the diminutive layout of the internal Amalfi Coast’s agricultural villages. The route then climbs towards the hills overlooking the Gulf of Salerno, crossing the Bonea Valley, an ancient natural corridor used since the Middle Ages as a connecting route between Amalfi, Vietri and Cava. Following this historical route, you reach the fortified hamlet of Corpo di Cava, where the famous Badia, the Benedictine Abbey of the Holy Trinity, founded in the 11th century and which became over the centuries one of the most influential monastic centres in southern Italy. The complex, still inhabited by monks today, houses millennia-old archives, Romanesque cloisters and artistic treasures that recount nearly a thousand years of religious and cultural history.
The route presents no particular difficulties, other than those related to crossing urban and out-of-town roads (SS18) and stretches on asphalt. It is advisable to wear comfortable shoes, dress in layers, and bring a hat and a few spare items of clothing (socks, t-shirt). There are public water fountains along the route, so it is useful to bring a water bottle of at least 1L. If you intend to walk several consecutive stages of the trail, check the availability of accommodation along the route. It is advisable to download the route tracks to your phone and install one of the main hiking apps (OSMand, Locus Map, Komoot, Strava) to follow the correct route.
Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli and Saint Thomas the Apostle in San Pietro a Siepi
Church of S. Maria del Quadriviale
Via Giovanni Sergio (courtyards, rural architecture, perimeter walls and historic vegetable gardens)
Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli ai Morselli
Archetto di Via Di Florio
Church of St Thomas the Apostle at the Galisi
Church of St Helena in Croce
Santi Quaranta – Lombard towers
Borgo di Santi Quaranta
Hamlet of Alessia
Ruined church and Saragnano viewpoint
Valle locality
Hermitage and Mount San Liberatore (deviation/alt.)
Church of Our Lady of the Snow (Molina)
Church of Saints Peter and Paul (Dragonea)
Church of San Vincenzo (Iaconti)
Santuario dell’Avvocatella
Bonea Caves
New Chapel
Roman Aqueduct
Fortified village of Corpo di Cava
Church of Santa Maria Maggiore del Corpo di Cava
