Murato loop, nature and heritage

Coming from Bastia or Saint-Florent, take the D82 to Col de San Stefano, then take the D5.

Before the esplanade of the Church of San Michele, you will find a car park on the left-hand side of the road.

Yellow paint markings and orange barrier tape. Wooden signposts.

Follow the directions in this description, ignoring the signs for two other walks called De Pierres et d'Eau and Tour des Chapelles Romanes.

Due to the presence of animals on the route, please close the gates behind you.

(S/E) Follow Tintinaghjoli to the left until you reach the fountain, passing in front of the church.

(1) From the fountain, climb up opposite via A Stucaccia. Walk along the cemetery, then leave the road and take the path on the right. At the end of the path, you will come to a crossroads.

(2) Continue right on Chjassu di E Vergherete. At the highest point, leave E Vergherete on the left and take the path towards San Cesario until the first crossroads.

(3) Leave the road to San Cesario and follow the road to San Frusulu on the left. Continue along the track, passing a first gate a little further on. Continue to a plateau with a crossroads.

(4) Leave the track leading to a private property on your left. Continue uphill to the right along the main track, then look for a gate under a small oak grove further ahead. Continue to the nearby high point and go through another gate.

(5) After passing through the gate, you will reach the site of the chapel of San Frusulu on your right. Walk around the ruins. Then return to the track.

(5) Follow the track to the right, heading south. Go through the first gate and continue to a second gate with a cattle grid.

(6) After the cattle grid, continue past a remarkable haystack at the edge of the track. You will then come to the intersection with a larger track.

(7) Turn left towards Chjesa Nera. Before you see the Chjesa Nera chapel, cross a path that descends to the left.

(8) Stay on this path towards Murato. Reach the road.

(9) At the lowest point, leave the path via the D5 road on the right. Cross the Pont Neuf bridge and continue along Strada di Bigornu. Pass an old dry stone ice house, A Nivera. After A Nivera, continue along Strada di Bigornu. You will come to a fork with a path.

(10) Leave the D5 road and follow the path that descends to the left towards Murato. At the lowest point, cross the Genoese bridge over the Bevincu, then take the communal path on the left. At the end of this section of the communal path, you will reach the place called Croix aux Quatre Vents, on the edge of the D5.

(11) Continue straight ahead after passing through a gate to follow a new municipal path. At the next crossroads, cross the D5 carefully, then after a short climb, you will reach the junction with a new path.

(12) Turn right onto Chjassu di San Roccu, which leads to the chapel of the same name, a few steps away. At the end of the path, continue along Strada di San Ghjuvanni. Continue to the end of the street and the wash house.

(13) Then climb up to the left. Cross a square and continue along Strada di u Piccichettu on the left until the next intersection.

(14) Turn left onto Piccicheto. Then, at the exit, follow Chjassu di Campatile to rejoin the path from the outward journey at the highest point.

(2) Descend the trail in the opposite direction of the outward journey to reach the car park (S/E).

Shelter and drinking water are mainly located within the village of Murato.

Shops

Restaurants, mini-market, bakery, butcher's shop, local crafts selling flour, chestnuts and cold meats.

Pharmacy

• Before you leave or when you arrive, don't miss a visit to the Church of San Michele.
• Site of the San Frusulu chapel - ruins - information panel - and panoramic views of the Tenda massif, the Nebbiu plain, the Gulf of Saint Florent and Cap Corse.
• The terraces, dotted with numerous pagliaghji (haystacks), bear witness to the rich agricultural and pastoral past of the area.
• Alternative: at the point (8), a return trip of just 500 metres allows you to see the ruins of the Romanesque chapel of Chjesa Nera.
• The banks of the Bevincu River and its Genoese bridges.
• The recently renovated chapel of San Roccu.
• The church of Saint John the Evangelist with its triangular bell tower.
• At the end of Strada San Ghjovanni, on the left: a simple public wash house with a rinsing basin and a bread oven a little higher up in the square.
• Alternative route: at point 14, a return trip via Murato Soprano and then Corsu di a Liberta allows you to discover other monuments of local heritage: * the church of the Annunziata and the former convent next door. * "A Funtanona", aspring water fountain in a vaulted shelter with a building opposite that collects the water from the flow in a trough that passes into the rinsing basin and then into the wash house. * The Corsican mint, which began operating on 26 February 1763 under the auspices of Pascal Paoli.