Ellera: The walking route, races and Festa della Rificolona

Ellera can be explored through specific routes, sporting events and a recurring festival date. The walking route to the Santuario della Madonna del Sasso offers a clearly defined hiking destination. The Maratonina del Vitello d’Oro is an established running event in Ellera (Fiesole). Other sporting formats include the Vitello Trail and Vitello Hike, which can be distinguished by their respective characteristics. Together, these themes appeal to different travel interests: a dedicated hike, a competitive race or a non-competitive hiking format, or a stay planned around the festival calendar.

Walking route to the Santuario

The walking route leads from Ellera to the Santuario della Madonna del Sasso and runs through the ANPIL Poggio Ripaghera. It thus connects Ellera as a starting point with a clearly defined destination and a link to the protected area. If you want to focus your trip on hiking, you can make this route a highlight: the endpoint is a specific Santuario, not just a general nature destination. This gives the route a different travel focus from a running competition or a non-competitive hiking route, where the format and distance are the main distinguishing factors.

Running and hiking formats

The Maratonina del Vitello d’Oro held its 47th edition in Ellera (Fiesole) on 7 December 2025. Its route passed through Valle and Monteloro along a hilly, green course among vineyards and olive groves. The 47th edition places the race within a long-standing event tradition. The date and the character of the route answer different planning questions: the event date anchors the edition in time, while the landscape description characterizes the course.

The sixth edition of the Vitello Trail included a competitive trail run over 16.5 km with 800 m of positive elevation gain. The Vitello Trail was organized by Polisportiva Ellera. The Vitello Hike offered hikers non-competitive routes of 16.5 km or 10 km. The longer distance therefore appears in two different formats: as a competitive race with positive elevation gain and as a non-competitive hiking route. So distance alone is not the only factor to consider when comparing them; it is equally important to decide whether you are looking for a competition or a hike.

Festa della Rificolona and when to travel

The annual program of the Circolo Ricreativo e Culturale Renato Murri includes the Festa della Rificolona during the first ten days of September. This recurring annual period offers a guide for planning a trip around the festival. In terms of the calendar, this differs from the specifically dated 47th edition of the Maratonina: here, the relevant dates fall within a period in September, while the race has a specific event date. If you want to plan your trip around the Festa, check the date of the relevant edition.

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