Month: May 2016

31st May 2015  Sienna

Shorter version:
Lovely long breakfast in the garden (how I am going to miss this tomorrow…).  I walked to the cathedral for mass & saw one of the Contrade celebrating their saint’s day. An easy afternoon studying the route for the next few days which will be the most challenging of the Via in Italy… Wonderful experience in the Campo,this evening as the contrade which will participate in the next Palio on 2nd July are named!

Longer version:
After another lovely long breakfast in the garden of the hotel, I walked into the centro storico to go to mass at the Duomo at 11h00. On the way I saw a distinguished-looking man wearing a colored scarf with his linen jacket and he confirmed that this was the flag of his contrada (area of the city). In Sienna there are 17 contrade, each with its own church and patron saint. I asked whether he always wore it and he said No but today was the feast day of the patron saint of his contrada & also the Lord’s day. And then I heard drumming echoing through the streets and saw drum bands and supporters dressed in costume and waving flags, all going towards the same contrada church.

I walked on to the cathedral where I was admitted to the mass. The church looked splendid all ulit up and with many flowers (and no tourists allowed in during the mass!).

The service in this massive and so beautiful building, with the lights, the music and the choir was remarkable and allowed one time to reflect and think a little more deeply. At the end of the service the bells began to ring out joyfully. It was lovely walking through the city, a little calmer than yesterday. I spent some time this afternoon looking at the route for the days ahead as the next three days will be the most challenging of the whole Via in Italy – very long stages and ending up at an altitude of over 800m…so we will see.  It was so easy to tell mtimw that I would go to Rome but I know it will be a true case of day by day…one if the lessons I’ve learnt from the Via.
In the early evening we went in to the centro storico to see a very unique event – the selection of the contrade which would participate in the next Palio (the famous horse race in Sienna) on 2nd July. Of the 17 contrade only 10 can participate in one Palio. So each time there are the 7 who couldn’t participate in the preceding race and three more to be named (in today’s draw 4 had to be chosen as one was disqualified from participating).

So the flags of the 6 who would automatically participate were hanging from the lower windows of the Municipal Palace (while the flag of the disqualified contrade was hanging one level up for a future participation). The drawing was taking place in the municipal palace. We were comfortably installed on the terrace of a bar at the top of the Campo with a good view and our Aperol Spritz but then thousands of people started to arrive in time for the 7pm announcement.

The Campo was full to breaking point and all the little access streets and steps also, whole families out together wearing scarves etc of their contrada. At 7pm the trumpets played out of the lower windows and the flag of the first contrada selected was raised beside the other 6. Great cheering went up from the supporters. This was repeated 3 more times, with much excitement and noise everywhere. Then the flags of the unlucky contrade were placed out beside that of the disqualified contrade. Within 15-30 mins the Campo was almost empty again…I suppose the supporters were either celebrating or commiserating in home territory… It was a pleasure to be a witness to this important event for the people of Sienna. We went our merry way to a little restaurant where I ate local sausages with white beans. Then home to pack up for the big day tomorrow.

30th May 2015  In Sienna

Beautiful weather

Shorter version:
Lazy long breakfast in the beautiful garden of the hotel with views over the countryside. Then a walk through town, a stop in the Nannini cafe for coffee and cake, a walk through the town to visit the cathedral and the national pinocotecca. A drink in the Campo and then dinner in a lovely osteria. A good R&R day.

Longer version:
Long lazy breakfast in most un-pilgrim like place in a garden with incredible views over the countryside (which is so close to Central Sienna just outside one of the city gates) which was hard to leave…

We went into the centro storico and walked around, as ever marvelling at the architecture and the atmosphere of the city. Went into Nannini’s for a light meal before continuing walk through old Sienna. I left Ross & headed to the late 12th C Duomo which is a sublime building in white and dark green marble.

I bought an entry ticket with an audio guide and once again (was first here in 1973 and last here 18 months ago with several visits between) visited this magnificent edifice. Apart from the impressive marble facade in white and dark green (black?) striped marble, the interior is also in striped marble but the main attraction inside is the floor – with the inlaid marble designs depicting the sybils, scenes from the bible, etc, etc.

You would need to look on the Internet to have more information, but suffice it to say that it is a marvel…then there was the adjacent Piccolomini library with a magnificent ceiling and wall paintings and wonderful illuminated manuscripts.

Continue reading “Day 45 (2015) In Sienna”

29th May 2015  Abbadia a Isola to Sienna
19.8km
Beautiful weather

Shorter version:
After breakfast and a farewell ceremony at the hostel mtimw and I set off towards Sienna but via different routes for the first part of the way. All on dirt roads until outskirts of Sienna. Lovely stopping place on way. All going well & looking forward to a weekend of rest.

Longer version:
After breakfast provided in the hostel by our hospitaleros, we had a farewell ceremony to wish we pilgrims well outside the hostel, a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer plus another prayer for pilgrims. We took leave of our wonderful hosts, with hugs all round, and set off along flat dirt roads through fields of now ripening wheat.

I took leave of mtimw as they were going via Monteriggioni (a small completely-walled medieval 13th C town with 14 square towers in the walls which is now very touristy) and I was taking a short cut as I’d visited this unique little town before and didn’t wish to climb up to it.

I wished them Buon Cammino as I didn’t think I’d see them again. In fact I should have gone with them as the alternate route was through humid woods with tricky paths and mosquitoes AND it also climbed up to the same altitude as Monteriggioni…and at least I’d have found a bar there! Then on good dirt roads again, and not long afterwards, mtimw caught up with me and continued on past me (I said goodbye again!). There were also a group of British walkers who were walking for 6 days from Lucca to Sienna with their baggage being transported – they looked very bright and fresh! Onwards through fields and vineyards, up and down, through little hamlets (no bars!) but on good tracks.

Then I saw a sign for a resting place with water a little further on. When I arrived there who did I find but mtimw with 3 young Italians all drinking from a shared coffee mug and I was encouraged to stop which I did and have a sip of coffee as well as water.

It seems that, in addition to the water fountain, there was an Italian-style coffee pot and a water heater provided on a table under a shady tree with tree-trunk seats so one only had to bring one’s coffee ( they told me one could telephone for coffee but am not sure if they were joking or not as the young Italians, knowing the route, had their own coffee grains). Only thing missing for mtimw was the sugar! Anyhow a very pleasant interlude. Then off we set all aware that there was a division of the routes ahead where new signage took you on a very long alternative route to enter Sienna from the west instead of the north (to keep you off the road), and which we all wanted to avoid.

I don’t think I even saw the alternate route as we were through it before I realised it and then we were on the tarred road on the uphill road into the city. So once again I wished mtimw farewell as they were walking more quickly than me. It was 5.7 km on the road, quite busy and seemingly constantly up-hill although it can’t have been, and once again I caught up to mtimw and continued with them right into the magnificent Campo in the centre of the city.

I had asked a local (who looked up on his iPhone) where the street of my hotel was and it was right on the other side of the city, just outside the southern city gate. On the way in we passed the head-office of the oldest surviving bank in the world “Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena”, founded in 1472 and now Italy’s 3rd largest bank, which I had had the great fortune to be able to visit when staying in Sienna many years ago. So finally, after saying that I couldn’t join them for dinner, I took leave of mtimw for the last time as they will leave early in the morning to continue towards Rome (no rest days for them). On leaving Lucio said rather than asked “you are going to Rome, aren’t you?” to which I replied for the first time Yes!
It was a beautiful day, getting hotter, and I walked to my hotel where I awaited the arrival of my brother Ross who was coming to spend the weekend with me. A lovely day’s walk except for the long slug up into the city.
When my brother arrived we went into the Campo, hearing nearby church bells ringing 18h00, and had a drink looking at this magnificent fan-shaped sloping “square”, then dinner nearby where I had the very traditional wild boar & olive stew and roasted vegetables.
What a magical place Sienna is and there weren’t too many tourists there.
A good night’s sleep (after washing my clothes of course!).

28th May 2015  San Gimignano to Abbadia a Isola

20.9km
Fine weather all the way but getting quite hot in the middle of the day.

Shorter version:
Had a good breakfast with a view to die for from floor to ceiling! Walked up through San Gimignano before visitors arrived. Left the town in glorious weather and walked to Santa Lucia (no bar there), then on dirt roads through fields until Colle di Val d’Elsa, on to San Marziale on busy road, then on small dirt roads until Abbadia a Isola and into the hostel. Apart from a fall just before arriving (not serious), all going well. Wonderful reception at hostel (including a very moving welcome ceremony) & my aggressive fellow pilgrim becomes a friend.

Longer version:
I woke early to the sound of birds when, until last last night, it was only sounds of people in the streets. As I’d not had dinner in the restaurant I didn’t know it had a plate-glass back wall floor to ceiling with views over the whole valley (& this only a *** hotel!) so as well as having reasonable sustenance for my body I also had soul food as I ate. So beautiful.

I slipped up to the post office to try my Swiss post card in their bancomat (as it was rejected by a couple of bancomats which did not seem to recognise this type of card) but no luck there either. I hope it works in Sienna as it has worked before (& is supposed to work all over the world…). All the piazzas were full with a market being set up and perhaps this is a weekly happening as many local people were buying fresh food. Saw the streets without day-trippers.

I set off just as the first tourists from buses were entering the city and I saw many motor-homes with Dutch number plates going towards the town.

I was quickly out in the countryside with both fabulous views back to the town as well to the gorgeous green Tuscan countryside – undulating with olive groves, vineyards, woods, fields under cultivation, and valley after valley. No photo could do it justice. I walked to Santa Lucia along the road (no bar there…not looking good for a cappuch) and then got onto tracks which went steeply down-hill (& it’s well known that what goes down must go up…) through farms & olive groves. I passed a beautiful farmhouse (they were all very prosperous-looking) and there was a lovely fountain with a quote of Saint Francis of Assisi so I filled up my bottle (have to rehydrate for my cramp…) and then continued walking on little dirt roads.

I came out onto a little tarred road and met an older gentleman walking along the road and he spoke to me – he is 90 next birthday but I was a little sad for him as, apart from his family, there was apparently no possibility of social contact for him ( no bar). Then onto a track through undergrowth which was sodden and full of mosquitos…so as soon as I emerged from this I applied my repellent (bit like closing the gate after the horse has bolted…). Continuing on small roads and tracks until Castiglioni at the entry to Colle di Val d’Elsa where I finally found a bar for a coffee just before noon! I didn’t need to walk up-hill to visit the beautiful old town as I’d already been there some years ago so continued on through the modern lower town to the road going towards San Marziale. It was getting very hot and I still had a long way to go… When I arrived there I sat under some trees to eat the remains of last night’s dinner which were good! Then off again up-hill through vineyards and farms on dirt roads. I was really seeing the countryside. Eventually I was approaching Abbadia a Isola on the edge of the road when, on a curve, I stepped back to avoid an on-coming car going quite fast and was on the ground again. No way to get up without taking off my back pack but no damage done which some Arnica cream to my shin and some Arnica granules couldn’t fix – however I was happy to arrive at the hostel which is in what was a Cistercian abbey founded in 1001 (Sigeric called it New Town in his documents) on a hilltop in a swampy area (why it is called an island) which welcomed pilgrims from its foundation until the start of its decline in the 14th century.

The church is Romanesque from the 11th century and is a treasure in cream coloured stone very similar to that in Chianni. The monastery is now been restored and is taking in pilgrims again since 2012 (with volunteers from a “hospilalero” Confraternity of Santi Cirino e Giacomo) and I am fortunate in being here tonight where I’ll have dinner and breakfast provided for a donation.

When I arrived I had been preceded by the three Italian male walkers (forewith known as My Three Italian Make Walkers – mtimw). I was fortunate as Paola put me in a second room &, as another couple who were expected didn’t arrive, I had the room to myself. I went to visit the church which is beautiful and tranquil. In the village this evening there is a “happening” to raise money for charity where it seems, according to the girl in the local bar, well-knows chefs are coming to prepare dinner for €35 a head, with a couple of big marquees set up for waiter service. I’ll be eating in the ostello which I am sure will also be good. Have just been speaking to Paola and Luisa who are here for a week as “hospitaleros” and are members of the association of Saint Giacomo in Montagnana, one of the seven walled towns near Padua in the Veneto area which I visited some years ago, so we were able to chat about that beautiful region and exchange information, especially on the painter Giorgione whose work, in the cathedral there, was being restored when I was there in 1999. His work is also represented in several of these towns and it is known he really visited the region as the walls of Montagnana (completely intact) figure in the background of several of his works.

Later: At 19h00 we pilgrims (I and mtimw…) met with Paola and Luisa for a very moving ceremony in which we were seated while Luisa washed and then kissed one foot of each pilgrim in turn as a sign of welcome while Paola read to each of us a prayer of welcome and a wish for the force to complete the pilgrimage. We all were very touched by this gesture even mtimw. Then we had a delicious dinner in a very convivial atmosphere and I ended up becoming good friends with the most aggressive of the Italians, Lucio, who has previously walked from Canterbury to the Gt. St. Bernard Pass & is completing the walk this year from St Rhemy), plus his two friends Mariano and Ivano (who joined him in Lucca for the walk to Rome). They are all from near Bolzano in the Alto-Adige province which borders Switzerland and Austria. One of them explained to me that the problem in Altopascio was that Lucio was used to being the first to use the shower whereas I had slipped in before him and he thought I was wasting time… And a very warm and laughter-filled evening for all (until 21.30 and then off to bed) and a wonderful end to a good day.

 

The spirit of the pilgrimage at its best. I can start to identify more with Chaucer’s pilgrims (who walked towards Canterbury…like Sigeric). Perhaps I begin to understand more Alison Raju’s dedication in the guidebook “to all those who begin their journey as a walker and end it as a pilgrim”.

Dinner consisted of spaghetti with tuna in a light tomato sauce with fresh oregano added at the last moment (good!), a delicious zucchini tart, emince of pork, lettuce and tomato salad, fennel salad, fresh onion, cheese, bell peppers stuffed with tuna, and fruit to finish. All accompanied by red wine & good Tuscan bread. We had no reason to be envious of the people outside…
Sent from my iPad

27th May 2015  Gambassi Terme (Chianni church) to San Gimignano
15.66km
Overcast day all along with very menacing clouds as I arrived in San Gimignano and a little rain, cooler.

Shorter version:
Breakfast in the hostel and then, after a quick visit to the church, I set off for Gambassi Terme for a coffee and then walked (down) out of town and quickly onto dirt or small tarred roads for most of the stage. Overcast skies but still incredible views. Finally into San Gimignano in rain and into hotel. All well.

Longer version:
As the volunteers do not sleep in the hostel Chiara had shown me last night where the key to the main building was so I could get in for breakfast – it was in one of 3 cups lined up on a shelf in an outside area. Breakfast, which had been laid out last night, was some sweet things but in a big tin there were slices of bread – Good! I slipped into the beautiful church again before setting off up to Gambassi Terme.

And I popped my head in the church there as well (the maps and the guide book always take you a church destination) before crossing over towards a bar but a priest called to me to point the way onwards but I said “Bar first!” and he said “OK”!

I was very quickly onto dirt roads (sometimes on the remains of Roman roads) & was going up and down. Over the day (ignoring the initial slog up to Gambassi Terme) I walked up for 6.3km (up 230m with a max ascent slope of 15%) and down for 7.0km (333m with a max descent slope of 15%) so it was quite a strenuous day, although over a shorter distance than yesterday. All the time there were wonderful views. I came across three men planting a new vineyard and they were putting the metal vine supports in place. When I walk in the vineyards next to my home I am always amazed how the metal poles line up perfectly from whichever angle you look at them and here were men doing the same, one with the wooden measuring stick, one being an overseer, and the other on a digging machine. When I signalled to the one with the measure (while he was waiting for the digger to get off the mobile phone) that they had to be precisely measured he nodded and smiled ‘Yes’.

Onwards up and down past vineyards, farms (once with a very fat and contented pig waddling across the road in front of me), olive groves, woods, roads lined with cypress trees and some very nice homes with the whole countryside a symphony of shades of green.

The little Santo Pietro church was a landmark but it is now a private home. In the village of Pancole there was the Sanctuary on the site of where the Virgin Mary appeared to a deaf-mute girl and cured her so the Virgin is venerated as the Mother of Divine Providence – of flour, oil,wine, and all life’s basic essentials. I went in to see the church, built in 1670 but destroyed in 1944 by German bombing and rebuilt in 1949. And there I met my Wayfarer friend again and she offered me some fruit and water while she was waiting for her charges whom she said would not be walking all the way as they had several visits to various places lined up and then it was two nights in San Gimignano before being bussed to Sienna to see the sights and then leaving for home…

I started walking up to the highest point of the day at Collemuccioli (uphill!) and I came across two middle-aged men planting in their vegetable garden & I teased then that they were running late & one smiled and said “in May” but we were the 27th… They already had the zucchini and tomatoes growing well and were planting onions, aubergines, peppers, cucumbers, beans, herbs, etc. Just after the summit there was yet another beautiful little Romanesque church, Pieve di Santa Maria a Cellole, first documented in 1109, which is now a monastery on the edge of a hill which dominated the valley below. So many gorgeous vIews but no photos as under the overcast skies they couldn’t do the landscape justice. And of course there were still the dogs but fortunately no pedestrian crossings…
At times I could see what looked like San Gimignano but thought it was just too close…but in the end it was but I had to do some more km to arrive there.

I was just thinking, 4km to go so I’ll be there is less than an hour, when I had a reality check with a bad cramp in my right calf…one must really keep one’s feet on the ground and not get ahead of oneself! I stretched my leg and just had to keep going (no Romanians or Italians coming along after me…). Very threatening skies when nearing the town and I had stopped at a little grocery store but with the black sky and it starting to spit I decided not to wait to be served but to go on as it was still a km to get up into the city.

On entering the city the rain came down and I asked a woman where my street was (on the other side going out of the walled town) & she said she’d show me on her way home. The old medieval town which is very well preserved with beautiful Romanesque and Gothic architecture, including its famous towers built by feuding families, is quite unique and has always been a stopping points for pilgrims on their way to Rome and is on the Via Francigena. It was also prosperous because of the fertile land around it. So this explains why it is a tourist centre and today there were already many tourists visiting and it seemed to me there was nothing but tourist shops selling specialised produce or gifts, restaurants, bars and gelati shops which claim to make the best gelati in the world (but I have some doubts about that)… I asked my guide how locals felt about about the tourists and she replied so matter-of-factly “It’s our work… No tourists, no work” which showed a sensible but completely different point of view to what I thought she’d say.

Into my hotel about lunchtime and my room overlooking the street, I found out the restaurant was closed (it’s Wednesday!) so after showering I decided to go back to the grocery shop (no others inside the town walls) and get myself some anti-pasti for dinner in my room. So off I set back through the town, had a gelati, stopped for a tea and a little cake, to the grocery and bought a wonderful selection of anti-pasti and some Tuscan bread. The rain was clearing so I walked around the various piazze admiring the architecture and the genius of those old builders and soaked up the atmosphere.
I was a bit worried about the cramp & it perhaps hindering me and then remembered a walking friend who warned about cramps if you get dehydrated, so I was pretty sure that I hadn’t been drinking enough so from now on a new drinking regime!
I took the opportunity to look at the route ahead and think about next week which will be quite challenging with a climb over Radicofani above 800 metres.

In case you are interested my dinner consisted of artichokes, semi-dried tomatoes, tuna, olives, grilled aubergine and capsicum, rice salad, fried porcini mushrooms, bread and wine.
Good night’s sleep as the tourists leave at the end of the day when all the shops close and quiet descends on the town.

26th May 2015
From San Miniato Basso to Gambassi Terme
27.99km
Beautiful day to start with becoming overcast about lunch time & spitting early afternoon

Shorter version:
Started out earlier than usual & slogged up 110m in altitude over a distance of 2 km to San Miniato Alto then took to small roads and dirt roads along the ridges for 15km, all the time accompanied by extraordinary vistas on all sides. Arrived in hostel which is attached to a most beautiful 12-13th century ‘pieve’, small church

Longer version:
Shared a room with the same Italian couple as the previous night but this time I slept well and was awake early so was ready to go about 7h15 (could only pack up once they woke up) & I then went to the local grocery/bakery to get food as today there will do no stopping places on the paths.
The slug up to San Miniato Alto was quite something but it was interesting to see this historic town spread along the crest of the hill and the views from its squares were fabulous. Had an early cappuccino before setting off to walk. Today was both a very strenuous exercise and also the most beautiful stage so far, walking most of the time along ridges with views to both sides.

To get technical, my map tells me that over the distance of 24km (ignoring my initial walk up) I walked up hill for 13.6km (a total ascent of 619m with an ascent slope between 7 and 12%) and downhill for 9.7km (a total descent of 596m with a descent slope between 8 and 11.5%) but suffice it to say it was a strenuous walk… However the views of a real northern Tuscan landscape were superb – rolling hills, very green as it is still spring, but with many wooded areas as well as olive groves, vineyards, some cultivation, and of course cypress trees everywhere.

The wild flowers were a dream in all colours. I saw some little dark red flowers I’d not seen before and they made carpets in the olive groves and in vineyards and at one point I saw a hillside which I thought brown but it was covered in swathes of these little flowers.

I thought that this flower would be today’s star until I saw some wild sweet pea flowers in a purple and red combination. I kept taking photos but they don’t represent the reality – as they say you have to have been there…

So, after leaving San Miniato Alto and walking along tarred roads (at one point there was a short stretch of subsided road with permanent traffic lights for one way traffic) for about 5km,

it was then for most of the time along the vie sterrate which are “dirt” roads except that they have much stone in them as well as many loose rocks, gravel and stones, so it is easy to slip if one is not attentative (& this evening the Italian man has a sprained ankle because he slipped…back home to Milan for them tomorrow). I kept looking at my sports watch to count off the km… My Italians (my Romanians of yesterday) were often in front of me but sometimes we caught up. Along the way I saw two First Aid boxes on stands, for the use of pilgrims, which contained basic medicines, syringes, a pen, phone numbers for help, etc. as well as commemorative plaques for the 500th anniversary, in 2006, of the founding of the Swiss Guards at the Vatican.

After 6km of these stone roads I walked along the remains of a Roman road into Coiano where I saw an Italian woman with a van and a T shirt with the logo “The Wayfarers”. We spoke and she was waiting for a group of tourists who were also walking but without packs and with every facility laid on – gourmet picnic, water stops, an olive-tasting in a fattoria in Coiano, etc. I saw her again a couple of hours later much further on and she said they’d be having a late lunch at 14h30 as they’d only just left the olive tasting place (where she said they tasted the olive oils but didn’t use the bread…). I asked her if they were staying in a hostel and she said no that this was an expensive trip and that they’d be in very good hotels but she did tell me to look out for the little pieve (church) at the entrance to Gambassi Terme and this is exactly where I’m staying tonight so perhaps luxury hotels don’t always have the privileges…

I kept stopping to look at the views, drink, take photos. After Coiano there were more narrow and grassy tracks through woods and then I saw that some of the paths had been widened by the grass each side being cut and I finally came across the man who was doing it.

It seemed he belonged to an association which was trying to improve the tourist possibilities of under-developed areas. It told me it would be another 2 & a half hours to Gambassi Terme so I thought I should have my delicious sandwich of fresh marinated anchovies with buffalo mozzarella which the woman at the grocery store said would make them taste less salty and she was right. I encountered a new pilgrim, a Frenchman who said he’d heard of me from another pilgrim…no secrets on the Via, but he is staying further on tonight. Then it became more overcast and started to spit rain (the Frenchman said we were only 5 minutes away from finer weather but am not sure how one could make up the 5 minutes) so I covered up my rucksack.

I walked the rest of the way in spitting rain and finally arrived at the little pieve and admired it from the outside (but door locked) & started walking the last km to Gambassi Terme when I suddenly realised the hostel name at the church was where I was staying for the night… Found some lovely volunteers running the restored buildings linked to the church and I splurged and asked for a single room (at the great cost of €4 extra) instead of a dormitory… Also for a small cost dinner and breakfast were provided. Before dinner I went into the Romanesque church from the hostel and it is simply stunning. Look up the beautiful Santa Maria Assunta church at Chianni (near Gambessi Terme) all in yellow stone (like the Cotswolds) on the Internet to see some photos. Chiara, the young woman at the desk, said people come from all over to get married here…

Then my new friend from The Wayfarers turned up with her group to visit the church…
I was sorry to hear that my Italian companions (& sometimes “Romanians”…) would be leaving to return home tomorrow because of his sprained ankle as they’d come for just the week and had only done 3 days… We had an adequate meal in the hostel and then it was off to bed. The weather has turned cooler and everyone had added a layer of clothes this evening. My room was quite cold so I was glad of an extra blanket.

25th May 2015   Altopascio to San Miniato Basso (should really have gone to the older part of the city up in San Miniato Alto but didn’t know it also had a hostel)
25km
Beautiful day, quite hot

Shorter version:
Up & away early (for me) and went to local bar for a tea then set off, walked well along main road then onto tracks for several km into Galleno, Ponte A Cappiano, then through fields to Fucecchio and then into SanMiniato Basso. All well.

Longer version:
Slept very very badly (am not used to sharing with so many pilgrims…) and was the last to leave the hostel then went to the local bar for a tea to eat with my bread (was robbed at €2 for a tea…without a receipt) and then set off before 8h00, hopefully before it was too hot. Straight out on the main road walking past a little abandoned San Rocco church and on for 5km (there was mostly a foot-path) until I veered onto a dirt and then an old Roman road into Galleno where I stopped for a cappuch in a Circolo bar (this was the bar of a sport association so is cheaper) and the girl wished to stamp my credenziale which I accepted.

Then I saw ahead of me the Italian couple with whom I had shared a room in the hostel so they became today’s “Romanians” (but ahead of me this time) as we walked over 5km of paths which were not difficult but slippery because of previous rain. I kept them in sight all the way. When we came out onto a tarred road I decided to stop paying the premiums of my insurance policy and slowed down a little…and thought of the expression ” chi va piano va sano” and was very attentive to the path. Then over tarred roads and paths until I arrived in Ponte A Cappiano which is a charming little village (where I bought a great sandwich and a carrot in the little “alimentari”) and sat next to a fountain to eat my carrot before deciding which route option to take. The village has an interesting bridge (built and destroyed many times in battles) which is half open and then covered (with people living on it) and which is one lane wide, for local traffic passing via traffic lights, and only meant for small vehicles as the access is very narrow.

The map option went straight down a road to Fucecchio (2.7 km against on-coming traffic and which path would ignore the old town) whereas the guide book and the waysigns indicated turning to walk along a canal and through fields (to get one off the road) which would be 5 km to arrive in the heart of the old town so I chose the latter but was really tired of walking through quite high grass when I finally got into the limits of the little town. I stopped in a modern wine-bar place (which had comfortable chairs outside in the shade) and had a tea and ate my sandwich. I saw flags flying everywhere and learnt that there had been a Palio (a horse race like in Sienna where each area of the town has a candidate but where all forms of cheating seem to be accepted…) the previous day.

I walked up through the narrow medieval streets to the old town which dominated the rest of had town. Very pretty place but this was where pilgrim Charles had advised me to avoid the hostel…

Then I walked down to the modern area and walked out of town and crossed the Arno River which runs through Florence.

No photo of the Arno which was a very dirty river…

It seems that Fucecchio was formerly a river port as the Arno was navigable as far as Pisa in the middle-ages. From here I had to walk along the road for a few km until I arrived at the small hostel in San Miniato Basso.

MThe Italian couple (who had been my “Romanians” earlier on) arrived to share the one-room hostel, which was attached to a medical day clinic and a day centre for old people. While I went to the local bar after a shower to get internet access they walked up the main road to visit San Miniato Alto and said the traffic was horrendous as they didn’t know there was another path up which we would take in the morning – there really is an advantage in having some idea of where one is going as they have come to walk for a week (Lucca to Sienna) without any guide or maps and just intend following the waysigns…

When I returned to the hostel the man who has been instrumental in setting it up and who has walked the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome, and who leads groups for partial Via walks, came with certificates for each of us saying we had passed through there. He also told me that there is a mass at St Peters with the Pope each Wednesday for pilgrims (so a thought if ever I were to go that far…). I had a nice fish meal in a local cafe and then an early night hoping I’d sleep better than the previous night.

24th May 2015  Lucca to Altopascio
16.36km (the book & map agreed on 16.4/16.5 Hooray!)
Beautiful brilliant morning but slowly clouding over & now starting to rain at 14h00 as predicted)

Shorter version:
Left Lucca about 8h45 and out through a city gate and walked to Capannori for a cappuch stop, then on to Porcari (where I saw a strange event but you’ll have to read longer version for details), on via small roads & tracks to Badia di Pozzeveri and on into Altopascio (walking under both a railway line and the autostrada at the very entry to the old city!). All going well.

Longer version:
After a good breakfast, I set out through the almost deserted streets of Lucca but saw several walkers and runners doing the circuit of the town atop the in-tact walls. This really is a beautiful and perfect little city, especially on a Sunday morning with very few people around. Outside the walls I set off on a provincial road called Via Romana so at one time this might have been a main road towards Rome. It was lovely to walk on such a brilliant morning in a mainly residential area of houses and gardens. Roses, roses, everywhere as well as other flowers & shrubs (gorgeous rhododendrons and azaleas).

Along the way I saw interesting decorative earthenware tile work on the sides of houses and other buildings which resembled what had been in the walls of old farm buildings to let the air through. Most attractive.

 

I turned off onto a smaller road until Capannori where I decided to stop for my coffee. Just before getting to the bar an older woman walking along the street stopped me & when I asked her how she was she explained that she’d had a severed tendon but was too old for an operation (she’s 85) but she just hoped il Signore would look after her – I encouraged her to keep walking as she was. Went onto a nice bar & ordered a coffee when little Anna, all dressed in white for her First Communion, & her family came into the bar to say Hello on their way to the church 100m further on.

Sat outside and a couple of women sat down at my table and questioned me about what I was doing etc & they will now have a subject for conversation around the Sunday lunch table!

Tried to record the church bells calling the faithful to the communion service but don’t know if it’s hearable as I was a little way away & there was traffic. And there were many many people standing outside the church to greet all the communicants when they came out of the church hall where they had been assembled prior to the service.

Continued along main provincial road to Porcari and as I entered this small town I was amazed to see almost every person (& there were many people) carrying square packs of 8 toilet rolls. When I asked someone why, I was told that there was a foot race (2000 people of all ages over three different distances) and the gift for participating was a packet of toilet rolls! How original and also very practical!

Had a good cup of tea in a pastry shop which made its own gelati but I wasn’t tempted…
Continued on towards Turchetto where I went off the main road onto a small road then on beautifully-made tracks through woods to the old dilapidated Romanesque Abbadia di Pozzeveri which looks like it might be being restored. There was a cemetery beside it where some flower sellers were closing up for the day. Several signs on the cemetery gates about people who rob the flowers from the tombs… Then I was on a wide flat paved (with small earthen-ware bricks) footpath all the way into Altopascio but realised afterwards that this would be a bicycle track also. I had to go under a railway bridge and then under the autostrada which ran right through the city just outside the old town(!!).

Went into a bar where the lady telephoned to the man who was to let me in to the converted municipal building where 10 people could sleep in bunk beds but with only one bathroom with a very badly-installed toilet and shower… The man letting us all in said “passports, credenziale, and donation!”. The 10 beds are full so one really has to reserve. Quite a to-do with the bathroom with 3 Italian men walkers one of whom is very aggressive – hope I don’t run into them too often…
Altopascio is situated between two very large marshlands and the town developed around its medieval ospedale (after Sigeric’s time). I sat in the piazza in front of the hostel with the Romanesque bell tower over the other side of the square and listened to its famous bell La Smarita (‘the lost’) toll about 16h50 (?) as it used to do to summon pilgrims lost in the mists of the swamps! Weather quite changeable and cool.
I wandered around the small town centre to the church and a service was about to start (18h00) for Whit Sunday. The church was full & it was pleasant to be there with so many church-goers and to listen to the music and singing.
I went to a local restaurant for a so-so dinner after the service & had an early night as all the other pilgrims are in bed at 9pm & I have to be away early in the morning.

23rd May 2015  Lucca – day of rest!
Cool overcast day with some rain

Stop press! Info from a friend who lived many years in Italy and is an Italian citizen…

“I just wanted to give you a thought about the rights of pedestrians versus motorists. I think the Road Code in Italy may say something along the lines of “pedestrians have to ascertain that the carriageway is clear and cars have sufficient distance to stop, before stepping off the kerb”…… That is, the onus is on the pedestrian, not the driver. After all, it is the land of Alpha Romeo, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Lancia, Fiat, etc…..please look out very carefully!”

Shorter version: lovely lazy day in Lucca as I have a good week of walking ahead of me as I head for Siena.. Highlight was a visit to the cathedral of San Martino. All goes well.

Longer version:
Profited from not having to pack up and hoist my rucksack onto my shoulders. Had a late (good) breakfast and then sauntered out to visit the city. First stop was the cafe on the Piazza Giglio for a cappuccino to collect my thoughts. Then I headed to the cathedral which is really beautiful with its marble facade and the adjoining stone bell-tower.

An original church of the 6th century, it was renovated in the 8th when it became the cathedral of the town, being substantially enlarged in the 11th century to take on a new basilica plan with 5 naves.  It’s current aspect derives from subsequent renovations especially during the 14th and 15th centuries. The facade is in the Roman-Pisan style but is asymmetric because of the existing bell-tower. The upper part has 3 layers of slender pillars and arches. I finally got to see a labyrinth, the symbol of pilgrimage, on the facade so I could ponder a pilgrim’s difficulties.

This was the first church I’d seen which charged for entry (in 2009 it wasn’t charging) but just as Mirko had promised I showed my pilgrim attestation and was let in free.

It has an impressive interior with in-laid marble floors, much light coming in and very agreeable proportions. The star sight for me was the magnificent carved funeral monument (sarcophagus) to Ilaria del Carretto, the beautiful wife of one of the local noble Guinigi family members and who died at 24, which is a masterpiece of Gothic and Renaissance forms. I met a couple of locals outside who asked me if I’d seen “Ilaria”!

However I was privileged to hear 4 singers rehearsing for a mass. It was beautiful and I sat entranced for 10-15 minutes as they sang various pieces “a Cappella”. Tried to record them but not sure of the quality…
I visited other churches and strolled around the town, now in the rain, and if one kept off the main thoroughfares it was very pleasant strolling around in the little back streets where I saw the locals doing their shopping in little butcher shops, bakeries, etc.

Of course I passed in front of the magnificent Romanesque church of San Michele in Foro but it was closed as was San Frediano with its enormous mosaic on the facade which I’d never visited before. I walked into the Anfiteatro piazza (inside a parabolic shape 2nd centre roman theatre) but walked right out again as it was just full of restaurants and gift shops (no photo of that!)
I eventually sat down in a little trattoria for a meal I didn’t need but when I saw tagliatelle with an asparagus and pancetta “carbonara?” I couldn’t resist! Was very good and the ambience with mostly Italian customers was super.
As I left the restaurant last night I had reserved again for tonight as it is one of the best and very close to my hotel, and I thought I’d try the meat…fortunately I had taken this precaution as several passersby were refused a table…
I was greeted like a local (as I was a regular customer!) and I had a beef tagliata to see how it compared with my own recipe and it was delicious with Porcini mushrooms on a bed wilted rocket, with a mixed salad.

Then back to the hotel to make a few reservations for the coming week (hope to be in Siena on Friday) and to prepare for tomorrow’s departure. I had a discussion with the concierge who didn’t know about the cycling bridge…

22nd May 2015.  Valpromaro to Lucca
16km
Started raining as I set off….but cleared just after the half-way mark (but only after I’d negotiated all the “tricky tracks”)

Shorter version:
All going well. Away just as it started raining…but I survived it even on the up-hill & down-dale tracks before joining a flat bitumen road into Lucca. Didn’t get a cappuccino but I have survived that also. Arrived at lunchtime & here for two nights in a very nice (non pilgrim-like) hotel.

Longer version:
I had a fantastic night’s sleep (must have been the sleep of the Just after having gone to church)…evidently the church bells chimed all night but after 23h00 I heard nothing!
Pilar and Alfredo were up & my simple breakfast was ready for me. It has been a lovely experience to both meet them and benefit from such hospitality! Would that this custom spread but as the future-hospitaleros must have walked the Via it may take some time.

I knew that there would be no bars or shops before Lucca so I had some food & lots of water with me. It started to rain as I set off through the village, all kitted out for rain, but a few hundred metres later I realised I had forgotten to pull the rain protection cover up over my rucksack which I quickly rectified. I walked on a small road then a path which quickly went into the woods on not-too-bad tracks but tricky because of the rain. I was careful as all stones and rocky surfaces were slippery and I knew that there would be no Romanians to help in case of need and that a French couple would walk this way, but only tomorrow!

On a road again I walked steeply up to the neat little village of Piazzano which had beautiful views but not in the rain… Then I was back in the woods & the track started descending and descending and I walked very carefully and was getting worried about having to walk up again (could see hills ahead) but finally after a kilometre of descent I came out onto a flat tarmac road – was very relieved! It was flat all the way into Lucca from there. I came to a smart looking hotel set in gardens back from the road – Relais Victoria – and I thought of asking for a cappuccino (& the loo) but decided against it as am sure Sigeric would not have approved, even being rain-soaked.

The road ran through villages which were very quiet, often alongside a stream, and finally it started to clear which was great and my trousers (navy & freshly washed) started to dry out only to be wet again by the splashing from cars whizzing by. I started to see fields planted with corn.

I arrived at a bridge over a main river, Lucca on the other side, when I saw what could be a bar down off the road and I called to a man who signalled to go over the other side of the river, so I was looking forward to my cappuch just before 11h00. But…on the other side the waysigns took me on a long curve beside the river in a nature reserve! So, big decision, to have a coffee and face the on-coming traffic on a main road or no coffee and a rural walk on a dirt road…no coffee this morning!

Good decision as I started to hear many wonderful bird calls as the bells were striking the hour. Further on was an “urban farm” so city folk could learn about nature and a group of primary school children were there.

I decided to sit down and munch on my apple in the peaceful surroundings with only the very occasional dog-walker going by. On I walked until, just as I was leaving the riverside to turn into the town, I came across the most extraordinary pedestrian/bicycle bridge which was not marked on the map and would have been very expensive to build as it seemed to be suspended with just one central pillar – perhaps it was financed by a generous donor or else perhaps some of the local politicians are keen bike riders…

I walked on into the old walled town but was not sure exactly where my hotel was but I knew it was near the cathedral (I had stayed there some years ago). So who better to ask for a street direction than a taxi driver – but he said, surprise surprise, “am not from here, so ask a Lucca driver” which I did & couldn’t believe my eyes when he took a badly folded map (they do exist!) out of the car. He looked at it & told me where to go but it wasn’t correct and I asked another man if he was a local & could he help direct me and he said I’d come to the right person but when I said the street name he exclaimed “buona questione!”. However he knew the hotel (& the owner) & took me almost to it.

I checked in and asked for my pilgrim passport to be stamped & a man stepped forward with a lighter and a stick of wax which he melted onto the spot and the woman at the desk put the hotel seal into it – it’s quite the nicest one I have (but I hope it lasts until Rome…).
After relaxing a little, I walked around the town but will do most of my sight-seeing tomorrow – a few new churches to discover as well as some of the beautiful places I’ve seen before.

Lucca, completely enclosed in its completely-intact substantial walls with several gates to enter by, dates from Roman times and is a perfect little city. As it is for almost everybody who comes here, it is one of my favourite Italian cities – I came here first in 1971 with a local Italian friend and fell in love with what was then a quiet and beautiful city with its calm and empty piazzas. Unfortunately it has suffered from its success and is now being overrun by tourists ( the concierge in the hotel said mass tourism has started here in the 1990s), but I suppose that we all want to travel don’t we & we consider ourselves as different from those other tourists? It had many hospices for pilgrims from the Middle Ages with at least 13 in the 13th century. It also had a thriving silk industry and is Puccini’s birthplace.

I found one of the best gelaterias in town and delected on the home-made gelati of seasonal fruit.
Later…I have just had a delicious meal in a seafood restaurant with a to die-for starter of warm octopus & vegetables with a sauce thickened with potato, followed by tagliolini (flat pieces of pasta) with clams and artichokes, and a salad. Am replete! Now need another good night’s sleep..

By the way, be careful next time you are a pedestrian in Italy…
Over the last few days I have learnt to be very careful on pedestrian crossings which drivers seem to view as a nuisance. Three times at least cars have driven in front of me on a pedestrian crossing and once I was walking across with the green light when a woman came around a turn on a red light and nearly collected me…I was so incensed that I thought I’d hit the next car with my sticks but then thought I’d probably only damage my sticks which I needed…