18th May 2014 in Montestrutto
Taking the Lord’s Day off was a very good idea and my feet improved no end – a couple of the blisters have nearly healed… However don’t think that Sunday in downtown Montestrutto was boring.
Firstly, I haven’t had a day like it in years as I had my breakfast brought to me and as I don’t even have a book I had nothing to do but leave my feet in the fresh air, relax, study the forward route and plan my future! However, I realized that Montestrutto is not so cut-off from the outside world as a main road runs around it. So I walked up to a bar on the main road for my late morning cappuccino (& small amaretti biscuit) to use the wifi ( password was”mercedes”!) and there were quite a few people through there, lots of cyclists & (moto) bikies (often not as svelte as the cyclists!). As with other bars I’ve seen there was a wonderful selection of little canapés on the bar for those having an alcoholic beverage.
Then there was the park just along from the B&B where there were many many cars & dozens of people as there was an sort of mini theme park of all activities to do with climbing etc all along the walls of rock of the hillside behind. I had seen lots of people, including smaller children, each person attached to wires, climbing along horizontal swinging bars as I first entered the village on Saturday. One could also see all types of constructions up amongst the rocks and in through the trees so I can see why it was so popular. And, last but not least, my hostess told me about the “agri-gelateria” about another 150 metres further on, in a field, where they make the gelati from their own organic milk! So, as it was Sunday and I was entitled to a treat, off I went & here again, dozens of cars & people so I joined the queue to get my triple-flavour gelato which was delicious.
In the evening I was the first person in the trattoria at 7pm & had a delicious fresh seafood spaghetti, as only the Italians know how to do it, with fresh prawns, clams, mussels, tiny octopus, calamari, fish – I was worried that I should not have chosen seafood although the waiter assured me that it would be fine but when I saw so many people subsequently ordering sea-food dishes I was reassured & of course it was fine. I heard the church bells chime 10 but not 11 and my feet felt soooo much better.
19th May 2014 – 13.5km Montestrutto to Ivrea
This morning I tended to my feet again before leaving my little haven, and I set off for Ivrea. I was very relieved to see a little sunshine, followed by cloud, as the forecast had been for rain but there were only a few almost non-existent drops as I arrived in this city. It was an up and down walk and quite uneven (for sore feet) on old Roman roads, dirt and rocky paths/roads, through vineyards and lots of the time through woods. Don’t know how Sigeric managed all this in (I presume) leather sandals… I came across an area of “5 lakes” and walked around one which was very pretty.
The villages I walked through didn’t seem as prosperous as those I’d seen previously but they were tiny places. Still, with many poppies, roses everywhere, slowly-ripening cherries, I didn’t see much farming as it was principally a wooded area and one could see the valley widening out further and the mountains getting lower. I saw a couple of older women walking their dogs and one stopped to ask me “E’ sola?” (are you alone) so perhaps she feared for me in the way an old family friend feared, when she stayed in anything less than a 5 star hotel, that she’d be “raped, robbed, and murdered” (doesn’t leave much else to happen to one, does it?)…but I have never had any such fears so far. I have seen several older women driving little utility vehicles around the tiny roads and not one of them had the “telefonino” to their ear.
I walked past several chapels, mostly closed, and there is always a chapel dedicated to San Rocco, who is the real patron saint of pilgrims, every day. For a little bit of history ( skip to next paragraph if not interested) – San Rocco was born into a rich family in Montpellier, France (father was governor of the city) around 1295 with a red cross on his chest which increased in size as he grew. When his parents died when he was 20, he decide to hand over the governorship to his uncle, gave his fortune to the poor, and set off on a pilgrimage to Rome. He stopped on the way in Aquapendente north of Rome which was stricken by the plague and devoted himself to looking after the victims and curing them by making the sign of the cross. He then visited other cities before reaching Rome which were also plague-stricken and in each place he cured people. He remained in Rome until 1321 where he also cured plague victims. On his way home he visited various Italian cities until he reached Piacenza where he himself was stricken with the plague and the disease left him with an unsightly sore on his thigh, so to warn people to stay away from him he kept the flap of his coat up so they could see this and he pointed it out to all he came across. He withdrew to live in isolation in a forest nearby and the story is that a dog brought him bread every morning until the dog’s owner followed the dog & found San Rocco. He took him to live in his home until either (2 versions) the dog licking the wound or an angel cured him. Then he returned to Montpellier and, refusing to reveal his identity, was imprisoned as a spy posturing as a beggar for five years until he died in 1327, just 32 years old. When the red cross on his chest was discovered his true identity was revealed. He was given a public funeral & numerous miracles occurred and he was proclaimed a saint for the sheer number of people he had saved in a few short years, mainly along what has become known as the Via Francigena in Italy. Many of the chapels, often with a fresco showing him with coat flap up & wounded thigh and a dog, date from the 17th century, when the plague was particularly rife, and were built either by the local population or private benefactors in thanksgiving for their survival.
I arrived in Ivrea, which was founded as a Roman colony in 100 BC on the Dora Balthea river, at lunch time & found a hotel as I didn’t want to torture my healing feet too much by walking quite a way further to a hostel. Well, when I saw the incredible antipasti buffet (with at least 2 dozen dishes) I knew I’d come to the right place (& there was also a discount of 25% on room rates for pilgrims!). So I sat straight down for some salad and various grilled or marinated vegetables. This afternoon I walked around the old historic centre of Ivrea and saw the beautiful Dora Balthea for the last time as my way will take me further eastwards from now on. This is a gracious town centre with pedestrianised streets with beautiful squares and classic buildings, all well maintained, in pastel colours of oranges, creams, greens, ochre, yellows, all with contrasting painted wooden shutters and wrought iron balconies.
Modern day Ivrea is most famous for being the “Olivetti town” whose typewriter factory was founded over 100 years ago by the enlightened Camillo Olivetti who innovated both in modern working conditions and in the living conditions and education for workers & their families. The old Olivetti buildings can be seen as part of a 7km walking tour of modern architecture in the town (which I had recently seen in a presentation by a Milanese architect on industrial architecture in my university Italian class) so I preferred to forgo this 7km option!
I have 2 route options now to get to Santhia – the modern “northern” route which goes through medieval villages on the northern side of the Lago di Viverone, and which is quite up and down or the “southern” flatter route mostly along little paved roads which was taken by my now friend Sigeric and which is 6 km shorter but has very few options for accommodation and food. I am taking the southern route and will get to Santhia in two stages as it is a distance of roughly 34 km (but am still working on a solution to tomorrow night’s accommodation at the moment).