Saturday, July 8: We left Ostello Sigerico at 6:08 am Saturday morning and climbed up to Gambassi Terme, where we wandered around haphazardly. Both of us said it felt like we were going around in circles and then, too late, the guidebook confirmed that was just what we were doing. It had advised a shortcut, but we had neglected to study the route before setting out.
The town was quite charming but we didn’t linger and were soon on our way to San Gimignano. We finally left the asphalt road and descended down a gravel track through vine-covered trees. Pauline from the Netherlands quickly bounded past us, stopping only to take a few pictures. She had been walking about 100km before the French-Swiss border, maybe since June. At 62, she was very fit and fast.
We passed a pilgrim-friendly winery and olive farm, Casanuova, which was sadly closed at that early hour. Then it seemed it was hours that we were walking in the Tuscan countryside.
We walked on a ridge line and up and down until we finally came to Pancole, a town that is home to Santuario di María Santissima Madre Della Divina Provvidenza. Apparently an apparition of the Virgin Mary was seen here in the 17th century. Inside the church is a 15th century fresco of a breast-feeding Virgin by Pier Francisco Fiorintino. The original church was destroyed by the Nazis in WWII but was rebuilt in 1949. We went down some steps to see the characters of a life-sized nativity scene. Some pilgrims we had met at Ostello Sigerico were resting there, so we did as well.
Then it was a long and hot slog on asphalt alongside olive groves before we started climbing up through the forest to Monastero di Bose.
The ecumenical Monastero di Bose, established in 1965, sat in a pretty shaded area at the peak of a very steep and long climb that we worked hard to achieve. The monastery once had both men and women in a community of prayer, celibacy, worship and sacramental life, but today not a soul was in sight. Since 2013, a subset of Bose friars has worshiped here in the simple and elegant 13th century Church of Santa Maria Assunta a Cellole. Darina sat for a while in the Romanesque church; she said she always felt a spiritual presence inside Romanesque churches whenever we encountered them. It was so breezy and cool up there, we never wanted to leave. But we had to make our way to San Gimignano.
We finally landed on an asphalt road, the SP69 Highway, leading into town and this was the most unpleasant part of the stage. It was about 95 degrees and we were on pavement with no shoulder and cars whizzing by. It was rather dangerous but we had no choice but to go on. We were trying to reach our accommodation by noon to leave our luggage; otherwise we’d have to wait until the 3:00 check-in. We finally started to see views of the town of towers as we descended.
We ascended through the modern town and then into the medieval Porta San Matteo of San Gimignano. Luckily, the Residenza d’Epoca Palazzo Buonaccorsi was just inside the gate because we were about to collapse. We appreciated that Marzia waited 8 minutes for us so we could drop our packs.
We went out to explore San Gimignano drenched in sweat. Of course food and drink were always the first order of business, so we went to Boboli, Marzia’s recommendation, since we got a 10% discount for staying at the Palazzo. The waiter there was a strange leprechaun-looking man who seemed rather baffled. We had focaccia sandwiches, and Darina had a beer and I a fruit juice.
San Gimignano, a UNESCO world heritage site, is a gem of medieval architecture with its 15 towers (there were once 72) built by wealthy families to safeguard their valuables and show off their affluence. San Gimignano traces its roots to the 3rd century BC. In the 5th century, it was named to honor Bishop Geminianus, who intervened to save the town from the armies of Atilla the Hun. In the Middle Ages, it became an important stop along the Via Francigena and is listed by Sigeric as his stage XIX. The town flourished until 1348 when the Black Plague killed half its population. The town declined in economic and political importance, which saved it from redevelopment in later centuries. I had visited here before, in 2019 (san gimignano: a city of medieval skyscrapers).
We climbed up into the steep town to see the towers and the Duomo Collegiate Church. Its plain facade hides a lavishly decorated interior, with black and white columns and a marvelous series of frescoes that tell the entire Biblical story, from both the Old and New Testaments. Local Santa Fina is also remembered in a frescoed chapel dedicated to her in the church.
Darina climbed up one of the towers, but since I’d been here before and done that, I decided to rest in the shade.
Darina stopped for a BEFORE-dinner gelato at Gelateria Dondoli: “Gelato World Champion 2006/2007 & 2008/2009.” There was a constant line at this place.
We had a pleasant and delicious dinner at Bistro Caffè Giardino. It was just outside the city walls and had beautiful views of the Tuscan countryside. I had a delicious mushroom gnocchi and Darina some kind of tomato-based pasta. The husband and wife team were friendly and down to earth, even providing Darina with a needle, thread and scissors to sew up her pack that was ripping.
After dinner, I of course had to sample some of the gelato at Gelateria Dondoli. It was a sheep ricotta cheese with blueberries flavor that was rich and creamy, and delizioso!
Steps: 32,785; Miles: 13.9. Day 2 Stage walk 9.38 mi (15.1 km).
Weather: Gambassi Terme: Hi 85°, Low 63°. San Gimignano: Hi 94°, Lo 65°.
The Via Francigena is an ancient road and pilgrimage route that runs from Canterbury, England, through France and Switzerland, to Rome and then to Apulia, Italy, where there were ports of embarkation for the Holy Land. In around 990, Archbishop Sigeric journeyed from Canterbury to Rome and back, but only documented his itinerary on the return journey, taken in 80 stages averaging about 12 miles (20 km) a day, for a total of some 1,100 miles (1,700 km).
This is the story of our attempt to walk the stages from Lucca to Rome, which are, in total, about 255.07 miles (410.5 km). Since we had to cut out stages due to time constraints, our actual goal was to walk 211.77 miles ( 340.8 km).
Running tally (Day 2): 18.33 /211.77 miles (29.5/340.8 km).
~ wander.essence ~ 
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