Category: Viterbo

Viterbo to Vetralla (walked)

Saturday, July 22, 2023: On Saturday, July 22, we left Viterbo at 5:00 am. Of course there were no signs to lead us out of the town, so we relied totally on Darina’s app.

We made our way in the dark through the steep walls of the Via Cava Sant’Antonio. Scholars have debated about the origins of the mysterious Etruscan Vie Cave (“excavated roads”) in this region for centuries. Narrow roadways cut into the soft Tufa stone over 2,500 years ago, they usually led from Etruscan settlements to nearby necropoli, large elaborate cemeteries of ancient cities. Scholars suggest they were either cut through hillsides as part of an unknown funereal observance or because the iron-clad wheels of wagons made deep depressions in the soft tufa, necessitating the ongoing flattening of the roads. The Via Cave of Sant’Antonio run to 12m deep but in other locations they can run twice as deep.

It will still dark and quite humid when we walked through this road, so it felt a bit creepy.

After a long while we emerged from the Via Cave and climbed endlessly among olive orchards on a terribly rutted road of black sand. It was a terrible path and I was miserable, sweating profusely, and I vowed to never walk another step on this horrible Via Francigena.

We found a viewpoint at the top of the long climb. The vast seaside Maremma plain of flat farmland spread to the base of low mountains on the horizon. We walked on asphalt, then rutted trails through forests, olive groves and sheep pastures, then more long stretches of asphalt in hot sun, zigzagging back and forth. We saw Vetralla to our left and our app said it was one hour but it looked much further than that. We ended up on pavement at Ponte Pontarello on the asphalt Strada Risere. We got on a grassy path that helped us avoid some dangerous curves as we approached the town.

Of course, we finally climbed uphill to Vetralla, perched on towering Monte Fogliano. We continued uphill to find first the main piazza. We sat at a bar waiting for quite a long time until we could check in at La Casa dei Fiori. Finally we checked into the large apartment with two tiny twin beds stuck next to each other. It had a nice kitchen with breakfast foods, a cappuccino machine, a laundry line and a huge bathroom with a bathtub (but no hot water). I missed my baths so much and was so tired of tiny cramped shower stalls, so I was happy to have a long soak in a cool bath. The place was very pilgrim friendly and the host knew of Valentina of Bags-Free; he had a very outdated price list. Soon after we checked in, my bag that I’d sent ahead was delivered, by 11:30!

We did our laundry and relaxed in the apartment until about 3:00, when we went out into the steamy and utterly deserted town. Vetralla (population ~14,000) is the town where Pope Eugenius III, after his election in 1145, reigned for a time when the chaos in Rome had grown to such an extent that he was unable to stay in the city. From here, in that same year, he announced the Second Crusade. Vetralla had been part of the Papal Territories since the 8th-century, except for a brief period when it was ruled by Viterbo. Though well-preserved, today’s sleepy town is divided between a few businesses scattered along the Via Roma in the Upper City, and others along the busy Via Cassia highway a few meters below.

We tried to find an open bar for lunch, but nothing was open, only the small bar we’d waited in earlier. There we found our French friend Pasquale and while we ate something while he entertained us with stories about how people hook up on the Camino de Santiago and he walks to “think think think” because otherwise his girlfriend is always talking in his ear and driving him crazy.

We stopped in at the 12th-century Church of San Francesco, the town’s most important architectural monument. Vividly decorated capitals adorn the nave and crypt, along with inlaid geometric floor tiles. The Duomo and the Commune building are both 17th- & 18th-century creations, squeezed across from each other in a small piazza.

Darina went to Saturday night mass at 5:30 and I returned to the warm apartment and took another cold bath and relaxed a bit. At 7:30, we went to dinner at the breezy and pleasant Pinseria. We had delicious prosciutto and burrata bruschetta drizzled in olive oil, small beers, and pizzas with salami, mozzarella, thinly sliced zucchini, yellow cherry tomatoes and black olives. Another pleasant dining experience in Italy. 🍕🍕🍕

Steps: 31,532 steps; Miles: 13.38. Day 11 Stage Walk: 11.36 miles, or 18.28 km.

Weather (Vetralla): High 94°, Low 67°. Sunny.

Vetralla to Capranica (by bus)

Sunday, July 23: This morning I took the 8:35 bus from Vetralla to Capranica. Before leaving, I saw Pasquale in the bar playing with his phone in the same spot where we’d seen him last night. I arrived early at the bus stop because I didn’t want to miss one of the few buses to Capranica that run on Sundays. Darina started walking by herself at 5 a.m. Again the temps for the day were to be 95 and the government issued an orange warning for extreme heat. By this time, I had decided to become what Darina read about in one of the forums, a “PTP,” or “Public Transportation Pilgrim.” Between dealing with the inconsistently dependable Bags-Free (the service that transports bags along the Via Francigena) and the hot and humid weather, it was no longer enjoyable for me to continue this walk. I would consider walking into Rome but maybe not; it would depend on the weather and what I read about Friday’s final stage to the Vatican. It was also possible I’d walk from Campagnano di Roma to Formello as it would be a short stage and the temperatures were forecast to drop slightly by then.

Either way, I wrote to Valentina of Bags-Free and told her I was going to cancel all my bag transports for the remainder of the trip. If I were going to take the bus at less than 2€/day, it would be a lot cheaper than transporting my bag at 30€ each day. Bags-Free would have to deliver my suitcase to the Beehive Hostel in Rome on that final day anyway; they had been holding it in Rome since I left Lucca .

When I got off the bus at 9:00, Darina was still an hour away enjoying her “shady” hike. To me it made no difference if it were shady as often the forests had difficult rutted and rocky paths, trapped the humidity, and were rife with flies and mosquitoes. Darina didn’t seem to be bothered by any of this, but I disliked it horribly.

I was perfectly happy to sleep in a bit and to enjoy freshly squeezed orange juice and a muffin at the Tapioka Bar in Capranica while I waited for Darina.

Darina arrived at 10:00 and we had to wait until 11:00 to check into our apartment, Casa Zi’Pepe. It was a nice big apartment with two bedrooms and lots of pilgrim amenities. In my room I had a fan and a small portable air conditioner into which I placed small blocks of Freon from the freezer. It was mostly comfortable until late afternoon. It also had a nice bathtub, a real bonus.

We each showered/bathed and did laundry. I was sweaty despite not even walking. Darina had walked so she napped for much of the afternoon. We finally went out at 3:00 when of course everything was closed and it was hot as hell. It was rather boring and I kept dreaming of escaping directly to Rome where I could settle in and not have to move every day and there would be something to do. At the same time I’m trying to honor my commitment to Darina and move along with her through the stages instead of deserting her completely.

Capranica (population ~6,000), a village on a tufa hill, was settled by goatherds who fled Lombard invaders in the 8th-century. Named Capranica after “capra” (“goat” in Italian), the resulting town’s Castovecchio neighborhood is a charming step back in time, with its narrow streets and medieval architecture.

This town had notables pass through its gates: Charlemagne passed through in 800, the poet Petrarch in 1335 and Giuseppe Mazzini, the Italian patriot, about 500 years after that.

Although we wandered around the town, we only found one church open, the Church of San Giovanni, which was all draped in red silk around the altar. We didn’t much care for it. It retains a dome from the 16th-century and a bell tower from the 1200s. The other churches were closed, and we especially regretted not being able to go inside the oldest building, the 9th-century Church of San Pietro with its 14th century frescoes of San Sebastian, or the 13th- to 16th-century Church of San Francesco, which is adorned with 15th-century frescoes in the Renaissance style.

We returned to the apartment to rest because it was too hot and everything was closed.

We went out to dinner at Trattoria “da Ciucci,” but they told us they didn’t open until 8:00. While waiting, we wandered around following an Alice in Wonderland-themed path called “Sogni di Luce,” or “Dreams of Lights.” It was whimsical and fun.

We went to the trattoria, where the waiter seemed rather lackadaisical, pointing out half the menu items that were unavailable. I had a delicious and refreshing bruschetta with tomatoes and olive oil while Darina had a meat and cheese platter with salami, prosciutto and other varieties. We cheered one another with white wine.

Steps: 9,137; Miles: 3.87. No Stage Walk today for me. I took the bus while Darina walked.

Weather (Capranica): High 95°, Low 66°. Sunny. Orange Warning for Extreme High Temperature.

Capranica to Monterosi (by bus)

Monday: July 24: Monday morning, I lounged around in the apartment until 9:00, taking a leisurely bath, reading about the final stages of our walk and working on Polarsteps. I left the Capranica apartment, Casa Zi’Pepe, and took the 9:30 bus to Monterosi, arriving at 10:00. Darina was walking the long stage and left at 5:10. Her app said she’d arrive at 11:45, but we couldn’t check in to the studio apartment La Campana until 1:00.

I stopped at Chiesa Santa Croce, built in the 18th century. Inside were the relics of the town’s patron saints, Vincent & Anastasius. The main altar’s crucifix was by Pozzi. Sadly the Chapel of San Giuseppe was permanently closed.

An information board at the church said that between the end of the first millennium and the beginning of the second, the widespread practice of going on pilgrimage took on a strategic importance. Rome was among Christianity’s holy places and the Francigena Way was the central junction of the principal roads of pilgrimage. Pilgrims coming from the north traveled along the Francigena Way to reach Rome.

I also went by the Pilgrim Office to kill time while waiting for Darina and to get my passport stamped.

Monterosi, with its small population of around 4,600, has a long history of prosperity alternating with decline. Its position on the Via Cassia made it prosperous but put it in the path of invaders like the Goths and Lombards who were aiming at the riches of Rome. For such a small town, it has a good share of history. In 1155, Pope Hadrian IV met Federico Barbarossa to crown him Holy Roman Emperor. In 1649, Pope Innocent’s emissary, Monsignor Giarda, was assassinated on his way to make peace with the Duchy of Castro, which the pontiff would later destroy. In 1798, the Neopolitan Army was defeated here by the French during the Battle of Civita Castellana in the 2nd Coalition War. Finally, the Nazis mined the approaches to Monterosi before Allied troops cleared the town in June of 1944.

Sadly the unusual Renaissance-era Chapel of San Giuseppe with its dome standing atop its squared Greek-cross nave, was permanently shuttered.

I met Darina at the local bar where I’d settled in for the long haul. There was some commotion outside the bar and a woman had ice on her hand and was being put into an ambulance. I heard two Americans talking at the front of the bar. We met the hilarious Laura and her husband Mike from Towson, Maryland. Like me, Laura hated the heat, and had actually suffered heat exhaustion and fainted on the long and tough stage from Buonconvento to San Quirico d’Orcia, on the 14 km stretch before Torrenieri (via francigena: buonconvento to san quirico d’orcia to gallina). It had been a miserable stretch for Darina and me, and was the longest stage of our entire walk at 23.75km, or almost 15 miles. Laura said they’d had to call the emergency number in Italy, #112, and drop a pin on their location. The EMTs found them out in the middle of nowhere and put her in an ambulance while giving her an IV. She said it had been frightening. This had been one of my biggest fears, passing out from the heat and being in the middle of nowhere. Most of their walk had been supported, with all accommodations arranged and bags sent ahead. They said they loved Bolsena so much they spent four lovely days there. They had been walking since Siena and would arrive in Rome on Thursday, flying soon after to Philadelphia.

After meeting Laura and Mike and taking a selfie together, we checked into our small street-level apartment which, though small wasn’t too cramped and had everything a pilgrim could ever need. Because it was on street level and didn’t have many windows it was actually one of our cooler apartments.

We relaxed during the afternoon after having a quick sandwich at the bar, and then at 4:00 we went out to buy breakfast provisions and to get some cash. I wanted a bus ticket for the next morning, but the guy at the tabaccheria said he was all out until the next day at 7am. What? The transport systems in Italy make no sense at all. It’s all been so frustrating dealing with them.

We strolled around the tiny town and found the town hall covered in crocheted squares, making it colorful and whimsical.

We had dinner at the lovely Gorgeous, right down the street from our apartment. We both ordered the same dish: Lungarello Gorgeous su fonduta di pecorino, uovo cotto a basa temperatura e scaglie di Tartufo. Basically pasta with an eggs cooked at low temperature and a cheese sauce with thinly sliced truffles. It was delizioso! It was a lovely atmosphere with mellow music 🎶, air conditioning and friendly servers. I had 2 glasses of wine and Darina had two artisanal beers.

Our nighttime meals have definitely been the highlight of our journey!

Steps: 7,809; Miles: 3.31. No Stage Walk today for me. I took the bus while Darina walked.

Weather (Monterosi): High 95°, Low 75°. Sunny. Orange Warning for Extreme High Temperature.

Monterosi to Campagnano di Roma (by bus)

Tuesday, July 25: Tuesday morning, once again I took the 8:25 bus from Monterosi to Campagnano di Roma. I had asked everyone in Monterosi the bus timetable, but no one knew it. Even though Google maps had said there was an 8:25 bus, it hadn’t always been reliable. So I got to the bus stop early and asked five consecutive bus drivers if they were going to Campagnano di Roma. Each indicated with a circular motion that it would be another later bus but none knew the timetable. Finally the 8:25 bus came and it was the right one, so Google was right all along! All my worrying did no good at all.

I had once again decided on public transport because it was forecast to be 97 degrees with an orange warning for extreme heat.

Campagnano di Roma has a population of 11,586 but most people must live in the modern part of town, just outside the Porta Romana, because the old quarter was practically deserted.

The town, originally called Baccano for a temple to Bacchus located on its summit, was taken from the Etruscans by Rome in 241 BC.  Sigeric identified this as “Stage III Bacane.”  By the 13th-century, wealthy Romans were seeking refuge in the rural area here (campagna=“countryside”) to avoid intermittent plagues. The town name was changed from its former pagan title.

Campagnano reached its prominence in the 15th-18th centuries when the powerful Roman Orsini family maintained a castle here. Some houses from the 11th and 12th-centuries remain, while the 11th-century Church of the Pietà, which houses an important fresco, is the oldest public building.

In Campagnano di Roma, I walked to the furthest hinterlands of the town to Hostel Gheltrude, the tiniest house imaginable. It was too early for the 10 a.m. check-in but Monica had left the door open, so I dropped my pack in the house and went to the main square, Piazza Leonelli. There sat the unusual 15th-century Gonfalone Church, which has a central tower topped by a wrought iron balustrade. In the center of the square, between the church and the red 19th century town hall, sat the late Renaissance Fontana Delfini.

Darina arrived to the house after walking nearly 15km by around 10:00, but I was already sitting at the seedy Bar Scalini having a cappuccino and pear juice and writing in my journal. After Darina showered at our shoebox house, she met me at the bar. She had come into town at the far end, near the house, so we walked out the way I’d come in, out the Porta Romana to the Parco Pubblico where we sat at a bar and had panini (shrimp salad for me). Then we walked back to the far end of town.

Hostel Gheltrude was the tiniest place ever yet it had everything a pilgrim needed crammed into the small space. It had bunk beds (thank goodness Darina took the top), a tiny table and 2 chairs, a stove, sink and refrigerator and a shelf full of kitchen staples in case we wanted to cook in. Pots and pans hung on the wall and the bathroom was the normal Italian style with a tiny shower stall but of course no bidet. It had an outdoor garden area where we could sit if we wanted to get eaten alive by mosquitoes, as well as a laundry tub and clothes line. Luckily it had mosquito netting over the door. Monica had even provided two fans. Darina was tired and wanted to nap and the little box house heated up quickly like an Easy Bake Oven.

It was a miserable afternoon because the rest of the town was too far away to go sit at a bar and of course the churches were closed and there was nothing to do but sit and swelter. It was the longest and most boring afternoon ever.

We walked past the impressive Collegiate Church of San Giovanni Battista on our way to town and back, but it was never open. It has a Baroque bell tower completed in 1602. Apparently the ceiling in part of the church is coffered with the figure of John the Baptist in the center.

We finally escaped the house at 7:00 to go to dinner in the new town at Ristorante Hotel Benigni, which Monica had recommended. We were basically ignored for the first half hour we were there. Finally we got our drinks, wine for me and beer for Darina. I had Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe e Carciofi croccanti (fried zucchini flowers) con Pecorino Romano. I was excited to finally try the fried zucchini flowers but there weren’t many of them in the pasta. Darina had gnocchi with pistachio, cherry tomatoes, basil and black pepper.

Steps: 9,938; Miles: 4.21. No Stage Walk today for me. I took the bus while Darina walked.

Weather (Campagnano di Roma): High 97°, Low 67°. Sunny. Orange Warning for Extreme High Temperature.

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 continuing saga 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 11): 110.76 /211.77 miles (178.23/340.8 km).

This post is in response to Jo’s Monday Walk: Santa Catarina circular (a salutary tale).