Tag travel

The People of the Via Francigena

Reg Spittle 3 Comments

The Via Francigena has delighted us in its warmth, with recent days bringing us friendships.

Elena (in top photo) and her mother welcomed us to their 14th-century hilltop farm home and agriturismo with personal charm, a spacious apartment, and scrumptious meals.

We had dinner and trailside conversation with Renate and Herbert from The Netherlands, promising to reconnect in Rome. And we said goodbye (for now) to Luca, who is on his way home in northern Italy to resume his studies.

Meanwhile, we pause in Acquapendante today for a breather, leaving just eight days to Rome. And we hear we may be just in time for a big announcement when we show our pilgrim passports (filled with ink stamps documenting our journey) and collect our certificates in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The Tale of Two Tuscan Cities

Reg Spittle 2 Comments
Our view of our destination from the Via Francigena.
The tower city in our rear-view mirror.

We left behind San Gimignano—the tower city—and followed the Via Francigena to Monteriggioni—the walled city.

It was a day of ups and downs, showing off gorgeous Tuscan views from a sometimes rugged trail along with many miles of arduous and even dangerous road walking.

At one water crossing, longer and trickier than the one in the photo above, a young guy yelled out as I started, “Need some help?” Thanks to practice on the John Muir Trail, I handled the crossing on my own with no problem. I am fighting taking offense, though, when a whippersnapper assumes that my age makes me feeble.

By the end of nearly nine hours, we covered nearly 19 miles and 2,400 feet of ascent, including a final push up an achilles-testing climb to the imposing walled city.

In one day, our feet covered two of the most beautiful places in all of Italy.