In the Middle Ages, beginning from the 4th century, a great number of people moved around Europe to visit the holy places: high priests, poor monks or simple believers.
As the number of pilgrims increased steadily, Europe  was covered by a network of roads leading to three main destinations: San James of Compostela, Rome and Jerusalem. Along these routes, a great number of abbeys and monasteries  were built, but also hospitals and shelters which could cater to the needs of the ever  increasing flow of people.
At the end of the 10th century Sigeric, the Archibishop of Canterbury, travelled to Rome in order to be consecrated by the Pope; on the return journey, he kept the first detailed record of the route and his stops.
In 1985 the Italian archaeologist of roads, Giovanni Caselli, retraced the itinerary as described by Archbishop Sigeric. The eighty stages in Sigeric’s itinerary averaged about twenty km a day, covering some 1700 km are  the basis for re-identifying the route today.

More information?
Visit Viadelsole Ltd. website and search for the “francigena” section.

Nous avons eu nos premiers pèlerins, je devrais dire pèlerines! Marinette a reçu un coup de téléphone en allemand, et dans le jargon, elle a distingué les mots Via francigena. Elle m’a donc passé le téléphone, et oui, elles ont accepté de venir dormir à la maison, plutôt qu’au Bed & Breakfast. C’est par le site de Bed & Breakfast Switzerland qu’elles ont trouvé l’adresse d’ailleurs, pas par le Blog, ou l’association Via francigena!  La soirée était douce, on a soupé dehors, sous les étoiles, avec une bouteille de rouge de Charly. Elles ont bien apprécié! Leur enthousiaste remuant n’est pas tombé dans l’oreille d’un sourd, si bien que Charly leur a offert une bouteille pour la route. Eva est une fan du pape, elle a pu le rencontrer à Rome, tout près, presque à le frôler.  Alke est protestante, et respecte pleinement les choix de sa compagne de route. Elles cheminent si bien ensemble dans la différence!

Gros dodo pour tout le monde, et le lendemain matin, petit déjeuner; j’ai mis ma nappe blanche pour l’occasion, j’aime bien faire joli! Pendant que je vais chercher les croissants à la boulangerie, les 2 marcheuses gardent ma petite Charlotte. Lorsque je leur demande de pouvoir les accompagner avec la poussette sur le petit bout de leur prochaine étape, c’est avec enthousiasme qu’elles acceptent! Et on se quitte à l’aurée du bois, d’un signe de la main…

L’aventure de cet accueil, pour la 1ère fois, est riche, et étonnant, j’espère qu’on recommencera bientôt?

MONTERIGGIONI – Italia Nostra dice no all’ampliamento della zona indistriale all’interno del Comune di Monteriggioni.

“Siamo molto preoccupati- spiega Lucilla Tozzi- per l’enorme consumo di suolo ad uso produttivo-industriale, che si som­ma a quello per la nuova viabilità di servizio, e inoltre non crediamo affatto che tale operazione rappresenti quella “grande opportunità di sviluppo” di cui parla il sindaco Valentini; crediamo, invece, che verranno mortificate le iniziati­ve per creare attrattività per un “turismo di eccellenza”. Si parla di “area indu­striale scaccia crisi”; ma noi ci chiedia­mo: visto che tante industrie stanno chiu­dendo, perché non fate un censimento sia dei capannoni ormai dismessi”.

“Nella zona di Gabbricce – denuncia il presidente della sezione senese di Italia Nostra, Lucilla Tozzi sorgerà la più vasta area produttiva della provincia senese: l’estensione sarà di ben 14 ettari, riservata per il 50% al trasferimento di industrie già esistenti nei Comuni dello Smas (Sistema metropolitano area senese). La zona di Gabbricce confina con l’area industriale di Pian del Casone e “ricuce” due aree già esistenti’, quindi, all’ ampliamento di sei ettari della zona industriale di Pian del Casone già preventivato nell’agosto 2008, verranno aggiunti quattordici ettari, arrivando ad una estensione di ben venti ettari, cioè di duecentomila metri quadrati: una concentrazione di capannoni mai vista”.
“Siamo molto preoccupati- continua Lucilla Tozzi – per l’enorme consumo di suolo ad uso produttivo-industriale, che si somma a quello per la nuova viabilità di servizio, e inoltre non crediamo affatto che tale operazione rappresenti quella “grande opportunità di sviluppo” di cui parla il sindaco Valentini; crediamo, invece, che verranno mortificate le iniziative per creare attrattività per un “turismo di eccellenza”. Si parla di “area industriale scaccia crisi”; ma noi ci chiediamo: visto che tante industrie stanno chiudendo, perché non fare un censimento sia dei capannoni ormai dismessi sia di quelli che sono stati costruiti senza una precisa destinazione, e sono a tutt’oggi inutilizzati? Prirna di creare strutture nuove, perché non fare una seria analisi costi-benefici, nella quale venga messo finalmente in conto l’altissimo costo del territorio?”
“il territorio oggetto della trasformazione, fa parte di un tessuto storico eccezionale per la ricchezza delle emergenze architettoniche, attraversato non da una, ma da ben tre vie Francigene. Viene da chiedersi -continua Italia Nostra- che cosa rimarrà dei tre antichi percorsi, che andrebbero invece individuati e il più possibile preservati. Lungo l’itinerario italiano e europeo, tre percorsi unidirezionali e molto vicini tra loro, rappresentano 1′ eccezione e costituiscono un valore aggiunto che andrebbe sfruttato per quel “turismo di eccellenza”, riproposto anche recentemente dal Progetto dei sei comuni della Valdelsa, che è stato ampiamente pubblicizzato sulla stampa. Infatti, il Comune di Monteriggioni è entrato a far parte dell’Ufficio di presidenza dell’associazione europea delle Vie Francigenc: nel settembre 2007, il Presidente del Consiglio Prodi e il Ministro dei Beni Culturali Rutelli hanno consacrato ufficialmente il Castello di Monteriggioni a simbolo dell’ “Itinerario Culturale del Consiglio d’Europa”; più recentemente, nel giugno 2009, durante un evento, per ora unico al mondo, organizzato dal Comune e dall’ Associazione Europea delle Vie Francigene, il percorso principale della Via Francigena si è animato di moderni pellegrini in abiti medioevali, a piedi e a cavallo. Al Castello di Monteriggloni, a conclusione dell’ evento, è stato presentato con solennità il “Progetto dei sei comuni della Valdelsa” (Monteriggioni, Colle di Val d’Elsa, San Gimignano, Gambassi Terme, Montaione e Castelfiorentino) alla presenza dei Sindaci, dell’Assessore Regionale alla Cultura, del Direttore Istituto Europeo Itinerari Culturali, dei Presidente Associazione Europea Vie Francigene e del Direttorc della rivista internazionale “Via Francigena”. Tutto questo susseguirsi di eventi, di spiegameuto di energie e di finanziamenti per il territorio, contrasta in modo assai stridente con la previsione della enorme area industriale”.

Nous avons reçu, il y a quelques jours, tous les papiers de l’association Via Francigena. C’est le début de l’aventure et de l’accueil des pèlerins dans notre maison.

La canzone di Orlando 

Settembre 

martedì 29

Proceno, Piazzetta delle Chiese, ore 17.00

mercoledì 30

Acquapendente, Piazza del Rigombero ore 17.00

Ottobre

giovedì 1

Grotte di castro, Piazza Cavour, ore 17.00

venerdì 2

San Lorenzo Nuovo, Piazza Europa, ore 17.00 

sabato 3

Bolsena, Piazza Santa Cristina, ore 17.00 

domenica 4

Montefiascone, Piazzale Angela Frigo, ore17.00 

lunedì 5

Viterbo 

martedì 6

Vetralla, Piazza Marconi, ore 19.00

mercoledì 7

Caprarola

giovedì 8

Ronciglione

venerdì 9

Capranica

sabato 10

Sutri 

domenica 11

Nepi 

lunedì 12

Formello 

martedì 13

Roma  

Stradalunga. A cavallo, a piedi e in bicicletta

Artestudio / Regione Lazio

 Un progetto di Riccardo Della Pietra

Arte e spettacolo sulla via Francigena

Percorso laziale – tratto settentrionale da Proceno a Roma  

Progetto realizzato in collaborazione la Regione Lazio, Assessorato alla cultura, spettacolo e sport

STRADALUNGA è un progetto di Arte e Spettacolo dedicato alla tutela e alla diffusione del patrimonio e delle potenzialità culturali dell’itinerario della via Francigena, tramite la valorizzazione e il recupero fisico del suo percorso laziale. Il progetto intende sottolineare sul campo, attraverso l’esperienza viva del teatro, che la VIA FRANCIGENA proprio nell’essere una idea urbanistica, è anche una idea culturale.

IN BICICLETTA/ SPETTACOLO-PARATA

Andata     

dal 29 settembre al 13 ottobre/ dalle ore 17.00

La canzone di Orlando

Quattro attori e quattro musicisti insceneranno uno spettacolo-parata sullo stile medievale, all’aperto, con acrobazie e scene teatrali dedicate al paladino ORLANDO, il tutto rigorosamente in bicicletta.

Da Proceno, Acquapendente, Grotte di Castro, San Lorenzo Nuovo, Bolsena, Montefiascone, Viterbo, Vetralla, Caprarola, Ronciglione, Capranica, Sutri, Nepi, Formello, Roma.

Ritorno

Dal 14 al 28 ottobre/ ore dalle 17.00

Millemille

Il Gruppo Muses presenterà negli stessi centri, ma partendo da Roma fino ad arrivare a Proceno, Millemille uno spettacolo all’aperto dedicato ai viaggiatori della via Francigena.  

A PIEDI/ MOSTRA FOTOGRAFICA

Una mostra a cielo aperto e in cammino. Più di cento immagini raccolte da giovani artisti verranno disseminate nei 15 centri interessati e presentate nei luoghi pubblici che si affacciano sulla strada Francigena come bar, trattorie, alberghi e negozi. La disseminazione – installazione compresa – dura 34 giorni, dalle ore 10.00 alle 22.00, accompagnando il viaggio per lo spettacolo, andata e ritorno.

A CAVALLO/ LEZIONI FILOSOFICHE

CULTURA EUROPEA E STRADA REGIONALE.

Dal 26 al 30 ottobre ore 20.00

5 lezioni filosofiche a Viterbo, Vetralla, Capranica, Nepi, Roma. Lo studioso, coi  suoi scudieri si sposterà a cavallo distribuendo lungo la strada e negli incontri di sosta il libriccino col testo dell’intervento. 

Tutti gli spettacoli, le conferenze e le prove aperte sono a ingresso gratuito.

Ai viaggi  a piedi, in bicicletta e a cavallo potranno aggregarsi tutti gli interessati comunicandolo alla mail artestudiox@libero.it

Al termine del programma sarà presentato il VIDEO  sul progetto a ROMA.

Artestudio

L’equipe di ArteStudio ha già realizzato numerosi progetti  di cultura dedicati alla via Francigena nel Lazio. In particolare la grande mostra ANNO 1300 BONIFACIO VIII E IL SUO TEMPO, sempre in collaborazione con la REGIONE LAZIO, a PALAZZO VENEZIA per il GIUBILEO del 2000. Questa prevedeva, tra il 1996 e il 1999, quattro edizioni intermedie del progetto, con spettacoli e mostre d’arte incentrate proprio sulla strada che conduceva dal nord dell’ Europa fino al santo Sepolcro, passando per Sutri e Roma.

Dal 2001 fino al 2004 ArteStudio realizzava, tra Viterbo e Roma, il progetto AD’ARTE: una serie di eventi che avevano l’intento di raccontare la via Francigena ed inserirla in un circuito storico e turistico inteso come opportunità e risorsa culturale ed economica per la nostra REGIONE.

On the fourth day I faced one of the hardest parts of the route: Steeply up the Apennines. I had been walking 5 hours when I came to the village of Castello di Casola. It was 1:00pm, a perfect time to stop for a trattoria meal. I knew the village to was too small and too remote to have a trattoria but I hoped there might be a little grocery store. I asked the first man I saw and received the response:

“Non c’e’ niente qua. Deve andare ancora quattro kilometri.” (there is nothing here, you must go another 4 km.) At that point, four kilometers may was well have been the other side of the moon. I needed sustenance NOW. I sunk wearily to a bench at the edge of the village and drank the last of my water. An old woman with a wooden pole walked slowly toward me. I began to chat with her and she sat on the bench next to me. She called me “cara” and was quite upset that I was alone. She kept telling me there were bestie (wild beasts) in the woods. The only wild animals I could think of, that I might encounter in those woods were vipers and wild boar. I figured I could handle that risk. It wasn’t like I was walking alone across the Kenyan plains.

She asked me who would know if something were to happen. I told her I had a cell phone. I told her that other pilgrims had done the route alone. Nothing assuaged her. When I tried to steer the conversation to another topic, she reverted to warning me of the bestie. She kept saying “cara, non puoi farlo da sola, non puoi!” (dear, you cannot do it alone, you cannot!) I found myself laughing when she brought up the bestie for the 5th time. It was not like me to laugh when I am supposed to be polite to the elderly. I wondered if I was light-headed from the heat and from the lack of food. Was I dehydrated? Why was I giggling?

Here is a map of the Via Francigena (the part in Italy.) I started in Fidenza which you will see to the left of where it says in red “Provincia di Parma.” I walked to Aulla on the other side of the Apennines, and then skipped the part between Aulla and Lucca. I started up again in Lucca and walked to Sutri (two days before Rome.) I had to train into Rome because I physically could not walk further. However, even the directions I was following (in Italian) suggested busing into Rome on the last day as the route was on a statale road which was heavily trafficked with very little room for walking. Another pilgrim I met told me that it was “pericolosissima e bruttissima.” (Very dangerous and very ugly.) I would have been miserable doing it at the best of times, never mind as a woman alone with plantar fasciitis and a diarrhea problem that seemed to have come on from exhaustion.

Eccheccazzo, quando si deve ti tocca, e devo ammettere che mi ero sbagliando, a me i cani piacciono. È passata solo una settimana e già mi sento di dover ringraziare quell’animale del mio socioconcorrente per avermi rifilato Miley, la cucciola di Bovaro di Alzheimer  (Appenzeller, scusate) che nessuno voleva perchè troppo piccola e troppo petulante. E invece è proprio un capolavoro di cane, l’unico difetto che ha è che per essere proprio di Appenzeller DOC gli manca la coda arricciata all’indietro in senso orario. Ovvierò a questo particolare nominandola capostipite di una nuova razza canina, il Pastore di Stilieke.

Miley è veramente un cane simpatico e non rompe neanche tanto i coglioni, ormai sa quasi già tutto quel che può e non può fare e dove può e non può andare. Logico che ogni tanto sgarra, ma magari imparerà anche a non farsi beccare. Ha pianto un paio d’ore le prime due sere, ma poi adesso ha capito che nel suo recinto è al sicuro e dorme tranquilla, che tanto al mattino qualcuno arriva. È già caduta nel fosso, e la successiva lavata con acqua fredda le ha fatto alzare il livello d’attenzione quando passa da quelle parti, ottimo.

L’unica roba che mi fa imbestialire (niente di difficilissimo, tra uomo e animale mi sento proprio al limite), è la conferma empirica che se vuoi che un cane ti capisca, l’unica è parlargli in tedesco. “kim do her, Sitz, Platz, so isch di Maili brav” lo capisce. Viene, si siede e si gode le coccole. “Vei mo chi, Sentate zò, Stà ferma, Che brava la Maili” è come parlargli arabo. D’altronde, è un Pastore di Stielike, mica un Bastard Son of Dioniso 

pipuntoessepunto: le cose cambiano velocemente, la foto è vecchia di qualche giorno e alla Miley abbiamo tolto il collare

Italian pilgrimage a lesson in strength, empowerment
By Kristen Browning-Blas
The Denver Post
Posted: 08/10/2009

Chandi Wyant, left, walked 264 miles on the Via Francigena, a pilgrimage route in Italy, staying in convents along the way. On the last day of her 30-day walk, she visited nuns and their pet dog in a Franciscan convent in Sutri, Italy.

Bio: Chandi Wyant, 44, a history professor at Front Range Community College, walked for 30 days on the Via Francigena (fran-CHEE-jee-nah), a medieval pilgrimage route between Canterbury, England, and Rome. Equipped with a 19-pound pack, two walking poles, four sheets of moleskin, two journals and three pens, Wyant left for Italy at the end of May and returned July 13.

The challenge: Last summer, facing a divorce after nearly 10 years of marriage, Wyant traveled to Italy, “the greatest love of my life,” to gain some perspective on her past and find a vision for her future.

“It wasn’t just a vacation,” she says. “It was a trip that had profound meaning for me.”

Two days into the visit last July, while preparing to spend a day on the Tuscan seaside, Wyant fell ill with what she and doctors thought was a virus. “Suddenly everything completely shut down, and it was clear I had to call an ambulance. My appendix had burst, and sepsis was spreading in my system.”

She was so sick that the anesthesiologist’s first words when she awoke from emergency surgery were “era una cosa bruttissima” (“that was really horrendous”).

She spent three weeks in the Italian hospital and another week recovering at a convent before returning to Boulder.

For the next six months, she recuperated from the near-death ordeal and worked through the divorce, blogging about the pain of both (italiandreams .wordpress.com).

But she didn’t get much exercise. Before her illness, Wyant was a fairly active person, doing a hut trip every summer and taking dance classes in the winter.

The idea for the walk: “It sort of dropped out of the blue sky and landed in my brain. I learned this year, for the first time, that it is not only OK to choose my passion, but it is actually the right way to approach life choices. This was a stunning revelation for me, to realize I had never lived my life that way, and to realize that in fact I could,” she says.

Did she consider going from a near- death experience to walking across Italy in less than a year might be a little much?

“There is cause to be concerned that I am not in shape,” she acknowledged in May, days before departing. “But I can walk. I just know this is how I’m going to get strong. I haven’t done training but this walk is how I’m going to get my mind and body back. I feel that I have a very strong spirit and staying alive in that Italian hospital took everything out of me. If I can do that, I can do this walk. I just hope my knees will not give me too much trouble.”

The journey: Less well-known than the Spanish pilgrimage route, Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the Via Francigena ranges over asphalt highways and tractor tracks through farmers’ fields.

Before she set out, Wyant wrote her intentions for the walk in a journal: to regain strength in her body, empower her spirit and trust her heart. She took the first steps toward that goal in Fidenza, a town near Parma in the Emilia-Romagna region.

After walking all morning, she stopped for lunch in Costamezzana, a one-restaurant village where the waiter handed her a magazine to read while she feasted on prosciutto, sopressata, pancetta, crepes and fizzy regional white wine. A quote in an article set the tone for the trip: “The journey of the pilgrim is from the head to the heart.”

About halfway through the pilgrimage, Wyant felt a shift: “I stopped thinking about what went wrong with the marriage and stopped having flashbacks to the hospital.”

She learned quickly that the hybrid sandals and lightweight trail runners she thought would be just right for hiking the rolling Appenine Mountains were no match for the miles of pavement along the way. Finding ice for her aching feet was a challenge, but her hiking poles provided essential support.

“My trekking poles were the best item I brought with me. For one, there are vipers in the Italian countryside. I used them to pound the ground in front of me vigorously to warn the snakes,” said Wyant. “And there were a lot of dogs barking ferociously. I could fling a pole out at them.”

By the end of her 30-day walk, Wyant developed plantar fasciitis, a painful heel condition. She let go of the idea of a triumphant stroll into Rome and decided to take the train. She spent extra time with nuns as they sang “Ave Maria” for afternoon prayers in small towns on the route — Bolsena, Montefiascone, Vetralla and Sutri — where convents often host pilgrims.

What she gained (and lost): Wyant walked about 425 kilometers, or 264 miles. She learned that the rule of thumb that your pack should be a fifth of your body weight was wrong, at least for her. She shed as much as she could and found that 13 pounds (about a tenth) was more manageable.

She will return to teaching this fall and update her blog, which she thinks could turn into a book. And she will continue to muse on what she learned as a pellegrina (pilgrim).

“I was tested toward the end because I had to really recognize my body was falling apart and I couldn’t walk the last couple of days into Rome, but my time with the nuns was more valuable to me. Although it took a toll on my body, my spirit got stronger. There’s been a big shift because I love my life again.”

My pilgrimage route, the Via Francigena, entered Siena at Porta Camollia. The medieval porta bears the inscription in Latin: “Cor amgis tibi Sena pandit.” (Siena opens its heart to you wider than this gate.)

The Via Francigena was fundamental to Siena’s growth in the middle ages. Siena is not in a strategic position. It is not easily reached by sea, nor is it in a position of natural defense. The fact that it grew to be a significant Italian town is due to the Via Francigena and the foot traffic of pilgrims who passed through Siena in the middle ages. Within Siena’s walls at least 36 hospices grew up in the middle ages to provide accommodation and medical care to pilgrims. Santa Maria della Scala which still exists in Siena, was one of the first in Europe, with its own organization set up to care for pilgrims, assist the poor and provide for abandoned children. It apparently was founded in the year 898.

I stayed in Siena with my friend, we’ll call him Adam, who lives right next to the Porta Camollia. I got to know him when I last lived in Florence. He was one of the expats who frequented the wine bar on Friday evenings in Florence where a group of expats used to meet. He is 11 years younger than I am. Adam loves to sing. I went with him to his choir group who had an evening practice in a lovely little green-marble church. On the way home he put his arm through mine and back at his apartment he asked if he could give me a massage. I declined.

The problem with being a pilgrim is that it is hard to go out at night. I had to get up early and go to bed early. Staying up late would cause me to leave too late in the morning. As it was, I didn’t get out Adam’s apartment until 7:45 on the morning I left because we chatted over breakfast and he wanted to take photos.

I exited Siena through the Porta Romana–so called because it faces south toward Rome. I felt the history of all the pilgrims before me who had exited Siena through that Porta. The road at first was the kind of country road I enjoyed on the pilgrimage. It was not large or busy. It had enough houses to be comforting and enough gardens with flowers and enough views over rolling hills to keep my spirits light.

After a few hours I had to walk a ways on the Cassia which had very little room beyond the white line. A huge truck came barreling past and even though I crammed myself over the white line, the truck passed me on a corner and it seemed to lean toward me, as if it might topple over. I had grown to detest walking on the Cassia and I hoped the Via Francigena would soon turn off of it. I had to hike up a hill on the darn Cassia before I came to a turn off. The route led me down a dirt road, through a farm, between the barn and farm house. I passed a pasture with horses and foals. I wanted to stop and watch them but when I stopped I was bitten by flies. Past another farm I heard a dog barking ferociously and I hoped it was not loose.

It was after that farm that I got truly lost for the fist time. The tractor track I was on came to a “T” with another tractor track at the top of a hill. There were some pilgrims signs pointing to the left. The directions I carried with me, written in Italian, did not correspond to anything around me so I followed the pilgrim signs. After about a mile, which included quite a few turns on dirt roads, I came to a farm house and the path seemed to end. I saw no more pilgrim signs. A man on a tractor paused his tractor to tell me: “Devi tornare in dietro!” (You have to go back.) “Il sentiero non c’e’ piu’, e’ bloccato.” (The trail no longer goes through here, it is blocked off.) And with that he rumbled off on his tractor. “Ma QUANTO in dietro?” I cried out, although I knew he couldn’t hear me. (But how far back?)

I didn’t have a fricking clue how far back to go. Was it just to the first turn, or the second, on the dirt roads, or was it all the way back to the T with the tractor tracks where my directions had no longer made sense? It was noon and it had to be close to 35 degrees already. I wandered back along the dirt roads. The fields were dry, the road was dusty, there was no shade. I was hungry. I was hot. I put my pack down and rested and assessed. I scanned the dirt roads for cars. None. The chances of a car or a person passing were nil. “OK Chandi, you have to figure this out yourself.” I told myself. Part of my brain just kept saying “Ma QUANTO in dietro?” But I took some long drinks of water and sat on my pack and told myself: “Just breath, just think, you can make sense of this.”

I decided that the most logical thing would be to go back to where my directions had stopped making sense, at the T with the tractor tracks. I was weary by the time I got back there. I read, and re-read the Italian directions. “giriamo a destra imboccando una carrareccia che scende…” There was no right turn on a cart track that went downwards. No matter how much I re-read the directions, I could not make them add up to what was around me. “OK, forget the directions!” I told myself. “Just pick a direction on the tractor track.” I chose a track that went up a hill. “Every tractor track must lead, at some point, to a farm house.” I encouraged myself. “At some point this will arrive somewhere, and you can ask directions.” I kept telling myself this as I climbed past fields of wheat, through the dry grasses on the dirt track, with the hot sun beating down on me. I started to have anxiety about vipers. I knew it was because I had just read about them the night before at Adam’s house. I stamped my poles particularly forcefully into the ground which slowed my progress. (Picture of the terrain where I got lost)

I came, as I expected I would, to a farm house. As I rounded the large red brick house, which I noted was shuttered up, a gray-green snake rustled the dry leaves near my right foot. It did not appear to be a viper but it rattled my nerves. Its tail was bizarre. At first I thought it was trying to carry something with its tail. The tail was curled and seemed to be dragging. The snake did not move in the normal graceful way. I realized the tail was smashed. Perhaps it had been run over. I was relieved to see the Cassia at the end of the house’s driveway. The heat was, at that point, relentless. I had walked for 5 hours and had about 4 more if I was going to walk the whole way. My nerves were frayed and it was too hot. I walked along the Cassia looking for a bus stop, which I shortly came upon. There was actually a posting on the pole with the schedule. I noted that a bus to Buonconvento would be coming in half an hour.

Mille Mille

mercoledì 14

Roma

Giovedì 15

Formello 

venerdì 16

Nepi 

sabato 17

Sutri 

domenica 18

Capranica 

lunedì 19

Ronciglione

  martedì 20

Caprarola

mercoledì 21

Vetralla

giovedì 22

Viterbo

venerdì 23

Montefiascone

sabato 24

Bolsena

domenica 25

San Lorenzo

lunedì 26

Grotte di Castro

martedì 27

Acquapendente

mercoledì 28

Proceno