Via Francigena: day 37

From Sant’Ambrogio di Torino to Foresto

This morning we meet with Sara and Fabio in front of the church; we have just some time to have a coffee and then we leave on the mule track which leads to the Sacra of San Michele. It’s a very steep ascent which then goes down on the other side; it’s a very nice place with a magic aura but I believe it can be left behind by the pilgrims who already have to walk a lot of kilometers.

We keep on going down on the mule track between rocks and leaves and once we get to the end we understand that we didn’t walk so much and it’s still a long way to go to get to Susa which is 34 kilometers far away from here.

We bought some sandwiches and something to drink in a small grocery in Chiusa San Michele so we have a lunch break while our companions share their experiences as expert pilgrims with us; they are surely more expert than myself at least.

Unfortunately today’s journey is very long so we have to get back on the road quickly; we pass through Vaie, Sant’Antonino di Susa and a long stretch of the highway near Malpasso. The paved road, the busy streets and, most of all, the climb to the Sacra exhausted us , but we are yet very far from our destination, at least 12 kilometers more to walk.

While we walk Grazia tries to call the various religious hostels which, in theory, should host us near Susa. One of them is not answering and the other one asks to be payed 45 euros per person; it seems a little absurd to me, given we are pilgrims. I’m not calling this hospitality, I call it business.

Anyway we keep on going on our path and, while passing through the little village called Villar Focchiardo, our attention is focused on a fountain. Made from an old hand pump , it carries, carved on the wood all around, the distances between here and Rome and Santiago. A barking dog wakes up his owner who comes out from his house to talk to us. He’s the maker of the fountain and he did it to help the pilgrims; he confesses that he’d like to walk as a pilgrim too someday but he can’t find the way. Later we are joined by his wife who shares this dream with him. They’d like to be pilgrims but their house, nephews, the dog and everything else seems to be an obstacle to their will.

The man offers us some grapes from his garden, when you are walking for such a long time these gestures make you feel good and give back some trust in the human kind.

Susa is still very far away so we have to leave, we say goodbye and get back on the road. We proceed for a long stretch along the highway until we make another break to rest our feet and shoulders and in the meanwhile we try to call some of the hotels and hostels around Susa. Still nothing anyway, it seems we really cannot find a place to sleep at a fair price. 
Given we are walking since forever and we are very tired we decide to look for some place to sleep nearby, we really cannot get to Susa or sleep under the stars. So we look for a B&B, and we find one in Foresto with all the comforts it can give and it’s anyway less expensive than the nuns’ hospitality in Susa.

After 4 or 5 kilometers more we get to Bussoleno where we say goodbye to Sara and Fabio, they will go back by train. Grazia and I stop at the bar to drink something and then restart our journey towards Foresto; we are very tired and we have 4 more hot kilometers to walk. 
The room is the attic of a villa, 4 beds and a wonderful clean bathroom with everything we need. So much for the nuns and the unwelcoming friars!

We’ll have dinner at the only restaurant we can find in the village called “Zia Rosa’s”. Just some grilled chicken and salad , the owners are friendly and charming, we cannot ask for more; to be honest today has been a hard day but it gave a lot to us.

The morning after we go down in the kitchen where the owner prepared a great breakfast with sweet and savory delights, she’s very friendly and nice . She even accompanies us for a while with her dog after our breakfast.

After that I say goodbye myself too, I have to go back home by train from Bussoleno.
Steps: 39474

Via Francigena: day 36

From Turin to Sant’Ambrogio di Torino

We leave the city following an avenue called Francia accompanied by Anna for a while, until we find a bar where we can have breakfast. After saying goodbye we proceed straight on, walking in the middle of the city is not very comfortable, there are busy sidewalks, traffic lights, cars, obstacles and crossroads; walking on dirt paths in the middle of the nature is way way better than this.

Once we are outside the city and leave behind the suburbs too we get to Rivoli where the road starts to climb a little. We’d like to visit the castle but it’s not on the Francigena and the road is still long, so we sadly decide to leave it behind.

Later on we arrive to Rosta where we stop to have lunch in a tavern in which they serve Lucanian recipes. 
After the afternoon nap we get back on the road to walk on the Ancient road of France , passing through Sant’Antonio di Ranverso, an ancient institute where, in the late 1188, they took care of the pilgrims and the plagued .

We then arrive to Avigliano and, in the end to Sant’Ambrogio di Torino where we could not find any place to sleep at had to book a room in a B&B that’s nothing but the guest room of a private house.

A nice climb to the Sacra of San Michele is waiting for us tomorrow.

 

Steps: 24974

Via Francigena: day 35

From Gassino Torinese to Turin

Today’s leg will be easy and quiet. We leave around 7.30 and after a short stretch of the village we turn on the path leading to the bank of the Cimena drain, now dry because under maintenance.

We can clearly see Superga from afar but we are short of time and the distance doesn’t allow us to climb up the 600 meters hill to visit it.

Just after that we meet Piermario riding his bike, he will come with us for a while. The path goes on like this , first on one side then on the other one of the drain until St. Mauro Torinese and the great Po river, where the drain takes its waters when the locks are raised. 
We have a little break here with a good coffee and then we get back on the road along the banks of the river Po on a wonderful bike lane.

Later we leave Piermario who’s heading back home, Turin is not so far away from here now. We keep going among bikers and joggers and in the end we get to the bridge where, on one side, we see the great dome of a church called Chiesa della Gran Madre di Dio and, on the other side, Vittorio Veneto square.

We cross the bridge and get near Palazzo Ducale where we have to meet with the association which is supporting Grazia and her cause. 
Unfortunately Antonio has to leave us after lunch , we say goodbye; we have been very happy to have him around again though. 
Later on Grazia and I, with the people from the association , talk about the journey to some kids in a school. And we will be hosted by Anna tonight; she is giving us a place where to sleep and arranged a small party to give some attention to Grazia and her cause and to allow her to show what she’s doing and to explain why, answering questions and talking to the people.
Steps: 23737

Via Francigena: day 34

From Castell’Apertole to Gassino Torinese

We leave at the crack of dawn, Antonio will walk with me and Grazia today until we will reach the French border. 
Just after the B&B the road turns on a long dirt, the sun is not yet high in the sky and the weather is quite pleasant, it’s fresh all around and the mist coming up from the ground of the fields is heartwarming.

The dirt goes on for few kilometers and then becomes a paved road arriving to Lamporo, a very small village where we find the only bar obviously closed. We have a small break sitting on the benches and then we get back on the road. Just outside the village we get back on the dirt path which goes through the wheat fields flanked by irrigation drains.
We then arrive near the Cavour Drain , a huge artificial drain which leads water from the river Po to the river Ticino through the fields.

We decide to follow the bank of the drain thanks to an advice given by one of Antonio’s friends; this decision will help us cutting off many kilometers from our journey and we will be able to rejoin the Francigena near Castelrosso. 
The path is quiet along the bank, in just one occasion I’m not very comfortable walking near the water but it’s just for a moment.

After almost 18 kilometers from the start we leave the drain bank besideto enter Verolengo looking for a bar where to have a decent lunch. We have an hour long break and then we get back on the road headed to the Drain Cavour.

After 7 or 8 kilometers more on the bank we get to Chivasso, we head to the center of the city and after another break to have some rest we reach out the cathedral where Piermario is waiting for us to take us to Gassino Torinese. We couldn’t find a place to sleep in Chivasso so we will go to Gassino which is 10 kilometers far from there. We couldn’t walk for 10 more kilometers today, it’s too hot.

It will be a quick journey tomorrow to get to Turin, but Grazia will be very busy with all her appointments to talk about the cause she’s walking for , so it will be challenging anyway.

 

Steps: 35172

Via Francigena: day 33

From Vercelli to Castell’Apertole

We are a little group of eight pilgrims this morning, we meet in front of the hostel called Sancti Eusebi where I slept tonight. We take just our time to greet and introduce to each other and it’s time to go.

There’s nothing impressing to tell about today though, just outside Vercelli the road goes on by paved road, passing through a couple of ghost villages, with no bar and no people around. The only bar we find to be open is in Lignana, after several kilometers, even though the village is not very much alive. In the meanwhile a couple of friends leave us, they wanted to walk with us for a while, most of all with Grazia, but now they have to get back to Vercelly where their cars are waiting for them.

After a short break and water refilling we get back on the road for what will be one of the longest stretch I’ve ever walked. Almost 15 kilometers of a straight paved road, very hot and in the middle of nowhere. So much that , just 5 kilometers before our destination, we all finish the water supply and we are visibly tired. It would have been easier to know what to expect so we could prepare more water and better .

Finally at destination, what could seem to us an optical illusion given we were dead tired revealed itself to be a huge parking area with a gas station, a bar, a restaurant and swimming pool. Obviously we immediately dive inside the pool and quickly drink a couple of water bottles and then our usual cold beer to close the journey. 
Then we visit the restaurant too where, with an honest price, we can eat almost everything, from cold pasta to cold cuts. It’s really what we needed after such a long and exhausting trip.

We also understand later that the place is owned by the same person who owns the B&B we are going to spend the night at, a wonderful building owned by the famous family Savoia and turned into a SPA and hotel. We say goodbye to the other three companions who will go back home by train and we head to our room. 
After a good shower and the usual laundry we go back to the restaurant for dinner, I will perhaps sleep well tonight most of all thanks to the air conditioner.
Steps: 30074

Via Francigena: day 32

From Mortara to Vercelli

I wake up before dawn today, the days are very hot and suffocating so it is best to take advantage of the fresh air of the morning when the sun is still down. We leave after an good coffee and a croissant prepared by miss Carla, the very nice lady who welcomes everyone at the Sant’Albino Abbey.

We walk through the village until the station where Lorena is waiting for us; she’s joining us because she wants to be a part of Grazia’s journey. Just right outside the village the road starts flanking a drain and, finally through the fields where the grass is still wet, soaking our feet. We walk on paths for some kilometers and get to a paved road leading to Nicorvo where we hope to find an open bar to have a second breakfast; unfortunately this small village looks like a ghost village and the only bar is closed.

We sorrowful keep going on the Francigena and just outside the village we have a little break on the parking of the cemetery. 
Once we get back on the road we walk again on a paved road to turn then on a long dirt path which goes on until Robbio where finally we can stop at a bar to have a break and drink something fresh.

From here, given the day is very hot, we decide to shorten our journey at any cost, even though it means to walk on the asphalt. Among the hot day, the asphalt and the muggy weather we decide that the first one is the best choice even though we have to be careful because the cars run on the road like there’s no speed limit at all.

We get to Palestro very tired and we stop to have lunch with a sandwich and a fresh beer but most of all to get some rest.

Once we get back on the road we zigzag for some time through the paddy fields and some paved road; our idea is to get to the destination walking as less as we can because we can’t take anymore between the hot weather and tiredness. A couple kilometers before Vercelli we find a fountain so we can refresh a little before starting the last stretch of this leg; the only water we have left with us is almost hot. 
We enter the city walking on the bridge which crosses the Sesia river and we have another fresh beer before saying goodbye to Lorena who will head to the train station to get back home.
Steps: 39992

Via Francigena: day 31

From Garlasco to Mortara

I leave today at 7.30 am , after having breakfast in the bar in front of the church; i didn’t sleep well, it was very hot and the church bells played their part , ringing every hour during the night.

Grazia joins me and we start immediately our journey detouring to visit the sanctuary of the Madonna della Bozzola, just outside Garlasco. We make a brief visit, make them punch our credential and then leave; apart from a brief misunderstanding, with the signals leading us in the wrong direction, we then find the way. It’s quite difficult to walk in the opposite direction , moving away from Rome, not towards. It will be impossible without the GPS, it’s easy to go in the wrong direction. The signals are directed towards those who descend and we are instead walking on the other side, so often we cannot see them.

From here there’s not much to tell about the path that runs practically on dirt paths flanking drains, some wheat fields but, most of all paddy fields as far as the eye can see.

We find the only breaks that make the road different in Tromello, where first a little girl runs to us asking if we’d like to have our credential punched by the Pro Loco and then after we meet Giancarlo, a famous man who welcomes every pilgrim while riding his bicycle.

Then we have another break in Remondò, where we sit down for a while, tired and thirsty, to have a nice cold beer. While we are sitting there we meet Suala, a Venetian pilgrim whose journey started on the Great San Bernardo and will get to Rome. We chit chat for a while and then get back on the road in our own personal directions.

After 6 kilometers more between the hot and suffocating paddy fields we finally get to Mortara, where the thermometer indicates 37 degrees Celsius and, to be honest, we feel each one of them. Other than we expect to see, besides the drains and the paddy there’s something that catches our attention and it’s the incivility of the people. And among the trash and the abusive landfills unfortunately I have to say that you see almost everything along the Francigena.

In the end we finally get to the Abbey of Sant’Albino , a wonderful and cozy place where we will be spending the night.

We have a shower and do the laundry. Tonight, at dinner, we will be hosted by Rosanna who is coming here by car to carry us. Later on we meet Don Enea and the mayor of the city.

 

Steps: 25856

Via Francigena: day 30

From Pavia to Garlasco

After a couple of months and few days here I am back walking on the Francigena. I left behind the two hottest and busiest months staying at home, but the desire to get back on the road was high. In the meanwhile I kept reading about the journeys of the others, most of all the one of Grazia Andriola . She’s a pilgrim who started her journey from Santa Maria Di Leuca that’s in the Apulia region and will walk for 5000 kilometers to reach out Santiago and she’s walking for a great purpose, to spread the message against domestic violence and women.
She’s walking through villages and cities talking about it to the associations, to the authorities and victims with their relatives and this adds more and more challenge to her task.

https://www.weworld.it/steptostopviolence/

Given she read a lot about my journey on this blog before starting hers and seeing I couldn’t wait anymore to be on the road again I thought it was nice to walk with her for some time, so I reached her.
I left the railway station in Pavia at 8.30 am reaching the covered bridge on the Ticino river and then got down along the bank on a dirt path flanking the river for at least 5 kilometers.

Once I get near a tavern I turn on a small paved road which is almost desert, I meet just some group of bikers training. The Francigena path, in theory, should be flanking this road but I can see just some signal because the tall grass doesn’t allow me to see something more.

After 5 more kilometers I get back on a long dirt path which runs along a drain near the paddy fields. Once it is over I get to an overpass on the highway and right after that I finally reach Groppello Cairoli.

Here finally I meet Grazie in person, we have a sandwich and a beer together while we chat and talk about our opinions on the Francigena and given there are only few kilometers to reach Garlasco we decide to take it easy, avoiding the afternoon hot and then we stop here a couple of hours. We wait together for her very nice friend called Erika who will be walking with us until Garlasco where I will stop for the night, while Grazia will get back with her to the city of Dorno, where she’s being awaited for one of those events I talked about before.

Tomorrow morning Grazia will come back to Garlasco and we will start our journey together.

The road from Groppello to Garlasco is running along an artificial drain which leads to the village doors.

Tonight I will be sleeping at the parish hostel in the center of the city, it is a cozy and nice and clean place and given August is almost over, it is almost empty.
Steps: 27861

Via Francigena: day 29

Testimonium and return home

Even though I had the occasion to sleep as much as I could I woke up early at 6.30 am, I curled up in the blankets for a while until 7.30 , breakfast time. I got down in the kitchen with the other pilgrims and given we can stay a couple of days here I find those arrived the day before yesterday. I already had the occasion to greet Simon during the dinner, I haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks, to be honest before Valpromaro and, useless to say, given the speed of his steps, I thought he already was headed home.
The conversations are pretty the same for everyone, what will we find once at home and how could we cope again with everyday’s life; we will not be able to walk right after breakfast and how could we relate with the others once back in the world outside?
During the journey we meet people and share something with them and we start chatting about ideas and opinions and everything, while it’s even difficult to have a greeting from our neighbors when we are home. I think it will be very difficult to explain, to explain what it means to walk so much, walking through different new places, so often quiet , peaceful and silent.

Anyway, after breakfast , Giacomo, Livio, Laura and I we go to St. Peter’s cathedral to have our Testimonium . It is just a piece of paper but ,after 770 kilometers ,( and for someone else even more) I really want to have it and to take it home with me. 
We pass the controls on the side of the cathedral, take the badge to pass the gate and enter in the sacristy ( to be honest they let us wait outside) and after 15 minutes an attendant comes to take our credentials to give them back after a couple of minutes with the Vatican stamp and our well deserved certificates.

We briefly visit the cathedral and once we are out I say Laura goodbye while she leads to the Vatican museum, instead we act like tourists before returning to the hostel and the restaurant nearby, where the owner has a certain care for the pilgrims.
After lunch I say goodbye to Giamoco and Livio and reach the hotel I booked yesterday. I want to celebrate my birthday tonight and unfortunately I cannot if I’m staying at the hostel because there is some sort of “curfew” and we have to get back into our rooms not after 10.30 pm.

In the evening, once I’m alone at the hotel, I’m having feelings about the journey, the disclosure and the nights spent with the other pilgrims so I find myself taking some conclusion. In these 28 days I walked under the sun and the rain, on the paved road and in the mud, alone and with company, uphill and downhill ; some times I have been very uncomfortable, sometimes I’ve been very good, I was crippled for almost a week and even though I’ve been said that I should have quit or stop for a couple of days due to the tendinitis I held tight and kept going, always walking with my backpack on my shoulders filled with everything I needed.

I learned during the journey that you have to keep drinking even though you are not thirsty, I learned how to use the sticks, what to do to take care about physical problems and how to prevent them with some “pilgrim tricks”. 
I have met American, French, English Dutch, Swiss and obviously Italian people , all of them very kind and gentle, we shared the same experience and our passion for trekking. Religious or not, everyone has left home for different reasons and no one thought their purpose was better than those of the other ones. 
The Francigena is an ancient pilgrimage road but you are not forced to be religious to walk through this journey; I admit my biggest fear was to meet some “over excited” people or to be forced to listen to sermons and so on, instead no one is interested if you are a believer or not, the “pilgrim” word means now every person who walk for a reason, no matter what.

The whole road, apart some municipal signal which is confusing, is very well signalized, it’s almost impossible to get lost and , about the hostels, it’s enough to call a couple of days before to know if there’s some vacation. On the internet we can find addresses and phone numbers always updated. There are no long desert stretch so we can easily find where to eat and to drink and in the evening there’s always some place where to find local recipes; at least I’d like to see more fountains or standpipes but it’s not difficult to understand how to ration water. Apart some little stretch with uneven asphalt the road and the paths are walkable by everyone and in case of an emergency you can always find an alternative way.

I don’t know how many people will read this little blog written by a beginner, but however I feel myself ready to recommend everyone is passing by , if they haven’t already done it , to try, sooner or later, and have a good walk. Even just a week to start, to unplug for a while without going somewhere far or in some city filled with tourists. 
Find ourselves among nature and silence, can you recall when was the last time you have been at peace?

 

Buen Camino

Via Francigena: day 28

From Formello to Rome

To be honest I am not too hasty to leave given the agenda plans to stop at La Storta, just 15 kilometers far from here. It can be quite chaotic to get to Rome during Sunday afternoon , and in addition these are election days so it can be worse.

Once I’m at the bar for breakfast I find Tommaso and Livio, a couple of pilgrims who started their journey near the place I live, so I start today’s leg with them; I will stop before them and they will be getting to Rome today.

We leave the village going down on a road which becomes soon a dirt and then a path through the trees ; at some point we find a couple of gates which don’t allow cows and animals to run free. Once the path is over we find a steep paved ascent which turns then on another road. A signal shows us the variation of Isola Farnese and, thanks to a couple of local bikers, we decide to take this one. 
After a short stretch on a path among the trees the landscape hilly and the path becomes a wonderful dirt path between two fences; too many ups and downs and bends but it’s worth it.

Once the dirt path is over we walk on a short paved stretch and then again a descending dirt which passes in front of a waterfall, goes down through some kind of park and , in the end, leads us to the suburbs of La Storta.

We enter the city at 10. am and, to be honest, I don’t find this place so much quiet to stay here all day long; if only it would be one of the ancient burg I visited in the Orcia valley I could have stopped, but we practically are pretty much in the outskirts of Rome, so I decide to change my plan and keep going towards my destination , getting to Rome one day before I decided. I’m so much closer to the destination that I really cannot even think about to stand here doing nothing.

This part of the journey now becomes anyway a long and exhausting walk through the busy roads, except for a small stretch through the natural reserve of Monte Mario where, once I reached the top, I go down along the road which flanks a school place open for polling station. I keep on going down until I reach the city, pass a couple of parallel roads until I reach the way leading to Vatican City and then, completing these last 32 kilometers, finally enter St. Peter’s Square.

I am surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of people but I’m too much focused on this moment to care. The last time I’ve been here there weren’t so many barriers and metal detectors as today, but those were times when we weren’t talking about terrorism every day and perhaps it wasn’t even on Sunday, contrariwise .
I don’t feel tired about the 32 kilometers I walked today and neither I am about the 775 kilometers I walked during 28 days. I will be making my conclusions tomorrow, when I won’t be overwhelmed by the emotions and I won’t be as hungry as I am now!

Steps: 31636

Total Steps: 847456