Lago Bolsena (Lake Bolsena)

Today we walked to Bolsena which sits above the largest volcanic lake in Europe. No need to worry, the last volcanic activity here was in 104 B.C. The lake stretches for miles (8 miles long, almost 7 miles across). The town of Bolsena has a castle and a medieval center. The rolling hills, olive groves and azure water created a peaceful background for a very long day of walking. 

Today’s mileage - 15.6 miles

                             An early start.

        Nadia and Irma, walking the Via for nine days.

Randy from St. Petersburg, Florida. Also like us, walking from Lucca to Rome.

                               A large solar farm.

          A view of Lake Bolsena beyond the olive trees.

                           The town castle.

Sunset is coming earlier - 7 PM tonight.

          Outdoor dining every night.

Agriturismo - the way to go

We have been fortunate to stay in four different agriturismi on our journey so far. The word “agriturismo” is a combination of the words agriculture and tourism and is the term for an independently-owned farm that provides lodging and/or dinner to paying guests. The Italian government created this classification of lodging after WWII to help save rural architecture and small family farms. The owners get economic incentives but must serve a menu that uses a majority of locally grown produce. There are over 10,000 agriturismi in Italy, ranging from basic small restaurants to luxury properties. 

Last night we stayed at La Selvella near Radicofani. Our room was a little casita named La Mimosa. Our terrace opened onto a courtyard where a huge tree shaded the outdoor dining area. The meat was prepared in the outdoor kitchen where there was also a wood-fired pizza oven. The total number of guests at dinner was 20, with our small tables intimately arranged in a circle around the tree. Twinkling lights, heaters and soft music made for a magical environment while a four course dinner was served.  These working farms provide wonderful informal hospitality for a very reasonable price. 

Our walk passed through the medieval hill town of Radicofani, the highest elevation on our route. This morning, we descended through the clouds as we left the hills of beautiful Tuscany behind us. We crossed into the region of Lazio, which is best known for its principle city Rome. Our destination for this segment was Aquapendente which was rather dreary and quiet on a Sunday afternoon. We were surprised that we were able to go down into the Crypt below the Basilica del Santo Sepulcro and have the place to ourselves. It was a little spooky when the motion detector lights went off. 

I am still getting used to realizing so many sights along this route are from the 12th century or even earlier. There was an historical marker referring to Charlemagne and his troops being quarantined in the 7th century in a nearby village after being exposed to the Plague. As we wear our masks indoors everywhere here, that seemed rather ironic. 

Yesterday’s mileage - 13.4 miles

Today’s mileage - 9.6 miles

  

Last views of Tuscany

                  Our casita at Agriturismo La Selvella.

             An original farm building at La Selvella.

                      Farm to table food.

                   Outdoor kitchen and pizza ovens.

                          Dinner is served!

The rooster woke us up, this was the view from bed.

Walking down the Via Francigena from Radicofani.

                               River crossing

Elise (middle) from Genoa, Italy has been walking the Via from Calais, France. Vittorio (right) is from Milan and started from there.

        Not the most comfortable spot for a lunch break.

 

                           Making progress….

Slow Travel

People have often asked me which places in Italy they should visit. They then run through a list of sights they are anxious to see or feel they must visit. My usual advice is to go to fewer places and stay longer.  It is my opinion that what makes Italy such an appealing place is the culture and it takes slowing down to truly appreciate that.

That is why this experience of walking on the Via Francigena is so meaningful to me. We are able to take our time and see everyday life close up. We can say hello to the people working in their gardens and ask the woman walking her dog for directions.  We are sitting in the laundromat talking with an elderly woman waiting for our clothes to dry. People along the Via want to know where we are from and how far we are walking. 

When we have traveled in the past, I have frequently asked David to pull the car over so I can take some photographs. Often, by the time it is safe to do that, the view or situation that I wanted to capture is gone. Now, I am on foot so I am moving slowly and have plenty of time to take in the details and take photos whenever I want.

Today, we walked through farmyards and visited churches from the 12th century. We walked fhrough a village where the main piazza is a large pool (a thermal bath called a terme) that dates back to the Etruscan culture, 250 years before Christ. We climbed a defensive tower that was built when Siena ruled this part of Italy and we had a 360 degree view of the countryside. I am not sure if it reassured us or discouraged us when we could see tomorrow’s destination (the tower of Radicofani) on the horizon. 

Today’s mileage - 6.2  plus 3 miles of sightseeing.

                                    Alto Vignano 

    These thermal baths have been here since 250 BC. 

          Espresso macchiato break in Bagno Vignano.

            A pedestrian bridge on the Via Francigena.

      Taking shelter during a brief shower this afternoon.

Mid-day and not a soul around. The cisterna (cistern) in Castiglione d’Orcia.

Chiesa di Santa Maria Maddalena. A Romanesque church from the 13th century.

Finally, we made it up to the tower that we could see from where we started walking this morning.

Climbing up to the viewing platform on the tower of the Rocca d’Orcia.

         The view of Castiglione d’Orcia from the tower.

               The walk back to our B&B after dinner.

No “wining”

We keep walking through vineyards and groves of olive trees. But today it was especially interesting because we were in the region of Montalcino where the world famous Brunello wine is produced. We were definitely tempted to stop by one of the tasting rooms we passed but thought better of it knowing we had miles to go. It is serious business here and it was interesting to see the buzz of activity going on as the grape harvest has begun.

We stopped for lunch in a village and sat with local residents in an osteria. There was no menu; several offerings were given verbally, in Italian of course. There was a mezzo liter (~16 ounces) of local wine on each table. We admired one man’s huge bull mastiff that was lying next to his table and he insisted I pose with the dog. 

The weather is beginning to change; it is a little less hot and there is rain in the forecast. We can feel ourselves changing too, the hill climbs seem less daunting and the miles slide by. I am less self conscious about speaking Italian. We are halfway to Rome.

Today’s mileage - 16 miles

The view from our window this morning.

Our room in the agriturisimo.

Every morning, we leave our bags at the reception and (so far!) they have been waiting for us when we arrive at the next place. It’s a miracle.

      I love the silhouettes of the trees in the landscape.

We met Clara from Hamburg, Germany walking on her own from Siena to Rome. 

         Harvesting the grapes for Brunello wine.

            The vines were overloaded with grapes.

This was a mobile wine bottling unit outside of a smaller farm. 

     We made friends with a 70kg (154 lb) dog at lunch.

          Lots of beautiful properties along the trail. 

                      And a few “fixer-uppers”!

 

Today’s destination - San Quirico d’Orcia