Tag Archives: Scenery

Day 7 – Siena to Lucignano d’Arbia – more like the Camino

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Tuesday 20 May 2025 – And off we go again!  We set the alarm for 0530 in order to get a prompt breakfast at 0700, which was a bit of a shame, as the hotel breakfast service didn’t start until 0730. Never mind; we could usefully catch up with the woes of the world while we waited.

We walked through the streets of Siena, with their amusingly-modified tables on the steep bits,

to the Campo, where the swallows were feasting exuberantly.


It was clear that today was Bin Day in Siena.

We exited the city through the Roman Gate

and carried on along a tarmac road for some 6km, past scenery that was, as before, pleasant and rural but otherwise unremarkable.

Eventually, we left the tarmac for the “white road” (i.e. a dirt road) that would be the underfoot surface for much of the rest of the walk.

It took us through an industrial estate

and on to a section of sheltered path which led beside the road

to another industrial estate, though one of a different sort.

In the distance, we could see a Mystery Object

which the track would take us nearer, to give us a chance to understand what it was. We also passed evidence that a major road once passed overhead.

The second industrial estate was just outside a village called Isola d’Arbia, which offered two items of keen interest, given that we had by this stage walked over 10km – a “sosta del pellegrino” and a bar. The “sosta del pellegrino” looked uncannily like a coffee bar, so we stopped to intrude on the privacy of the barman for a swift coffee. We debated stopping at the second bar for another coffee but decided to soldier on. Generally speaking, the going was a lot less arduous than we had been used to in the first week – much less up and down. The temperature was fine – around 20°C – but it was quite humid, and indeed we had a small sprinkling of rain occasionally as we walked. The day felt more similar to those that we had experienced when we walked the Camino de Francés in Spain, only with fewer convenient bars and cafés.

We got really quite close to the Mystery Object

but close examination gave scant clues as to what it was beyond a bleedin’ great tower. We could make out the letters IDIT at the base, and the S-cape map, being on this occasion more useful than Google Maps, told us that it was a “Torre di Essicazione”, which only helped a little, but when I plugged that nugget and the letters IDIT into ChatGPT, we got not just some kind of general information, but a specific run-down of exactly what it was. I quote:

Constructed between 1959 and 1961, the tower was part of the IDIT (Industria di Disidratazione Isola Tressa) facility, designed to dehydrate fruits and vegetables—primarily tomatoes—using a German-engineered process. The method involved drying produce at 33°C within a 70-meter-high silo, aiming to transform fresh produce into shelf-stable powders. Despite the initial enthusiasm, the facility faced operational challenges and ceased production by 1966, having never reached full-scale operation.

Today, the tower stands as a prominent, albeit decaying, landmark in the Tuscan landscape. While the concrete structure remains intact, other parts of the facility have deteriorated significantly, leading to its designation as an “ecomostro” (eco-monster) by environmental and heritage organizations.

While the structure is not open to the public due to safety concerns, it remains a poignant symbol of a bygone industrial era amidst the rolling Tuscan hills.

It certainly dominated the landscape as we walked on.

The white road carried on rolling

In the distance, two Czech pellegrinos who were considerably younger and fitter than us

and we were a little worried that the few drops of rain we’d had might develop into something more sustained – the sky looked quite strange at times.

but any showers that were around didn’t affect us.

We saw a couple more Mystery Objects.

We guessed that the first one was some kind of water storage facility. From the number of man-made and natural ponds, we reckon that water supply for irrigation must be an issue at some times of the year, although right now the countryside was very green. And (I’ll be honest here) the second one wasn’t a mystery at all; it was the Grancia di Cuna, one of the best preserved medieval fortified farms in the Siena area, and clearly a construction of significant size.

The S-cape app suggested a path that deviated slightly from the official Via to take us close by it.

It’s very chunky indeed; of course, once you get really close you can no longer see it properly.

So I took the opportunity to whizz the drone up to see if an aerial shot looked good.

It was built in the 14th century as a collection centre for the grain and other agricultural production necessary for the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena. It developed into a small independent village surrounded by walls, gates and towers, with the farm-fortress at the centre. Like the tower, the Grancia dominates the landscape around it.

There was some lovely scenery, really typical of Tuscany, to be appreciated.

Our route took us up into the hills overlooking Monteroni d’Arbia

and past some curious artworks – these turn out to be part of the “Museum of Widespread Art” whose works adorn this Siena stretch of the Via Francigena.

We caught our first sight of our destination

but the app led us to it via a very winding route, through a tiny but tidy hamlet called Greppo

with what we guessed was a disused well of some sort outside it,

and then via quite a significant diversion through another industrial area, to the road leading to Lucignano d’Arbia. The Powers That Be of Monteroni (who run the commune of which Lucignano forms a part) had obviously tried to ease the path round a roundabout, to help pilgrims on their way, so we walked along it until

it rather suddenly ended.

With no escape route, we had to retrace our footsteps, which, after 22km, was a little irritating. But soon we arrived in Lucignano, which is a small fortified village;

like Monteriggioni, you can see quite easily pretty much from one end to the other. Unlike Monteriggion, though, it doesn’t have coffee or gelato bars; just the one hotel, the Borgo Antico, whose entrance we found after stumbling around a little bit.

A friendly receptionist checked us in to our room which was on the ground floor (hurrah!) and so we refreshed ourselves and, given there was a forecast for rain, went out for a look round Lucignano. This doesn’t take long. It’s pretty, and small.

Pieve (monastery) di San Giovanni Battista, from 11th or 12 century, used now just for masses

Fortifications at each end

There being just the one restaurant there (in the hotel), I was glad we were on half board. Dinner was taken in the vaulted dining room

and was very good. It was a little bit of a shame that they ran out of gin before I could have a second glass, but never mind. By the time we’d had dinner, the threatened thunderstorm had arrived, and so we retired for the night and to prepare for the morrow.

Tomorrow is a light day; we have to walk just 14km to Buonconvento and there’s a coffee stop on offer at Ponte d’Arbia, so we can both get a rest and take a look at the river which gives its name to so many places. Like today, I’m expecting the going to be relatively easy, but you’ll have to check back on these pages to see how things really went, won’t you?

 

 

Day 6 – Monteriggioni to Siena – Long but not too hard

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Saturday 17 May 2025 – We were up not with the lark but with the blackbird, which started singing shortly before our alarm was due to go off at 05:30. We took a prompt breakfast in order to get out quickly, since the official distance of 20km made this one of the longer days since we started out from Altopascio. (I’ve noted before that I feel this route has been tougher than the Camino Francés that we did 18 months ago. Actually, on the Camino, we typically covered longer distances then; but the Via (so far) has been much more hilly, which has made the days tougher.)

The hotel is definitely posh. You can tell because it actually offered hot food at breakfast, so I was able to construct a passable imitation of a bacon butty to go with my cup of Twining’s finest Earl Grey.

Then it was time to head off across the fields to rejoin the Via. The lowering mass of Monteriggioni squats atop a hill; once we got to the foot of the hill we started up really quite a steep path.

At its steepest, just before the gate into the fortress,

I measured the slope as 14.5°

which a short conversation with ChatGPT established is actually slightly steeper than 1 in 4. Bloody steep, in short. Although we had only covered around 4km by the time we passed through the gate, we felt we’d earned a coffee stop. While Jane and Caroline relaxed, I popped over the road and whizzed the drone up for a quick photo of the whole place.

You can see how tiny it is.

After our coffee, we bade farewell to Monteriggioni

and moved on

working our way steadily towards our goal – Siena, the end of this section of the Via. The S-cape app described today’s walk as short, easy and unencumbered by any “road houses”, i.e. coffee stops. It was wrong on two of the three counts: our total distance for the day was 24.5km (only Day 1 was longer) and there were actually a couple of rest stops along the way, one of which was delightful (see later).

As before, the going was varied – some tarmac, some dirt road and some tracks.

There were stretches where balletic leaps across muddy patches were required, or where the going underfoot was pretty rocky.

Muddiness and rocks were, however, no barrier for some of the lunatic fringe who came past us.

The Powers That Be clearly wanted to make sure that we stayed on track;

there are no fewer than five waymarks in this picture.

We passed a reference to the Camino de Santiago

a helpful household’s support for passing pilgrims

Just a tap through the wall, and a notice that the water is OK for drinking

and some nice roadside shrines.

For much of the route, the countryside, while pleasant and rural, was otherwise unremarkable

though there were patches where poppies had taken over; at one point they almost seemed to form a river.

We took a rest in order to eat our hotel-provided sandwiches on a convenient bench overlooking a monument

which, its info board told us, was erected after the area, which had originally been a swamp, had been drained; the monument was a tribute to man’s ability to shape nature. The swamp might have been cleared, but the mosquitoes hadn’t noticed.

One falls to meditating on the long stretches of road when not much else is happening. I saw this sign

which had flashing lights and warned that there were pedestrians in the road, and wondered how the hell did they know we were there?

We passed another sign, this one telling us that there was a “punta ristoro” in a couple of kilometres, which, given the S-cape info, was unexpected. Between us and it were a couple of castles:

Castello della Chiocciola, the origins of which are possibly from the 14th century, but which certainly was mentioned in despatches in 1555 when it played a part in the battle which ended in the fall of Siena; and Castello di Villa, a medieval building which was apparently historically important for pilgrims on the Via Francigena. This takes its name from (or possibly gives it to) the local area, which has a few houses which look to have been recently spiffed up, a sort of village green to give you an idea of its personality

and – eventually – the “punto ristoro”, which describes itself as a punto sosta – a place of sustenance.

“Extension” round the back

It’s a delightful place, offering all kinds of goodies – various foods including cakes, pastries, eggs and fruit – coffee or tea, and a place to sit and rest. No money is demanded; the place runs off donations, and has a very genial atmosphere.  There are many nice touches

and a lovely vegetable garden round the back.

Informal as it seemed, it did appear that the place also operated as a B&B; all slightly eccentric and utterly charming. Of course we took a break there.

Slightly further along, there was an Agriturismo place, Casalino 18, offering lunch-time wine-tasting, sandwiches and juices – another rest stop that had escaped the notice of S-cape.

Shortly after that, we apparently reached SIena!

Ah. No. Bugger. Still a few kilometres to go. We ploughed on. At least we only had a few kilometres to go; other destinations were much further away.

The pleasantly unvarying rural scenery gave way to a vista worth a photo

and… had we really reached Siena?

Sadly, not quite – still a couple of kilometres to go. That lovely view was basically the hill we then had to climb to get to the city proper.  But we did get there, walking through increasingly urban surroundings until we reached a very obvious entry point to the historic city.

This is the gate through which pilgrims traditionally enter the city. We were a bit tired and frazzled by this stage, so couldn’t quite be arsed to do this; but we did go through another walled archway

which, eagle-eyed readers will notice, sports the Medici coat of arms, and into the old city proper.

and eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, to our hotel,

the very elegant and slightly eccentric Hotel Chiusarelli. It’s a nice place, and we were courteously welcomed, but the way they’ve set the rooms out is odd, to say the least. Our room was no. 24, which was on the top floor (up 50 steps!). Caroline’s, no.35, was along a corridor and down some stairs. Our bags had arrived and (praise be!) been put in our rooms, and Lorenzo and Barbara on reception made sure that we could find our way through their mini labyrinth to our rooms.

Although the walk hadn’t been as arduous as those on some of the other days, we were still in need of a rest, and so it was a couple of hours later that we ventured out for a look at Siena – my first, as I’ve never been here before. We had hoped to get into the cathedral, the Duomo, but, sadly, had left it too late. By telling us that its closing time was 7pm, Google had traduced us – it closed at 5.30, so we had to make do with seeing it in its magnificant, city-dominating, setting

before taking a look at the baptistry

and the facade.

Opposite the Duomo is the church of Santa Maria della Scala, which has a breathtaking interior, with a stunning fresco behind the altar.

We also visited the main square of the city, the Campo di Siena

before heading back to the hotel for an evening meal in their restaurant. The food was excellent, but we discovered another eccentricity, in that they don’t serve spirits, so a G&T with the meal was not an option. However, it was a lovely meal and a chance for final conversation with Caroline before we bade her farewell; she has to travel home tomorrow, and even a friendship as deep as ours doesn’t extend to getting up at sparrow fart simply to say goodbye at 6.30am. (Stop Press: we have learned that she made it home in good order.)

We now have two whole days at leisure in Siena before we head off on the next segment of the Via. Our time includes a guided tour and we hope to get inside the Duomo, so, with good luck and a following tide I should be able to bring you more information about and photos of this splendid city. Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 

Day 4 – San Gimignano to Colle di Val d’Elsa – a fording delight

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 Thursday 15 May 2025 – The breakfast restaurant in the hotel, on its first floor, offers a view to jump start anyone’s day

and the breakfast buffet was a good and varied one – and sophisticated, offering, as it did, Twining’s finest Earl Grey tea! (Every hotel we’ve stayed in has had a varied selection of Twining’s tea, but this is the first one which had Earl Grey, which, clearly, makes the hotel a class act.)

Breakfast over, we started out on our walk, which was going to be about the same distance as yesterday’s but not as arduous; it was also described as “one of the most delightful routes” in the S-cape app. The destination was a place whose name was quite a mouthful – Colle di Val d’Elsa, but about which we knew nothing except that our accommodation, a B&B, was in a non-rural area somewhat short of what looked like the town centre on Google Maps. This just goes to show how wrong can be the impression you gain of a place through consulting Google Maps.

Immediately outside our hotel, the Cisterna Square (which is actually triangular) was taken over by an incipient market.

We thought the weather was nice – pleasantly cool – but the lady here was clearly freezing to death and was swaddled in fleece and jeans.

San Gimignano continued to be picturesque as we made our way out

but we passed some curiosities. There was a shop selling guns and knives, obviously for hunters, and this market extended to the tobacconist as well.

We had found it odd enough that Pisa featured a Torture Museum. Here, there were two, within a few yards of each other. It’s obviously A Thing.

We bade goodbye to San Gimignano old town

and started off through the outskirts, overlooking a view of a somewhat foggy valley.

A roundabout was the scene of a very Italian piece of parking.

Other views were more of the attractive churches and buildings on the outskirts,

with a great view back towards San Gimignano.

Yes, there were cranes in the skyline and cables in the foreground, but the astonishingly capable editor on my Samsung phone soon dealt with those little problems.

We soon exchanged the road for a track leading upwards

past, as ever, some lovely views.

I was particularly taken with the tufty nature of this olive plantation.

The track changed from dirt road to woodland track

and led down to a ford

which we navigated satisfactorily, if a little unsteadily.

After the ford, the track went up (of course!)

and I began to wonder whether my decision to pack away my walking poles had been a good one. However, the uphill work, here and for the rest of the walk, was largely in the shade and I found I didn’t really need the sticks.

There were lots of butterflies around and one obligingly stopped for its closeup.

It may be only a Common Blue, but it’s an attractive colour. From a photographic point of view, I’ve no doubt that I got a better image with the Sony camera I’ve been toting around with me than I would have got with my phone, talented though it is.

Several times since we’ve started this walk, we’ve seen the ground carpeted in small clumps of fluff, and we wondered what had given rise to them. On this walk, we found the answer:

Black Poplar trees spreading their seeds.

Having gone up, we came down again, to another ford, this one very easily negotiable.

The stream had formed a little pool of clear water, in which we could see that tadpoles were swimming about.

A little further on, we passed the remnants of an Etruscan tomb

and were, in turn, passed by a group of three very serious hikers, carrying vast backpacks, who we thought might be pilgrims, but actually turned out to be birdwatchers, judging by the photographic equipment they deployed.

Up we went again, and down again, to a third ford. The stream though this one was a bit more substantial

and the stepping stones were not the sort that would be easy to use for three elderly pilgrims, so drastic measures were needed to cross it.

Jane loved to cool water flowing across her feet; me, less so. But Jane had been provident enough to pack a towel, so I could dry my feet before we carried on. We found several philosophical musings (in Italian) posted by the path

The longest one translated thus: “Whoever walks in the woods is looking for a different, inner freedom that makes him master of his own life. Listen to your breathing; you will listen better to your emotions and the beating of your heart. Do not seek distractions: THIS IS YOUR PATH!” I suppose it was a bit counterproductive that we sought a distraction in the shape of a translation….

After a reasonably substantial upward push, we arrived at a “punto panoramico” as indicated on our interactive map.


This was practically the highest point of the walk, hence, I suppose, being able to see several kilometres back to our starting point. Our map also indicated a “punto ristoro” with an icon of a cup.  The description said there were no services on this route, so I was intrigued to understand what this meant.  At first, it looked like just a resting point in the shade

but closer examination revealed

a coffee machine and a vending machine. My joy on seeing this was complete when I discovered that the coffee machine accepted contactless payment! So we treated ourselves to a rest and a coffee before moving on.

We passed a few more curiosities:

Instructions to dog owners not to let their animals crap on this patch of land

A self-service artisan’s kiosk, with an honesty box for those wanting to buy a decorated shell….

…placed invitingly beside a bench for passers-by to rest on

The previous day, we’d seen olive trees being pruned in what seemed like an odd way, chopping off whole branches and thinning the foliage hugely.  We saw more evidence of this here, too.

This is very different from the olive trees we saw being harvested in the Canaries – tall trees with thick foliage, and pickers up long ladders to reach the crop. Jane researched this and it turns out that what we’re seeing here is a pruning pattern more appropriate for the Tuscan climate: more open to let sunshine hit more places and so that humidity doesn’t affect the fruit; and lower, to make the olives easier to pick.

The surroundings became more urbanised, and we eventually came to the edge of Colle di Val d’Elsa (which henceforth I shall simply called “Colle” for convenience and to save typestrokes).

There was a sort of dissonance between faux-ancient on the right and real ancient on the left. It turned out that the ancient bit was the entrance, through a gate, Porta Nova, to the historic old town of Colle, which is very attractive.

This meant that our accommodation, Arnolfo B&B (named after Arnolfo di Cambio, a sculptor, architect, and urban planner of the 13th century who was born in Colle di Val d’Elsa), rather than being stuck out in some random suburb, as I had originally thought, was actually right in among the centro storico of Colle. The walk to it took us past some fantastic views.

The layout of the place is a bit confusing to first-time visitors, and it took us a little while to find our B&B. We blundered around a bit until Caroline pointed that we were actually standing right outside it.

It turned out that we were in luck; it was a couple of minutes past 1pm, when the reception would be closed, but when we rang the bell we were let in and were able to check in, collect our bags and go to our rooms to change for lunch. We asked the chap behind reception about lunch times and he reeled off a whole series of restaurants we could visit. We ended up settling on one called Il Torrione

which was back by Porta Nova, and which had a terrace at the back with fantastic views over the old town.

We just crept in at 2pm as the gate crashed down and were able to persuade them to give us lunch, and a very fine lunch it was, too – A Nice Lunch, in fact.

We blundered about a bit after lunch because we had various imperatives to address: seeing the Duomo; getting our credenziali stamped; and getting some milk so we could make ourselves tea back at the B&B. We started heading towards the Duomo, a route that led us past lovely views of the old town

and a rather engaging statue, “Il bambino che è in noi”, “the child within us”.

The Duomo has an imposing interior

and several imposing chapels around the edge

with some striking detail work.

After seeing the Duomo, Jane went off to get the stamps and I got the mission to buy the milk. This is where the slightly strange layout of the place had a major impact. The old city (which has no grocery shops of any description) is really well above the industrial newer town (which seemed to have plenty, some of which might be open), and so I had to get from one to the other, which involved finding and tottering down a very steep ramp. It also involved blundering around looking for a supermarket which Google Maps swore was here. Yes, here. But it wasn’t. It was there; a couple of hundred yards away on a different street. I was so grateful to find the milk in this vast supermarket

that I failed to take advantage of the possible availability of Twining’s finest Earl Grey to replenish our rapidly-diminishing stock.

And then, of course, I had to walk back up this bloody ramp

 

Estimated by the protractor app in my phone to be 15° – that’s one in six, or, to be technical, sodding steep

in order to get back to the B&B. Because I got the rough end of this stick, I shall indulge myself by showing you the altitude profile of my afternoon’s wanderings.

Just goes to show what an Englishman will do for a cup of tea.

That pretty much ended things for the day, and we retired to our rooms to prepare for the morrow. We will be walking to Monteriggioni along a route that the S-cape app rhapsodises about. It will be slightly longer but a little easier than today, so I’m hopeful that I will be able to report on another good day once we reach our destination (and hopefully get another Nice Lunch). Check back soon to find out how it all went.