Tag Archives: Via Francigena

Day 16 – Viterbo to Vetralla – just this (hot) day, really

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Friday 30 May 2025 – The destination for today was Vetralla, which could be reached by one of two routes. We opted for the shorter one, around 17km, but still would have liked to make an early start; however Renato only offered breakfast starting at 8am. It was billed in our travel information as an “Italian breakfast”, and we were mildly curious to find out what this meant. Beyond yoghurt, what it meant was

a sweet breakfast (i.e. one offering no savoury options). We stocked our bodies with loads of unhealthy, sugar-based calories and set off at around 8.15 into a day that was already reasonably warm and which was forecast to get hot – around 28°C, if the local weather app is to be believed.

We started on a very appropriate road

which led us once again to the Piazza San Lorenzo, giving me a chance to take a photo of the Duomo in the morning sunshine.

We had read that Viterbo was a walled city and that much of the wall still survived, and this became clear as we walked out of the city,

though the restoration work they’re doing on the walls meant we had to find a way around one blockage.

The route led along an “excavated highway”

which was a tarmac road, but the high rock walls around it made it pleasantly shady. We passed a cave which might possibly once have been an Etruscan catacomb

but we weren’t about to scramble around to get in and have a closer look. The walls on either side became cliffs,

which made it vitally important to establish if there was oncoming traffic on some of the bends. Not that that seemed to worry a group of several dozen cyclists who passed us.

On that particular bend was a shrine, but it was so decayed that it wasn’t really possible to see what it once looked like; it was the first of three roadside shrines we passed on the day’s walk.

We were not the only pilgrims on the road. Going the same way as us, we passed an American lady, Melissa, who had started her journey in Montefiascone, and so I suppose was the first person we’d met who had the 100km target in their sights.  A couple of pilgrims passed us going in the opposite direction –

we did wonder how the first pilgrim’s cart might work out on some of the rockier surfaces – but that was it for the pilgrim presence on today’s walk. Given that pilgrim numbers are so sparse, at least at this time of year, I guess it’s no surprise that rest stops haven’t sprung up to service passing trade. Jane and I agreed that while theoretically the objective of the exercise is the walk, in practice the lack of rest stops, which as well as being refreshing can be a good catalyst for cameraderie among walkers, means that the walks had become simply a way to get from A to B, rather than the walking being a source of pleasure in itself. Once we’d left the shade of the excavated highway, much of the rest of the walk was simply trudging along various sorts of road or path, in varying amounts (sometimes including a total lack) of shade.

Still, a few things leavened the experience of the day. We passed a signpost to a thermal pool

which tempted us to go about a kilometre out of our way. In theory, this was in order to get a timbro; honesty compels me to admit that the pools’ entry on Google Maps had the magic word “bar” by them, so, full of hope, we set off to find

a car park full of cars, and a queue to get in. We would have had to buy tickets to get our timbro or our coffee, and the queue was glacial in progress, so we cut our losses and worked our way back to the trail.

The landscape is rural and agreeable, but very flat and rather unvarying.

We passed various plantations – hazel nuts, olives and grapevines; sometimes all three at once.

There was a picnic table set up in the shade just over the half-way mark

so we had a break and shared a banana (we know how to have a good time – Ed). Like rest days, rest stops are necessary, but it can be difficult to get rolling again afterwards. The track was occasionally grassy

and at one point became suddenly, unexpectedly and severely steep,

but we made it cursing internally (Jane) and audibly (me) and carried on, past more plantations

and a donkey.

Samsung Gallery’s AI search identifies this as an Amiatina donkey, which is a breed found mainly in Tuscany. This is a credible assertion on its part. But it may have been a mule for all we knew.

Amidst all the trudging there was another diversion, which showed promise.

This was only 100 metres out of our way (albeit uphill, of course), and this time it delivered on the promise.

We walked in and were welcomed by a nice lady who pointed us at a delightful shaded veranda and gave us beer, crisps and a timbro, for whatever we cared to contribute.

That was the best €10 of the day so far. Refreshed, we carried on into Vetralla, which is a funny old place. On the way in is an “open air country museum”, which featured, in three openings along the road, various typical characteristics of the area.

Hospitality

Viticulture
Vegetable cultivation

We were greeted by the town muriel as we walked in

and we worked our way up to our hotel, the Albergo da Bernadetta,

which, though open, featured an unattended reception and an American gentleman guest who said that the lady was there earlier but had said something about 3pm. It being 2pm at this point, we decided that we should try to find some lunch. I had noted that there was a Restaurant da Bernadetta just down the road, which Google asserted was open until 3pm. So we hightailed it down the road and found the place

and were welcomed in for a nice lunch, with very affable service and good food. No gin, though. Sigh. The American gentleman turned up shortly after us, with (we assume) his daughter (not that we earwigged their conversation, of course; but the tone of some of the exchanges were definitely the sort that one might expect between daughter and father). Jane and Caroline had seen them together in Monteriggioni and had speculated about them then – that is now two weeks ago; they were also spotted at breakfast in Montefiascone, so we can make a guess that they are on a similar journey to ours.

The linked names of hotel and restaurant are because they are owned by siblings; the chap running the kitchen in the restaurant told us that it was he who had delivered our bags to the hotel earlier that day. We headed back up the hill to the hotel, checked in and rested for a while, which gave me the opportunity to investigate my socks.  I walk in sandals and socks. I know, I know. But that combination saw me through 800km of the Camino Francés, so I’m sticking with what works. Quite a lot of today’s path work was along grassy paths, and I had quite a bit of agricultural material to get out of them.

Having rested and made a cup of Twining’s finest Earl Grey, we ventured out to explore Vetralla which, as I say, is a funny old place. Our hotel was over the road from the old town, and so we got a decent view of it as we headed towards it.

The old town has, relative to its small size, an extremely long main drag, which, as in the other cities in the area, is made gloomy by the use of dark stone in the buildings.

but there are some attractive corners

and some quirks, too.

It bills itself as the “città incantata“,

which I thought meant the “unsung city”, which seemed about right.  Actually, I now learn that it translates as the “enchanted city”, which, frankly, is a bit of a reach. We couldn’t even find a bar which looked like it might serve us a gin, so “enchanted” is not quite the word, for us. There is some evidence that there are a lot of empty houses along the main street

and the city appears to have embraced the Spanish definition of “Open”.

That gate was into the park by the Rocca, which is one of the substantial buildings in the old town.

Another is the Duomo

which really was open, so we went in.

In stark contrast to its dour exterior, the interior was light and airy, with some delightful trompe l’oeuil work in side chapels and on some of the walls

and on ceilings.

Sadly, there was no opportunity to light a candle for Martin. There’s another church, to San Francesco, but it was closed. Part of it appears to be a hostel for pilgrims

and Jane discovered a cloister courtyard which featured some modern fresco work.

We worked our way back along the main street, where I saw this signpost for the Via, pointing back the way we came.

I can understand why they highlight Viterbo; it’s a city of great pith and moment. But Centeno? Really? That was the place with the closed pizzeria where we helped Jane and Yvette. It has nothing whatsoever to recommend it, in my view, so to see it signposted is a mystery to me.

Having exhausted the sightseeing possibilities of Vetralla, then, we returned to the hotel to gather our strength for the morrow, when we have to get to Capranica. If we were being hard core, we should have undertaken the walk to Sutri, which is the “official” leg, but Walk The Camino, who set our itinerary up, took pity on a couple of oldies and split the leg into a thigh to Capranica, and, the following day, a shin, to Sutri. So we have about 16km to cover, in (we hope) a gentle ascent followed by a gentle descent, without, as usual, any rest stops along the way. The temperature is due to hit 30°C so we’re hoping to get out early to avoid the worst of the heat. Stay tuned to see whether we were successful or not.

Day 15 – Montefiascone to Viterbo – Tedious, then tremendous

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Thursday 29 May 2025 – Rest days are wonderful things, but getting going again after them can be a pain in the arse. However, needs must and so we were down for an 0730 breakfast and ready to check out shortly after 8am, ready for a walk of some 18km to Viterbo. We expected to have to pay the city tax that we’ve paid at every other check-out, but in Montefiascone, the city tax doesn’t apply to people over 70. It’s a small advantage to being old, but when you get to our age, you have to take what you can get.

We bade goodbye to Montefiascone and its fabulous lake view

 

and headed off – downhill, of necessity, since Montefiascone is the highest point of this entire Via Francigena section.

The first part of the walk was interesting, because we were walking on the Via Cassia, a genuine Roman Road, which is in pretty good nick, considering it’s a couple of thousand years old.

 

One can see why the road has weathered well from the skill with which it was laid.

It stands up to modern traffic well

though I have to say I wouldn’t really have wanted to run a chariot along it. Also, I have a complaint to make:

It’s not straight! All Roman Roads are straight, surely?

We passed a kiwi fruit orchard

and a few other things, like roadside shrines,

a pilgrim’s fountain

and some sheep – the first we’d seen in Lazio.

Our downhill progress was clear from the view back to Montefiascone.

We passed the residence of a recent asylum-seeker from Tuscany

and were, in turn, passed by a lunatic.

I mean, who in their right mind would go running in the middle of a hot, sunny day?

Poppies were very much in evidence

as was the baling of straw,

which was neatly packaged in patriotic colours in many of the fields we passed.

There were a lot of straw bales lying around

and we fell to wondering: what will become of all of this straw?  Is it destined for animal feed? We’ve seen practically no farm animals anywhere. Who will use it, where and for what? These are the sort of things that occupy ones thoughts when the walking is tedious, because, by this stage, it had become really, really tedious – a strada bianca with no shade on a day with streaming sunshine.

Basically, it stayed tedious right up to the point where we were approaching Viterbo, where we passed under the motorway

and encountered the expectedly rather functional outskirts of the city.

There were a couple of things of note as we made our way towards our destination: a huge cemetery,

with, outside the gates, some opportunist flower sellers;

and the latest in my occasional series about the subtleties of language as used in international marketing.

We eventually sighted a gate into the old city

and approached it through a park, to give us relief from the dull old pavement.

The park featured a Mystery Object

whose purpose I could not fathom. Pram racing circuit for bored parents? Speed skating rink for toddlers? Who knows? Not me.

So, then: through the gate

and into the old town. Jane, one of the ladies we first met on the road to Acquapendente, had sent Jane, my wife, a message, saying that the old city in Viterbo made up for the tedium of the 10km leading up to it, so my expectations were high – and, rather, dashed, as we made our way to our accommodation, Palazzo Riario. It seemed dark, dowdy and cramped. Our route to the Palazzo was labyrinthine through narrow streets; without Google Maps, we’d be looking for it yet.  We passed a couple of reasonable scenes

but I wasn’t impressed.  We arrived at our accommodation,

which was the brown door in the above. The locked brown door in the above; a factor which didn’t improve our view of the city. Jane rang the phone number on the bell and it went to voicemail. I hammered on the door in frustration, to no avail.

However, after a couple of minutes a chap emerged from down the road and hailed us. It turned out to be Renato, the manager of the place, who had our key and showed us how to make it open the place up. In doing so, he “happened” to mention his restaurant, and Jane worked out that it was open for another hour for lunch, so we rapidly made ourselves slightly less unpresentable and hightailed it the extremely complicated 100 metres necessary to get to the next street over where Renato was chatting with a group of people outside Chimera, his restaurant. He saw us coming and, rather than seating us inside the decent but rather gloomy interior of the restaurant proper, bade us sit at a table in a courtyard opposite.

It was delightful – we had a nice lunch (there was no gin, so it couldn’t quite qualify as a Nice Lunch, but it was nevertheless good food with affable service). After eating, despite feeling creaky, we realised that we had to go for a walk. Obvously. So Jane mapped out a route that took us round the old city, starting at the tourist office to get our Timbri and a very useful tip to ease the rest of our sightseeing.

Viterbo has a huge medieval old city centre and an equally huge historical significance. It is known as the “city of the Popes”: at the end of the 13th century it was in fact the papal seat and for 24 years the Papal Palace hosted and saw the election of various pontiffs. This meant that the Duomo and papal palace were must-see items; and Jane had read about the San Pellegrino district, a centre for pilgrims over the centuries.

The papal palace is an imposing sight

and to get to it can be quite a taxing walk.  The tip we got was

to use the lifts. Down in one lift, across a couple of roads, along a tunnel

and up the other side, pretty much straight out into Piazza San Lorenzo.  With the sun beating down and the temperature feeling quite high (I’d seen 30°C outside one pharmacy on our way in), this was an absolutely golden tip. Was it worth the trip?

Yes, I think so.  The interior of the Duomo is quite austere, actually

but it has some magnificent marble flooring,

a side chapel with some lovely trompe l’oeuil work

and, for somewhere so large, a very modest organ.

The papal palace is a very impressive building

but it would have cost us €20 to get in and we thought that a bit steep. The view across to where we’d been included a great setting for the church of the holy trinity across the way,

so we satisfed ourselves with that, and headed off towards the San Pellegrino district. It was hot and we were thirsty, so we treated ourselves to a glass of something cold en route, and arrived in the Piazza San Carluccio, amid the overwhelming fragrance of jasmine, to look around.

Part of the grimness of Viterbo (and Montefiascone as well) is that a lot of it is built from dark stone,

but this didn’t detract from the delightfulness of the San Pellegrino district.  It is known for profferlo – medieval external staircases,

and is generally a delightful area to walk around.

It reversed our somewhat jaundiced view of the place, and we can now see why Other Jane was so impressed with what she saw.

Here are a few of the other scenes I took photos of as we walked around the district and headed back to our Palazzo.

Viterbo is the start of an official section of the Via Francigena, section 40, which takes us in several legs all the way to Rome, where we should arrive, all being well, on June 5.  Our next destination is Vetralla, and we’re offered two possible routes.  We’re going to opt for the shorter one because, frankly, we feel we’ve earned the right.  So the official distance is about 16km, and we have to go up some and then down some, so the day will still involve some effort on our part, and doubtless some moaning on mine. Why not check back in soon to see how everything went?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intermission II – Montefiascone

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Wednesday 28 May 2025 – Having expended over 3,000 calories and tramped over 30,000 steps a day for the last eight days, we were due a rest today; and anyway a suitcase full of sweaty hiking clothes was making a siren call. So the main task for the day was the laundry (these things are important, you know), but we also wanted to follow up on a couple of things we saw yesterday and wanted to look at again. Delightfully, as we were about to go for our breakfast, we bumped into Jane and Yvette on their way to resume the Via and so were able to bid them a fond farewell and Buon Camino.

For the first of our targets, timing was important, as we knew that it would be seen to its best advantage in the morning light. That meant going back up above the old town, to the castle where various popes have taken residence over the centuries; hence it’s called the Rocca dei Papi – I shared a photo yesterday. Part of the castle is the Torre del Pellegrino, the Pilgrim’s Tower,

which has a commanding view over the surrounding countryside.

I was already kackered from having to walk up to the Rocca, so wouldn’t countenance actually climbing the thing. Anyway, I knew a place where the view would be just as good – the Belvedere next to the tower. When you first see it, the view is breathtaking,

and, if you look carefully, it’s possible to see that Lazio is making some strides in sustainable energy production – the first wind farm we’d seen in our time in Italy.

One wonders if Tuscany is being sniffy about having windmills spoil its iconic countryside.

At the Belvedere is a monument to the pilgrim,

and one is quite close to the cathedral, which has a crypt that the nice lady in the tourist office was keen to make sure we knew about. I’m not normally one for visiting crypts because I associate them with dark and dead bodies, but Jane was interested, so I tagged along; and I’m glad I did. It’s difficult to do it justice photographically, but here’s my attempt.

It’s vast and circular.  Around the walls are terracotta statues of the Stations of the Cross

and, in a side chamber are (we assume) relics of Santa Lucia dei Filippini, to whom the crypt is dedicated.

Here’s another attempt to convey the interior.

We put a Euro in the slot to turn the lights on. It made photographs a little clearer

but it was more atmospheric without the lights.

The huge size of the crypt is made clear by an infographic on a board outside.

The church is the top half, and the crypt the bottom half. Since you’ll have seen the astonishing interior in yesterday’s post (you did, didn’t you? Promise?) you can understand the overall structure a bit better.

Walking back to the hotel, the square just up from the hotel looked a lot more cheerful in the morning sunshine

and, under the arch to the right above, there’s further evidence of the push to establish the city as the 100km point on the Via Francigena.

They have a bit of a way to go, though.  The lady in the tourist office was proud to tell us that no fewer than 500 pilgrims had been through in the last year. So we nodded and put on our impressed faces; but compared with the tens of thousands who go through Sarría every year on the Camino de Santiago, it’s small beer. I wish them well; the Camino is very crowded these days, and perhaps people looking for equally (or even more) challenging walks will come to the Via Francigena – perhaps even to the point of increasing traffic to provide economic justification for entrepreneurial spirits to open more coffee and rest stops?

To get to the laundry, we had to go down and outside the walls. While I went to start the washing, Jane went to explore the other major lump of religious masonry that we’d passed on our way into town the day before;

the Basilica di San Flaviano. I was in two minds as to whether to visit, as it meant slogging back up into town afterwards; but Jane told me it was worth a look and so I staggered down the hill. And…

my goodness me!  It was a delight.  The crypt in Siena had turned me on to frescoes, and there was some lovely work to be seen here.

It was possible to spend a Euro to turn the lights on here, as well, and

it rather spoiled the effect, I think; perhaps the yellow light preserves frescoes better, but it’s at its best without the artificial aid.

By this stage it was lunch time, and so we went to a place recommended by the lass on the desk in the hotel; Miralago da Paolo. They don’t have gin there, which is a shame, but we had beer to accompany an excellent meal of Herculean proportions; enough pasta to load me up for tomorrow’s walking, I hope.  It has a great setting.

And so to tomorrow, when we will be Back On It.  We have to get to Viterbo, which is only 17km and largely downhill, so, despite the forecast for 25°C and unbroken sunshine, I’m hoping for a pleasant walk. I will report back.