For all pictures of today’s journey, click here for the Google Photos album.
As I write this on Sunday evening, I am sitting on a balcony of a bed and breakfast called “Casa Margot” on the very south end of Campagnana di Roma. It overlooks what I am guessing (from the shape of it) is a broad valley formed as a volcanic crater. Right through the middle runs the Via Cassia, from which a constant traffic noise is the only blot on the landscape (literally). This road, which has ancient Roman origins, has been my constant companion on the way. Usually it maintains a respectful distance, but sometimes it becomes a little too familiar and even downright invasive of my private space. I am glad to say that I also met its old pal, the Via Annia (aka the Via Ameria), equally venerable in age, but entirely unspoilt by traffic other than my two feet .
In many ways, today’s route was less pleasant than yesterday, but it was no less full of blessings, and I personally experienced no mishaps. The Hotel Sutrium does not have colazione included, but this was, in a sense, freeing. It meant I had not time constraints on leaving. I was still aiming for 7:30, but it didn’t matter that it was closer to 8am when I left the room. My big concern was the fact that, due to a humidity level of 94% (according to AccuWeather) not only did the clothes that I washed last night not dry at all, but neither did the clothes that I brought to Sutri already only half dried from the day before. This meant needing to pack wet clothes. That was no problem, as I use a system of large sealable plastic lunch bags for my luggage, except that wet clothes weigh a ton and also would cause a problem for my clothing management for the next few days if I could not get them dried tonight.
All packed, I headed out into the main square of Sutri, to find that the bar/caffè was open and being patronised by groups of cyclists – and the Italian pilgrims I first encountered yesterday morning at Vetralla. I ordered a caffe Americano con latte and an apple pastry, and was invited to sit rather than stand at the bar. I had only had my pack on for 10 minutes, but it was already a relief to put it down. The bar host brought me a perfect caffè Americano – which is basically a deconstructed long black: one shot of espresso in the bottom of the cup, a jug of hot water, and a smaller jug of milk. By the nature of things, you end up getting one and a half coffees. While I was sitting there, just an ever so light amount of precipitation drizzled down. It didn’t last long, but the clouds remained for most of the morning. In addition to a middling strong cool breeze, this made the weather quite conducive for walking for most of the day. At this point I’ve had fine weather all the way. There is rain forecast for tomorrow night, but hopefully that will come once I’ve reached my destination. And it is due to wind up by 8am on Tuesday morning.
I wound my way out of the town, and then followed the VF signs which indicated that I should exist from the southern gate through which I came in last night. This took me directly to entrance onto the archeological park in which the famous Sutri Roman amphitheatre, built sometime in the first century AD or perhaps even BC. In its day it could seat around 7,000 people. But this morning, the gates to the park were chained and padlocked closed. That wasn’t a problem, as the wall around it was low, but then the gate into the amphitheatre itself were also padlocked closed. I don’t know if that was because of the early hour (is 8:30am early?) or because it was a Sunday, but it was a bit of a disappointment not to be able to go in.
At this point, the VF forks into two paths, with the “Variante Sutri” going off to the east, before returning to the main route a couple of kms on. But it is about 2km longer than the main route, so I followed the VF signs up a nearby lane way, and was just thinking “this is nice”, when I found myself on the “Strada provinciale Bassanese”, a rather busy two lane road with NO VERGE to walk on and BLIND CORNERS. I made my way along as best I could (praying for all past pilgrims who met their end on this stretch of the VF…) until I thought “this is madness”, and opted to do something equally mad but less dangerous, ie. follow a track I could see on my GaiaGPS map through some scrubby bush on the hill above me. This track was rather better defined in the satellite map than it was in real life – it was very overgrown with weeds and blackberry bushes and I would have feared for snakes if this was Australia. But I got through well enough – only to come out the other end in someone’s back yard! The yard had a high wire fence and the front gates were locked. Bugger. But, thank God, in the far corner was a section where the fence had been bent down and I was able able to hop out onto the street – which was the Via Cassia. My advice to future pilgrims: DON’T take the official VF route after the amphitheatre but stay on the Via Cassia – as there is a good footpath alongside the road at least.
But now, just to show that “all things work together for good to them that love God”, as St Paul told the folks living just down the road 2000 years ago, this delay and my silly decision to go bush-bashing meant that just as I jumped the fence, I saw my german friend from last night, Roland, hobbling on his way having jut come around the busy patch of road I had bypassed. After joking together about the stupidity of directing pilgrims on that route, I realised that he really was in a bad way with his left knee. He had strapped it up, but he didn’t look like he would make it up the next hill, let alone to Campagnana. I asked if he had a leg brace, and he said no, but he would go to a pharmacy tomorrow and get one. Tomorrow will be too late, I thought, and so (on the principle that although I may have needed it in the future, he needed it now) I got mine out and gave it to him. He was both gratified and touched. But we pilgrims need to look after one another. I farewelled him after we took photos of one another, and pushed on.
The official route continued on uphill on another two-lane road, with equally less verge on the side for walking, but at least this road was not as busy as the Strada Bassanese – mind you, it was a Sunday morning and I am sure it could get quite busy in its own right. At this stage, I realised why the “Variante Sutri” exists, and if you have the time and a light backpack, you might consider taking it as an alternative to the road walking if you are doing this route in the future. Anyway, the biggest difficulty I had on this stretch was remembering that cars drive on the opposite side of the road to Australia, and which side I should be on to avoid them. After about 1.5km, the VF veers to the left and again it is a country track through orchards leading onto a dusty gravel road until you arrive at a water fountain and trough in the front entrance to a Golf Club about 6.5km out of Sutri. On this stretch I encountered, for the first time, swarms of little insects. They were not much bother unless you happened to walk right through the middle of them, but it reminded me of Alise’s question the other day about what the big differences are between walking in Australia and walking in Europe. Well, there are no flies for a start.
The Italian pilgrimage group were all gathered around the water fountain, and I had no need at this point of water, so I didn’t stop. Also, at this point, Cathy rang me, so I kept walking and talking to here. But the mobile connection was not good, so we gave up, and when I came to a seat a little bit further on, I stopped for my first rest and foot check of the day. As I did so, the Italians again overtook me. There were quite a few cyclists on this stretch, and even some horse riders. Unfortunately there was no view of the Riserva Lago di Monterosi off to the left, but the golf course gave unrestricted views of the countryside to the right. At about the 10km mark, there is the town of Monterosi. Practically the first place you come to in town is a cafe/bar heavily promoting itself to pilgrims, and here again the Italian group were gathered. For the first time we engaged in conversation and I discovered they were a group of Florentines, walking the VF from their splendid city. I asked about colazione and was told that, this being Sunday morning, only coffee was on offer. Not needing a coffee, but rather some juice and something to eat, I headed further up the street. I came across a church, and decided to go in and see if mass was on, only to be surprised to find the church full of young families and children. I sat for a little while, but they were being addressed by their leader and it didn’t seem as if anything liturgical was about to take place so I left. The sign on the church door indicated that it had something to do with a celebration of St Joseph. But it was nice to see the church full and with such a young crowd.
Ahead in the street I saw a sign hanging outside a shop which said “Arte del Pane”, and thought “That’s what I’m looking for”. It was indeed. I bought two little cream cornettos and a strip of pizza con mozzarella and some juice, and went and sat in the piazza opposite, where the 16th century church of San Giuseppe (St Joseph) was located (coincidence?). The gates to the church was closed but you could see through to the interior. As I ate my Hobbit second-breakfast, I called Cathy again, and this time we had a better connection. When finished eating and while still chatting to Cathy, I headed down the street only to realise that I should have taken a left turn at San Giuseppe’s. Cathy said I needed to concentrate and she needed to go to bed, so we ended our conversation and followed the route out onto a short section of the VF that is right alongside the four lane freeway which is the Via Cassia at this point. Thankfully the trail is well established and separate from the road itself, otherwise this would be very dangerous. Before very long, the VF takes another left turn and heads off to the east along through the countryside. Along here, I came across something I was expecting to see at some point: a grove of eucalyptus trees! How delightful to smell the aroma of home! I picked a sprig and stuck it on my backpack…
Here then, just after the 14km mark, was another “variante” on the VF – but not one that is very well known (it wasn’t even marked on the map in the guidebook that Alise was using). This is part of what is locally known as the “Anello di Campagnana”, or the “Ring of Campagnana”. Together with the main VF route, it forms a walking trail of about 21km in an elongate ellipse with Campagnana di Roma at the southern end. While not well noted in VF guides, it is well marked on the ground, and stickers and signs indicated that this is an approved VF variant of the route. Overall it cuts about 2km off the route for the day. But it seems very few people take this option. I didn’t meet a single person on it all the way. I did see my first sign of wildlife other than birds and lizards – a hare! (Actually there were many signs along the way posted by the local fauna organisation saying that hunting was only allowed if authorised. Not sure what they hunt here. This doesn’t seem like wild boar country, although I did see a sign on the road warning of deer crossing the highway a bit further back. I don’t know what the main VF route is like, but (besides the absence of other pilgrims, cyclists and – especially – cars) I would recommend this for one reason: it not only follows the ancient Via Annia (aka, the Via Ameria), it IS the Via Annia. Or at least for about a km. The actual Roman road is a part of the track, with large paving stones and very clear kerbs. (In places where there are no stones on the road, there are suspicious stone fences nearby.) And a real treat – which I almost missed because the little sign indicating it was broken off – a ROMAN BRIDGE! Walking over it it seems like just a little rise in the trail, but if you go off to the side, you get a wonderful look at this simple construction. I marvelled at how it has stayed up all this time, given how thin the top of the arch is (see photos).
At about this stage, I became aware of a sound I had not heard since the Grand Prix was last held in Melbourne: the sound of racing motor cars. It was quite loud and went on for quite some time disturbing the peace of the afternoon. I looked up on the internet and found that there was a race track nearby with an event on today. A great pity because it really did spoil the rural idyll I was experiencing. The Roman road as such runs about a kilometre, until just after passing a large villa which offers itself as a “Farm Stay” holiday. There the Anello di Campagnana/Via Ameria/VF variante comes out onto a newly sealed section of road which runs down to the Strada provinciale Settevene. After this, the VF becomes nothing more than a foot worn trail through a paddock for a bit, and then down over a creek called the Treja, and up into the locality of Settevene.
I paused here for a while to rest my feet, and eat the apple I have been carrying with me for the last two days. From here it is a bit of a plod. The VF comes onto the busy Via del Pavone (the main road into Campagnana). There was a service station on the road not far from the VF, and if it wasn’t a Sunday this would be a place to get coffee and food. But it is a Sunday, so instead “there is machine”. I was able to get some cold Powerade, which was nice. After crossing the road, the VF goes along the country lane named Strada di Fontana Latrona, named after the fountain about 2.5km down the lane. Here fresh cold water can be had in abundance. The fountain also seems to double as a horse trough, given the posts nearby for tethering horses. Then the trail just winds it way up the hill into Campagnana. Just on the outskirts of town, I found a pink grapefruit on the side of the road. It was perfectly fresh and perfectly juicy and delicious, even if a bit tart. My vitamin C dose for the day.
One downside to taking this route is that it doesn’t enter the “old city” section of Campagnana. But a positive is that it went past a mini mart and a fruit and vegetable stall, to which I came back after visiting the old section of the city. In the main piazza of the old section, I visited the “Chiesa del Gonfalone” built in the 15th Century. The doorway was only half open and so narrow that I had to take off my backpack to squeeze through (thoughts about camels and needles occurred to me…). Inside, I paid a visit to the Blessed Sacrament and thanked God for getting me through this part of the journey, the longest day by far, which had caused me some anxiety when planning it. Across from the church on the other side of the piazza, a cafe bar was open, and the man inside had “il timbro per le mie credenzionale”, so at least I now have the stamp to prove I was in Campagnana.
I had been in conversation with my B&B hostess for the evening on Whatsapp, and she said there was no where to eat or buy food close to her place, but I was welcome to used the kitchen. So I returned to the mini mart and bought a packet of “ditale rigati” pasta (macoroni style) and a bottle of Ceres strong ale, and had them fill one of my 16oz water bottle with chardonnay form one of the four €1.20 per litre vats at the back of the store (total €4.20). From the fruit seller I bought tomatoes, zucchini and capsicum (total €1.20). So for about $9, I had my dinner, including beer and wine. I stowed all this into my pack, which was, by now, quite heavy, and made my way up the hill to the southern suburbs of the city. This was quite a way off the VF, and off the tourist roads too, but at €30 for the night WITH colazione, it was by far the best deal on offer (the price of accommodation in the main centre was almost as expensive as in Rome).
And again, this too turned out to be fortuitous, for who should I see hobbling down the hill, still wearing my knee brace, but Roland from Germany! We greeted each other like long lost friends, both surprised by the encounter. K didn’t quite get the story right, but it seemed to involve the offer of a ride from a kind woman, and a bus from Monterosi, but the bus didn’t go to Campagnana, so he had to walk the last section, and hence was coming into town from this strange direction. I think he will be bussing most of his way to Rome from here. He has a place in the old city, so I showed him where to get his credential stamped, and he farewelled me with a bear hug embrace.
After this, it was only a short walk up to the top of the hill, from where the great vista of the valley opened up, and then down again a bit to the unit/apartment/house where I am staying. I had been talking to the hostess, Luisa, on Whatsapp, but was greeted by her neice Gianna on on my arrival. Again, her english is better than my italian, but with a little of both we communicated well enough. The unit is at the bottom of a set of 18 units (I really am going to have a big climb out tomorrow), and is absolutely everything I would expect an Italian country cottage to be (see photos). The view on the deck, with three well fed and friendly cats, was just the place to rest with the bottle of beer I had bought. Also: somewhere to hang my clothes to dry. With the addition of olive oil, paprika, salt and pepper, I cooked up my pasta and the sauce and sat on the balcony to have my dinner. An early bed time by 7:30pm.
Overall distance today was just on 28km. Up and down were almost exactly equal, at 315m up and 316m down. Those measurements come from my GaiaGPS app which I highly recommend (I have learned not to trust the iPhone’s “flights climbed” measurements.)
