Hike Through History: Discovering the Charm of the Via Francigena in Italy
Why Did We Choose the Via Francigena?
Our Francigena Thru-Hike Route to Rome
We enjoy hiking Europe’s pilgrimage routes and learning about history, culture, food, and architecture. We’ve walked the Camino Frances, Camino Portugues, Via Podiensis, and Camino Ingles, and 800 miles from Hoek van Holland to Aosta, Italy. We keep returning to Europe’s pilgrimage routes due to the abundance of pedestrian-friendly routes, accommodation, hospitality, food and drink, and dramatic landscape changes.
Until this trip, we’d spent only 48 hours in Italy—the two days between Grand Saint Bernard’s Pass and Aosta. We returned to walk through thousands of years of history in the winter and spring of 2024. We started our walk in Pontremoli on 22 February and finished in Rome on 23 March 2024. Once we arrived in Rome, we took a train to Aosta and hiked some of the Via Francigena back to Pontremoli. We walked about 1000 km in Italy between mid-February and mid-April 2024.
Some landmarks included the Cisa pass, numerous medieval walled villages, the Tuscan cities of Lucca and Siena, the wine regions within Aosta, Umbria, and Tuscany, and the food in these regions.
Why Hike the Via Francigena in Winter and Early Spring?
We enjoy shoulder season (spring, fall) travel because fewer people are traveling—fewer people on the trains, in accommodations, in restaurants, and the queues for sites.
In addition to solitude, some upsides of winter and early spring hiking are cooler weather (most of Italy is hot during the summer), increased visibility through the forest canopy, and few or no biting insects.
Last, the type of people we encounter in the off-season seem to have a lot of shared values with us—people who have opted out of convention and are taking a month or more away from their daily lives to walk historical routes like the Via Francigena in rural areas of Europe. We encounter traditional and early retirees, people on sabbatical, people facing a chronic or terminal illness, and people wanting to take some time to reflect after the divorce or death of a partner. Many take a sabbatical from work, between jobs, or consider doing something different in the second half of their lives.
Our Thru-Hiking Style
For long hikes, we prefer a private room with an ensuite or adjacent bathroom. We book our accommodations ourselves and in advance. We typically book a three-star hostel, inn, or gîte (Europe uses a 5-star rating system).
We eat meals with food provided by our accommodations, grocery stores, restaurants, and markets along the route. We like to eat out several times weekly, selecting small restaurants with food typical of a region. We also enjoy a glass of wine or a beer about once daily.
We carry our kits (backpacks containing 15 - 18 lbs each, depending upon daily water needs) and don’t have them sent ahead with a luggage service. We limit our checked luggage to a robust box, which includes our hiking poles, pocket knife, and Leatherman knife.
We like to walk 22 to 28 km (13 to 17 miles) per day and plan one rest day a week.
We average €150 per day on this hike for a couple ($80 per person per day). In the fall of 2023, the exchange rate was $1.08 for €1.00. When we list prices for lodging, meals, tours, etc., it is the total for two people.
Our blog provides valuable information for readers, including prices, helping them budget and plan their trips more effectively. It adds transparency, aiding decision-making and allowing readers to assess the affordability of various destinations, accommodations, and activities.
We use Farm Bureau Health Plans for health insurance, which covers us globally at 60% and throughout the United States.
We use Google FI for mobile phone coverage and data. Occasionally, we supplement Google FI with a local SIM card from a cell phone shop.
Our website is ad-free. We may use Amazon affiliate links to make some recommendations. We make a small affiliate commission whenever you use these links - at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting our blog!
Planning Resources for the Via Francigena
We've used the following guidebooks to plan our winter walk from Pontremoli to Rome.
Walking the Via Francigena Part 2 Lausanne and the Great St Bernard Pass to Lucca
Walking the Via Francigena Part 3 Lucca to Rome
For each trek, we learn basic phrases for navigating the basic aspects of thru-hiking life - phrases to help us navigate greetings, accommodations, dining, directions, weather warnings, numbers, and navigation.
We also joined The UK Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome. One of the benefits of membership is receiving the credential within which you can collect stamps along your journey and a patch for your backpack. With your “Pilgrim Passport” you may also find discounts for food and lodging along the trek.
There’s also a free App available for planning your route from the Via Francegena. Last, various Via Francigena Facebook groups provide up-to-date information on different route sections shared by Via users and residents.
Via Francigena Pilgrim Credential and Backpack Patches
Our Via Francigena Stages
Guidebooks and Confraternities of pilgrimage routes typically decide on stages that help walkers from point A to point B. We view these guidebooks as references to anticipate areas where food and lodging may be scarce and some primary context around major and minor cultural sites.
One of my favorite stages of any walk is the preparation stage—researching a region's agriculture, architecture, and history, then deciding which customized stages might interest us.
Arrival in Pontremoli
On 21 February, we took a train from Rome to Pontremoli, with a connection in La Spezia. The train took six hours, with a one-hour layover in La Spezia. We chose this route to enjoy the scenery along Italy’s western Ligurian coast.
Our hosts at Casa Garibaldi picked us up at the Pontremoli train station and recommended sights to see and shops to explore.
The mid-17th to 19th centuries was the golden age for Pontremoli, the historic capital of Upper Lunigiana. Several buildings built during this period, including the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, can be visited. This cathedral had amazing plaster detail on the ceiling, beautiful red marble and a copper dome.
As it started to rain, we provisioned at a grocery store to supplement some groceries we had left over from Rome, and picked up a local wine, Fattoria Ruschi Noceiti “Pòllera” Val di Magra, IGT 2019. The Pòllera vine was once the most widespread grape variety in Lunigiana, and the Ruschi family has been growing grapes in the Pontremoli area since 1445. This wine had medium acidity and tannins, with flavors of cherry, sour cherry, earthiness, and pepper. It went well with a gnocchi dish we made at the grocery store.
For dessert, we had amor—a typically sweet Pontremolese dessert comprised of a double wafer (usually two simple Bahlsen wafers) with a rich filling of whipped cream infused with a hint of lemon and perhaps cognac.
Lodging: Casa Garibaldi €51.19. Meals: €12.00. Wine: €13.00 Other: Train tickets €74.11
On 22 February, we visited the Museo delle Statue Stele in the Castello del Piagnora. The museum contains many Bronze Age stone sculptures (two to three meters high) representing human figures found in Lunigiana. The exhibit was beautiful and captivating - we spent almost two hours admiring the statues.
After the museum tour, we stayed inside all day as it began to rain heavily, with frequent thunder and lightning—even “thundersnow” later in the evening. Nevertheless, our lodging at Casa Garibaldi was cozy and warm.
Lodging: Casa Garibaldi €51.19. Meals: €0.00. Other: €10.00 (museum tickets).
Stele statue at Pontremoli Museo Statue Stele
Pontremoli to Filetto
On 23 February, we left at 11:00, as the rain of the past 24 hours had subsided. Two kilometers after Pontremoli, we deviated from the Via Francigena after Santissima Annunziata, as the small creek there was impassable due to flooding.
We stopped for our second breakfast at Pasticceria Riccò Anzio bakery shop for coffee, a croissant, and two cannolis. Around 14:00, we climbed to Filattiera Alto for leftovers. After lunch, still climbing, the path turned from concrete to rocks and then to a flowing creek that filled the trail.
We stopped briefly at the Filattiera church (Pleve di Sorano), a recently restored 12th-century church with amazing Romanesque architecture. We found five pre-Roman steles and an active archaeological site just past the church.
We deviated from all remaining stream crossings the rest of the day, using Google Maps to direct us to Filetto, as the water levels were high and the streams were running fast.
Throughout the day, we saw wildlife, including hares, five pheasants, and a partridge.
We checked into our lodging, which was very warm and comfortable and had a washer. We washed all our wet clothes and dried them in the abundant heat of the apartment.
We had two beers, two pizzas, one tiramisu, and one cheesecake for dinner. We’d been studying Italian for four months before this trip. However, the friendly young hostess wanted to speak English with native speakers, so we had fun helping each other with vocabulary. The pizza place was the only restaurant open in town that night, and we dined while two birthday parties were happening in the background - one for a 12-year-old girl and another for a 50-year-old woman. It felt like half the village appeared in the pizza shop to say “Happy Birthday” to the revelers.
Distance: 20 km
Lodging: La casa dei quadri €63.00 Meals: €44.00.
Church at Filattiera Alto, Tuscany, Italy
Filetto to Aulla
February 24. We woke up to a threatening weather forecast. Strong thunderstorms were predicted for midday, including rain, hail, sleet, and possibly snow!
We gathered our things for a check out at 11:00 and took a quick walk without our backpacks from Filetta to the ancient town of Virgoletta. In the Via Francigena forums, we'd seen that the trail had been renovated and that the village of Virgoletta was the day's highlight.
The now has a nice wooden bridge and a gravel footpath from the new bridge to the outskirts of Virgoletta.
The village is quite attractive; a pen of donkeys greeted us. It has many small foot passages between buildings, medieval buildings dating from the 12th to 15th centuries, and a 15th-century church. We didn’t get to loiter long as ominous clouds were forming. We dashed back to our apartment, gathered our backpacks, checked out, and walked briskly to the Villafranca in Lunigiana train station.
The station was buzzing with talk about the weather. While we boarded the train, we were pelted with sleet and small hail, while thunder and lightning were observed in the distance.
Lunch was at Ristorante per Bacco di Lucchesi Mario. The staff was amazing, assigning us to a table with space to accommodate our backpacks. Lunch included two glasses of wine, a bread basket, 1 L sparkling water, two antipasto dishes (seafood assortment and eggplant Parmesan), and two main dishes (Irish Angus beef filet and drum fish (Umbrina) entree).
Following check-in, we stopped at a large grocery store to pick up supplies.
We also checked out the Abbazia di San Caprasio, which dates back to 1000 AD. We were unable to enter the museum due to an “important meeting”; however, one of the meeting participants left this “important meeting” to give us a short tour of the Abbazia in a mix of Italian and English.
Distance: 15 km
Lodging: Casa Alessandra €55.00 Meals and provisioning: €125.00. Other: €5.60
Umbrina (drum fish) with potatoes, red peppers and carrots at Ristorante per Bacco di Lucchesi Mario, Aulla, Italy
Aulla to Sarzana
25 February. Upon departing Aulla, we climbed a small mountain of 650 meters in the fog. There were supposed to be some amazing views of Bilboa; however, it remained shrouded in fog. There were several weekend hikers and bikers out on this stage. Even with the mist, it was a beautiful hike, filled with olive orchards and some vineyards.
Ponzano Superiore was an attractive town, and we had lunch there and visited with a friendly mountain biker. Immediately upon departing Ponzano Superiore, we had our first experience with a Great Pyrenees dog. Its owner was about half its size and was unhappy with another couple and their dog out on the trail. Thankfully, she could restrain her dog, and we made it to Sarzana unscathed.
We made dinner in our room, comprising gnocchi with leeks and a Vin Nobile Di Montepulciano DOC Egarantita.
Distance: 23 km
Lodging: Opera €92.00. Meals: €36.40.
Olive orchard with Ponzano Superiore, Italy in the background.
Sarzana to Avenza
26 February. With more early solid morning thunderstorms with lightning and heavy rain, we decided to take an early morning stroll through Sarzana, then a train from Sarzana to Pietrasanta.
While it was raining heavily, we had lunch at Trattoria Gatto Nero. The menu included a delicious and generous beef tartare, osso bucco, and an assortment of bread.
After lunch, we strolled through artistic Pietrasanta and enjoyed the 14th-century Cathedral of San Martino, the Piazza del Duomo, and the Chiesa di S. Biagio e Sant’Antonio Abate artwork.
Distance: 7.5 km
Lodging: Le Camere Pietrasantine - Centro Storico €91.00 Meals: €65.00. Train: €7.80
A chubby cherub in Cathedral of San Martino, Pietstranta, Italy
Pietrasanta to Camaiore
27 February. With the significant thunderstorms passed, we set out in light rain over a small mountain via a saddle. There was still a lot of rain and water on the roads and trails; however, they were passable.
We had pizza at a “by-the-slice” shop in Camaiore and then headed to our accommodation on the outskirts of Camaiore. After fording a stream, we arrived at our lodging—a beautiful, restored 13th-century olive press building and farm run by a lovely couple with small children.
Our hosts made a fantastic dinner, including six different antipasti, a main course of pasta ravioli with wild boar, and ice cream with biscuits. There was an assortment of homemade yogurt, fresh fruit, cake, and coffee for breakfast.
Distance: 14 km
Lodging: Frantoio Del Moscatello €160.00. Meals: €40.00.
Hiking after the storm. Camaiore, Italy
Camaiore to Lucca
28 February. Climbing out of Camaiore, we experienced a significant change in topography. The gentle, rolling hills of the last few days were replaced with challenging, wet sandstone surfaces and more elevation gain and loss.
Along the way, we saw large and magnificent roosters. Later, we passed a small church built in 1175 (San Michele della Contessora). The neighboring hospice was destroyed in World War II.
Arriving in Lucca was a little bit of a shock to the system after hiking in the countryside and in small villages for a week. We were excited to see our first open gelato shop, where we promptly ordered three scoops each after skipping lunch.
For dinner, we ate at the Michelin Bib Ristorante Mecenate. The restaurant was cozy and not pretentious. Our wine was Fabio Motta Bolgheri Rossa. We had tortellini stuffed with pork and wild boar sauce, ravioli with herbs, rabbit with white beans, and pork bones with chestnut polenta.
Distance: 24 km
Lodging: Appartment Loreto €104.13. Meals: €108.00.
Pork stuffed tortellini with wild boar sauce. Lucca, Italy.
Rest day in Lucca
29 February. We spent the day looking at the sights in Lucca. First, we walked the perimeter of the old city (2.5 miles) on the medieval walls. Then we enjoyed a delicious slice of pizza at Pizza Alice.
After lunch, we stopped by Pastificio Artigiano La Sfoglia D`Oro to order some handmade tortellini and tomato sauce. We had a delightful conversation with the person working the counter.
In the afternoon, we climbed two bell towers, the one at Chiesa e Battistero de Santi Giovanni e Reparta being our favorite. We attended our first opera in a cozy medieval church in the evening. The performances were excellent, and watching the singers control and project their voices was fascinating.
We ended the evening at a craft beer bar near the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro.
Lodging: €104.13. Meals: €14.00. Other: €60.00
Piazza Antelminelli, Lucca, Italy
Lucca to Altopascio
1 March. We skipped walking through the industrial area of Lucca in the rain by taking a train from just outside Lucca to Altopascio.
We stopped on the trail at Galleno for a ham and pistachio sandwich and a Fanta. The owners were delighted and excited to see people walking the Via Francigena so early in the year.
We walked in light rain all day, but there were no storms or lightning. It was a quiet day, with some forest walking, walking on Roman roads, and later some muddy roads. We saw several horses and one hiker from Switzerland walking north to home.
The entry into Fucechino was a long, flat walk. We found a grocery store that looked like a LIDL and picked up some Chianina (a local cow breed) hamburgers, eggplant, peppers, beer, milk, cheese, pasta, and some sparkling water for supper.
Our lodging had an excellent host, and our room featured a kitchenette with a laundry machine just outside our door. Lots of Via Francigena spirit on this stage today.
Distance: 21 km
Lodging: Tre Gemme Giada €74.00. Meals: €32.00. Other: €5.60
Roman Road remains outside Castelfranco di Sotto, Italy.
Altopascio to San Miniato
2 March. It was a short walk to San Miniato, and we arrived by lunch. There was some canal walking on wet grass; however, we passed lush wheat pastures and a wheat/flour mill, large roosters, several bikers, and friendly people out enjoying the warm early spring day.
Lunch was at Le Due Torrie San Miniato, where we each had a Red IPA and then shared a tartare panini and a pasta (Taglieri) dish with egg, pork cheeks, and yellow tomatoes.
After lunch, we walked up the Torre di Federico to enjoy panoramic views of the Arno Valley. Then, we explored the 13th-century Cathedral Santa Anna with its impressive red/pink and white marble columns, gold ceiling, and golden calf with Moses.
As it was early March, there were few tourists in San Miniato, and the hotel and town were quiet.
Dinner was at Osteria l’upupa, a restaurant and wine bar famous in San Miniato for truffles and porcini mushroom dishes. We shared four dishes: gnocchi with cream, walnut, pear, pepper, and cheese; wild boar stew with rosemary, carrots, celery, onion, and tomatoes; a side of Basalmic veggies (eggplant, pepper, zucchini, purple cabbage); and a white chocolate mousse with truffles.
Distance: 14 km
Lodging: Hotel Miravalle €110.00. Meals: €92.00. Other: €4.00.
Village of San Miniato, Italy in early March.
San Miniato to Gambassi Terme
3 March. We were treated to a beautiful sunrise before an excellent breakfast at Hotel Miravalle.
We walked 2.5 km to a friendly bar with a scenic overlook. We purchased ham sandwiches and a bag of dried prunes for the trail.
Today’s trail was a mix of surfaces (pavement, gravel, dirt tracks) through the hills of Tuscany. Most farms were home to chickens, turkeys, and hunting dogs. We passed many abandoned farmsteads and were passed by groups of middle-aged weekend warrior bikers on mountain bikes and e-bikes.
While we ate lunch, we met Dutch Hikers Robert and Doreen. They’d been walking the Via Francigena for over five years, hiking from the Netherlands with this the final leg to Rome.
When we arrived in Gambassi Terme late afternoon, most establishments and the grocery store were closed. Thankfully, our lodging hosts also ran the only open bar in town that Sunday night, so we could get a table there and enjoy a charcuterie plate, beef stew, and some drinks.
Distance: 25 km
Lodging: Casa il Castello €77.00. Meals: €62.00.
San Miniato sunrise.
Gambassi Terme to San Gimignano
4 March. Immediately after San Gimignano, we saw increasing “Taste wine Here” signs and stopped at Azienda Agricola Casanova.
We had a delightful visit and tasting with the owner. Our tasting included five wines, one of which was the Etruscan Toscana IGt Sangiovese 2005, which we purchased for later consumption.
We had lunch at Forno Boboli—steak tartare with gorgonzola sauce, caprese salad, and a pizza with sausage, mushrooms, artichokes, and red onion. The food was excellent, and the staff was friendly. Our waiter had hiked several Camino routes and shared great hiking trails with us.
After lunch, we visited the Duomo, which held many interesting paintings and a sculpture by Michoangelo’s teacher.
Next, we visited the Parco della Rocca and enjoyed the excellent views of the rolling hills below.
Last, we visited Chiesa di Sant Agostino, a 12th-century monastery.
We made a small dinner of pork chop, asparagus, and mushrooms at our lodging, Palazzo Mari, which had available a generous and well-organized shared kitchen.
Distance: 17 km
Lodging: Palazzo Mari €69.00. Meals: €58.00. Other: €80.00
Hilltop outside San Gimignano, Italy.
San Gimignano to Colle di Val d’Elsa
5 March. Hiking through the dramatic landscapes of the Tuscan hills continued.
Today, we forded three streams, which required removing our shoes each time. We heard pheasants crowing and saw several large roosters, sheep, and goats. Otherwise, most of the farming was wheat or grapes.
We took advantage of the Palazzo Spa for a few hours before dinner. The spa had a lovely Turkish bath, sauna, and a large pool with jets.
Distance: 14.5 km
Lodging: Palazzo Hotel Spa San Lorenzo €118.80. Meals: €109.00. Other: €50.00
Colle di Val d’Elsa to Abbidea Isola
6 March. After a generous breakfast, we stopped by a grocery store to pick up some lunch provisions.
Today, we followed the Via Francigena bike route to avoid flooding and deep creek crossings.
We started to see more hikers today on the trail. In addition to our Dutch friends, we ran into a couple of small groups of Italians hiking for a week.
We saw some hares and a muskrat on our muddy walk.
We stopped at the Abbidea Isola gas station and split a large beer while we waited for the caretaker to arrive. We were the only guests in this 13th-century monastery, now a hostel. Our room featured a hand drawing by a medieval monk revealed during the monastery's restoration.
We ate at the cozy and innovative Futura Osteria (Michelin Bib) restaurant next to the Ostello. Our dinner included ribollita pie with beef tartare, pasta with beans and pork rind, wild boar stew, local cheeses, and a dessert of orange cream caramel.
Distance: 15 km
Lodging: Abbadia Isola - Ostello Contessa Ava dei Lambardi €80.00. Meals: €106.00.
Ostello Contessa Ava dei Lambardi, Monterioggioni, Italy.
Abbidea Isola to Siena
7 March. We arrived in Monteriggioni at 9:45, minutes before the tourist buses descended upon this quaint medieval village. We stopped for a quick breakfast of coffee and a ham/cheese panini.
The trails were mainly gravel roads and forest roads. We saw a few castles and large alfalfa fields.
We slowly climbed the big ascent into Siena and observed a large corporate campus. It was a Glaxo Smith Kline campus with heavy security, cameras, and tall fences. As we passed it, as corporate dropouts, we joked about whether the cameras were to keep people in or out.
We were surprised by the amount of wildlife on the hillside into Sienna. We saw several muskrats swimming in ponds and often heard pheasants crowing.
We stopped for a well-earned gelato at the end of our ascent and checked into our hotel.
We had dinner at Osteria Nonna Gina, where we had a Rosso di Montalcino DOC wine (2021), gnocchi, ribollita sense, chicken fried rabbit, and beef steak.
Distance: 27 km
Lodging: Hotel Athena €110.00. Meals: €99.00.
Sunrise at Monteriggioni - Abbadia Isola, Italy
Rest Day in Siena
8 March. After a generous breakfast at Hotel Athena, we purchased the Siena Duomo Pass, including a rooftop tour. It was a massive complex of buildings worth at least three hours of exploring. The intricate marble floors of the Duomo were amazing.
We’d heard that Siena can be quite busy in the spring, but the cooler and damp weather kept most tourists away or inside.
For lunch, we shared three pieces of pizza and a beer. Later, we took a nap while it rained.
For dinner, we met up with Dutch hikers Robert and Dorien and had dinner at La Taverna di San Giuseppe. Our meal included the house Chianti, grilled vegetables, truffles with pasta, and wild boar ragu.
Distance: 8 km
Lodging: Hotel Athena €110.00. Meals: €92.00. Other: €42.00 (Duomo Pass)
Siena Cathedral (Duomo)
Second Rest Day in Siena
9 March. We visited several other sites included in the Duomo Pass, as well as some recommendations from Robert and Dorien.
First, we visited the Santa Maria Delle Scola, a former hospital for pilgrims. It was a massive building, and the displays recounted stories of the women and children housed there in medieval times.
For lunch, we ate at Osteria del Gatto. An excellent waitress told us about truffles in the area as her father gives truffle hunting experiences. We had Papa di pomodori, pappardelle with cinghale ragu, pork stew (spezzatino) con patata, baked beans (fagioli al frasco) and two coffees.
After lunch, we visited the impressive Civic Museum, which is impressive in the amount of money spent to decorate the city building.
Distance: 8 km
Lodging: Hotel Athena €110.00. Meals: €42.00. Other: €8.00
Piazza del Campo, Siena
Siena to Buonconvento
10 March. We left the hotel at 8:30 and went to Piazza del Campo in the old town center of Siena. Typically, the area is full of tourists. However, we saw only three other people in the area, two of which were dog walkers. Perhaps they had all read the ominous weather forecast.
Based on the guidebook and pilgrim forums, we took the 20-minute train from Siena to Monteroni d’Abia and started walking toward Buonconvento.
Arriving at Monteroni d’Abia at 10:30, we climbed up to a ridge top, where we walked for more than an hour next to forage pastures and hay sheds. We could see train tracks and more than six deer frolicking on the hillsides in the valley.
On the ridgetop, we could see some angry clouds forming in the west - then lightning. We quickly sprinted toward a farmer’s hay shed and entered it as soon as it started to rain. We enjoyed pre-packed ham sandwiches while the winds blew around us, lightning flashed, and thunder sounded.
An hour later, the giant storm had passed. The trail into Buonconvento was slick, with a lot of clay.
Thankfully, the hotel's heating was robust, and we could wash and dry our clothes and shoes. As our shoes dried, we went to dinner at Osteria & Vineria in flip-flops. As most of the other diners at the restaurant were bikers, we fit right in. We enjoyed a Brunello di Montalcino Lisini 2018 bottle, beef tartare with quail egg, ragu with beef and boar, pappardelle noodles, and risotto with artichokes and mushrooms.
Distance: 18.5 km
Lodging: Hotel Ghibellino €87.00. Meals: €150.00.
Stormclouds loom just outside Buonconvento, Italy
Buonconvento to Torrenieri
11 March. Leaving Buonconvento, we stocked up on groceries, including leeks, oranges, bananas, walnuts, ham, bread, and gorgonzola cheese.
We walked through Brunello di Montalcino vineyards and wineries. There was a lot of wildlife in the vineyards and pastures, including three deer, a pheasant, and three swimming muskrats. Throughout the day, we could hear male pheasants crowing.
We also saw many more pilgrims on the Via Francigena. In addition to our two Dutch friends, we met a man from South Korea, three Scottish gentlemen, another American, and two Austrians.
The highlight of the day was the iconic Tuscan vineyard landscape.
As a recurring theme of the trip, it rained. We could see a massive storm pass just to the north of us, but we did not see any lightning and mainly stayed dry.
We shopped for more groceries in Torrenieri because we were unsure what might be open in the next couple of days.
Our lodging was a one-bedroom apartment with a well-equipped kitchen, friendly staff, and geese.
Distance: 15 km
Lodging: I Due Cipressi €85.00. Meals: €40.00.
Vineyard and estate near Montalcino, Italy
Torrenieri to Castiglione d’Orica
12 March. We awoke to fog, but our first excellent dry weather forecast since 21 February.
Upon leaving the apartment, we could see more excellent views of Montalcino - vineyards, curvy roads, and ridgetops overlooking the Tuscan hillside.
Arriving in San Quirico d’Orcia, we were first impressed by the quaint village. However, the town was geared more toward wine tourists than Via Francigena hikers. We were turned away from the Museum as there was an “important meeting,” news crews, and a large group of men in nice suits waiting inside. It was unfortunate as we’d heard some fascinating Via Francigena history inside the museum. Regardless, the town had an excellent picnic area, and some toddlers and a daycare teacher were happy to have us share the picnic table while we ate our sack lunches together.
Leaving San Quirico d’Orcia in our dust (yay, dust, not mud), we climbed to Vignoni Alto and took some photos at the iconic portal with views of Radicofoni.
Descending Vignoni Alto, we passed the Roman baths at Bagno Vignoni (closed). We could touch some water in the baths below and found it warm but not hot.
We crossed the river using a road bridge as the footbridge was under construction. It was a beautiful walk; however, a good portion of it was on a 20% grade.
Upon arrival at our lodging, we found our host, a warm “grandmother” who had made us a cake. Robert and Dorien had found a wine bar, so we stopped for a few drinks before heading back to our lodging and preparing our dinner.
Distance: 21 km
Lodging: Val d’Orcia nel Borgo €95.00. Meals: €14.00.
Archway in San Quirico d'Orcia. Radicofani in the distance.
Castiglione d’Orica to Radicofani
13 March. On the way out of Castiglione d’Orica, we picked up some prosciutto and artichoke sandwiches and two espressos.
The hike started with olive groves, wheat and hay fields, and more wildlife, including 12 deer, four hares, and several pheasants. On the route, we saw a Great Pyrenees dog leap over a three-foot fence and come toward us barking. It was not aggressive, just loudly protecting its sheep.
We forded three streams and one river. The river had large concrete blocks in it, however we still took off our shoes to cross due to high water.
Climbing the large hill to Radicofani felt like it took forever. It was not physically challenging, just a long, relentless climb. We walked by a 12th-century church (Chiesa de San Pellegrino).
Our lodging was quite cozy, and the hosts recommended we dine at Ristorante La Grotta. For dinner, we had wine (Marteto Morellino di Scansano DOCG), chestnut and mushroom soup, half a rabbit with pasta, pork neck with mushrooms, and a large plate of fagiolli (beans).
The town was so quiet that night, with the only noise being a female cat in heat.
Distance: 27 km
Lodging: La Gioiosa €62.00. Meals: €60.00.
Radicofani, Italy
Radicofani to Acquapendente
14 March. We descended a pleasant gravel road in the direction of Acquapendente, passing several sheep farms and being passed by milk canisters on trucks. Again, we saw several deer and pheasants.
Most of the scenery consisted of expansive views of pasture interrupted by shrub-filled gorges. At the valley floor, there was a pilgrim stop, “Ponte a Rigo,” where we rested briefly before walking on soggy farm roads toward Centeno.
Upon arriving in Centeno, we were greeted by a dog and cat sunning in the middle of the street. The dog walked us to our lunch stop, La Dogana.
La Dogana was a fantastic experience. We had made a recommendation (a must), and upon checking in, we were seated near a large open fireplace where an old man grills meat on an open fire. We had mixed grilled meats (lamb chop, pork chop, beef filet, pork ribs, pork sausage), fagioli (beans), and cooked chicory.
After reading various reports of a dangerous road hike (large semis, agriculture equipment) stretch between Centeno and Acquapendente, we opted to take the recommended bus route from Centeno. We booked our bus tickets on the bus app, walked back to the bus stop at the north end of Centeno, and were successfully transported to Acquapendente.
We walked to our lodging, an amazing four-hundred-year-old 1100-square-foot house with an ancient kitchen.
We went to the grocery store near the Acquapendente Cathedral and picked up some provisions. We also got some change there to light the cathedral's crypt for 10 minutes. A church has been at the site since 1025, and the crypt dates from the 12th century and has 24 unique capitals.
Distance: 18 km
Lodging: Maidalchini House €84.60. Meals: €68.00. Other: €2.20
Acquapendente Cathedral, Romanesque church, portions of which date from the 10th century.
Acquapendente to Bolsena
15 March. Our walk started on gravel roads through grain and potato fields. Arriving in San Lorenzo Nuovo, we had the “traveler menu” at a bar, which included lasagna, cauliflower, spinach with garlic, and a chocolate puff pastry.
After lunch, we could see Lake Bolsena. Near the lake, we could see lava rock being mined. The afternoon’s walk was mostly in woodlands and olive orchards. We periodically enjoyed nice views of Lake Bolsena and vacation homes.
Arriving in Bolsena, we took a quick peek at Castello Rocca Monaldeschi and walked through this touristy town’s narrow streets with friendly cats.
We were the only guests at our lodging. The rooms were updated and spacious, with a good view of pastures and rooftops.
We stopped at the neighboring COOP grocery and made a dinner of lupine beans, spicy chorizo, tomato salad, and beers.
Distance: 24.5 km
Lodging: Casale 1542 €98.00. Meals: €57.00.
Castello Rocca Monaldeschi, Bolsena.
Bolsena to Montefiascone
16 March. Leaving Bolsena, we were greeted by more great views of this attractive lake. The landscape was moderately hilly and forested, and the wildflowers were flowering.
We stopped at a church to get a “100 km to Rome” stamp outside Montefiascone.
We stopped by the beautiful Basilica di San Flaviano, famous with pilgrims for the story of Giovanni Defuk. The legend tells of the journey to Rome by a religious man from Germany, preceded by a faithful servant who was to report with an “Est” the places where he had found good wine. On his arrival in Montefiascone, he was so pleased with the wine that he wrote “Est” three times. Defuk moved to Montefiascone and drank so much wine that he eventually died.
We picked up some chia seeds, a pizza, and fresh fruits and vegetables at the COOP.
We had dinner with fellow hikers Robert and Dorien at the restaurant below our stylish room. Our meal included 1/2 bottle of Bohlgeri Rosso, spicy ragu, mushroom and pasta, and mixed vegetables.
Distance: 16 km
Lodging: Palazzo Frigo €123.20. Meals: €70.00.
Basilica di San Flaviano, Montefiascone, Italy.
Montefiascone to Viterbo
17 March. Leaving Montefiascone, we saw the top of a Basilica and our last views of Bolsena Lake. We reflected on the “gritty” nature of Montefiascone and found it interesting that the author, Nathanial Hawthorn, went through the same thing when he visited in 1849.
Today, we walked on the basalt rocks of a Roman road. We’d seen signs of porcupines for weeks, but today was the first time we saw hundreds of porcupine quills and, a few steps later, a big porcupine taking a dirt nap.
We found a giant LIDL in Viterbo and had a quick lunch of chicken wings, fried potatoes, and green salad.
Viterbo had several unique old churches with wooden rafters.
Dinner was gelato and an orzo salad.
Distance: 20 km
Lodging: Casa Claudia €86.60. Meals: €27.00.
Roman roads near Montefiascone, Italy
Viterbo to Vetralla
18 March. Our hostess at Casa Claudia had kindly left some breakfast pastries.
We took some photos of Viterbo with the optimal morning lighting. We saw some Etruscan stone foundations and a large cathedral with prominent buttresses.
We took the Etruscan variant, which took us by a large used tire shop (old, but not Etruscan). Eventually, we saw Etruscan roads and ruts worn into the soft stone by Etruscan carts. On this variant, we met a Dutch woman, Barbara, walking north from Rome and an Australian walking south from Siena, looking concurrently for houses for sale. We also met two Americans on a seven-day vacation to sample the Via Francigena in Rome. Lunch was focaccia, salad, and lasagna at a bus stop along the road.
After lunch, we saw teams of field workers harvesting cauliflower, and we gleaned a head from a harvested row.
Upon entering Vetralla, we saw many caves that now looked like large storage lockers for excess farm equipment and household goods.
We stopped by a grocery store and picked up some orzo, spinach, sausage salad, and non-alcoholic beer.
Distance: 22 km
Lodging: Casa di Bacco €60.00. Meals: €21.00.
Etruscan foundations in Viterbo.
Vetralla to Sutri
19 March. Leaving Vetralla, we passed a Benedictine monastery with lovely paintings of different pilgrims over space and time.
We entered a forested area and hunting zones and met some Italian pilgrims. The forest gave way to hazelnut trees, then a bread and pastry shop where we had excellent pastries and coffee and picked up some slices of pizza for lunch.
We walked for hours through hazelnut orchards and saw several tall Roman towers, which we learned later were tombs at Capranica.
Then, we entered a very high-end neighborhood with umbrella trees. Late afternoon, we entered Capranica, a unique old town with many cats and flowers. Leaving town, we entered a forested area with many wildflowers and some wild pigs, which were scared off by another hiker.
As we entered Sutri, we were told by no fewer than four gelato shops that it was “too early in the season for gelato.” Gelato-less, we visited a Roman amphitheater built in rock, the Necropolis, and houses of Etruscans in the Parco Regionale Dell’Antichissima Citta ‘di Sutri.
We were the only guests at the night’s B&B, and we had a delightful conversation with the owner, who had coached swimming for years and was involved in the Olympics.
We had dinner at a bar with Italian weissbier and a mixed meat plate of wild pork, pork ribs, Argentina beef steak, and grilled vegetables.
Distance: 27.5 km
Lodging: Le Terrecotte B&B €90.00. Meals: €77.80.
Via Francigena street art in Vetralla, Italy
Sutri to Monterosi
20 March. The Via Francigena out of Sutri passes on quiet country roads lined with sheep pastures and olive and hazelnut orchards.
Lunch was at a Conrad store on the outskirts of Monterosi that had opened the week prior. We knew this as we’d seen the road signs for three days. We ate at their deli and had eggplant parmesan, carrots, spinach, spicy tuna pasta with peas, and sparkling water. We also picked up a few groceries to make dinner with minestrone at our lodging.
On one of the first sunny days of spring, we saw several people playing golf on the two golf courses near Monterosi.
Even though our lodging was on the main street in downtown Monterosi, it was quiet. The apartment was impeccably designed, and the host, a realtor, was enthusiastic about seeing spring pilgrims.
Distance: 15 km
Lodging: Ginevra Home €103.50. Meals: €62.00.
Roman tomb near Capranica, Italy.
Monterosi to Formello
21 March. We had coffee and a fantastic pistachio croissant for breakfast at the bar down the street, then set off on the trail in the fog.
We passed by a farm in the middle of nowhere, and more than a dozen Siamese and mixed Siamese cats poured out of the barns to greet us. They were very affectionate and well taken care of. We were worried the cats would follow us; however, they turned around when we passed the last barn.
After the Cat Ranch, we walked past many sheep pastures, most containing ewes with young lambs. Once, a sheepdog came to growl at us; however, its owner quickly called the dog back.
We walked on a Roman road and then passed through Monte Gelato waterfall. Near the waterfall, several signs about frogs were posted, and Google Translate informed us not to hunt the frogs. Perhaps the meaning of the frog signs was lost in translation.
We passed through Campagnano di Roma and grabbed a snack and water, as there were few options that day.
We passed through a park (Regionale di Veio) full of porcupine signs, where people started setting up BBQ pits for the weekend.
Inspired by the weekend BBQ crowd, we arrived in Formello and picked up hamburgers, bread, peppers, mushrooms, cheese, and beer for our room.
Our lodging host was kind and enthusiastic, with a warm personality and a kind text message. We were delighted that we stayed in Formello, as the city had a friendly energy.
Distance: 25 km
Lodging: Il Palazzetto Sulla Francigena €84.00. Meals: €22.40.
Foggy morning in Nepi, Italy
Formello to La Storta Station
22 March. After breakfast, we explored the small medieval center of town and met several of the town’s cats. Immediately upon leaving town, we entered pastures and forest. We were expecting the suburban sprawl of Rome and were pleasantly surprised about the green space.
Isola Farnese was busier and suburban. There, we took the Etruscan route, a variant outlined in Sandy Brown’s Via Francigena guidebook. We were a little disappointed in the overgrown trails, but the route was worth it. We were able to see some of the tombs, and the information and graphics on display were helpful.
Upon arriving in La Storta, we stopped at a gas station for sandwiches and water. While walking through town, we met some other hikers who warned us that the last stage—La Storta to Rome—might be closed due to wild boar irradiation efforts. Not wanting to finish our Via Francigena with a bullet hole, we boarded the train at La Storta and went to Vatican City. We decided to make our last stage Capannelle to Rome via the Appian Way.
We celebrated our arrival in Rome with a nice bottle of Primitivo and some snacks. We cooked some stir fry at the hostel and went to sleep early.
Distance: 15 km
Lodging: Rome Hello €190.50 (including luggage storage for one month). Meals: €93.00. Other: €2.00
View from Formello, looking south toward Rome.
Capannelle to Vatican City
23 March. We took the train from Rome Termini to Capannelle. It was about two kilometers from the Capannelle train station to the Appian Way.
For us, it was an amazing way to enter Rome, passing by dozens of ancient Roman tombs and walking on the large basalt rocks laid by the Romans. We learned that centuries ago, over 60 carriages a day passed on the Appian way into Rome, and people gathered alongside the road just to people-watch the carriages come in.
We’d highly recommend walking from Capannelle into Rome. Most tourists only see the portions of the Appian Way closest to Rome, and the most impressive structures are further out in the countryside near Capannelle.
We’d read that the walk from the Catacombe di San Callisto into Rome was a little dangerous from a traffic perspective. However, since we walked into Rome in the late afternoon, traffic jams were already piling up, so we didn’t need to dodge any fast-moving cars.
We walked to St Pieter's Square and got our testimonium, which was dispatched by a police officer. We then walked to a shoe store and picked up some new shoes, as ours were well-worn.
We ate dinner at Diane’s near the Termini station with our friends Robert and Dorien, who had just finished their walk earlier that same day. We enjoyed a Bohlgeri wine, steak tartare, truffle carbonara, and rabbit ragu on pasta.
Distance: 26 km
Lodging: The Rome Hello €201.50. Meals: €50.00. Other: €2.20
Tombs along the Via Appia.
Our Summary: The Via Francigena in Italy in Winter and Early Spring
In a nutshell, we enjoyed the Via Francigena in early spring. We experienced more rainfall in late February than is typical, so we had several muddy days.
A few fellow Via Francigena hikers were on the trail, but we made a few great connections while on it. The trails were frequently utilized by locals, dog walkers, and bike clubs, so we did not feel isolated on the route.
The route was well-marked. We deviated slightly from the trail when we experienced flooding or when weather conditions like lightning or heavy rain persisted.
The highlight for us was the walk on the last day, hiking the Appian Way into Rome, past the Colosseum, and then entering St Pieter’s Square. We wrapped up with an excellent meal with friends we’d made on the trail.
Darren gets his Via Francigena Testimonium at Saint Peter’s Square.
