Via Francigena: Dispatch #5

Lazio! We were both very excited to reach this milestone, the seventh and final region we would pass through on our pilgrimage on the via Frangicena! Leaving Tuscany and entering Lazio gave us a sense that there is light at the end of this very long tunnel, even though we still had over 160 kilometers to go.

Our first stop was Acquapendente, where we had reserved a room over a pizza restaurant. The weather was warming and all the gelato stores had opened up, so after we sat in the town square and had a sandwich, we headed straight for a dark chocolate and pistachio treat! Since we were sleeping right over a pizza parlor we ate dinner there. It was the Saturday before Easter and it seemed to us that all of Italy was out celebrating. We had to drag out the earplugs on this rowdy night.

We did not do a very good job of anticipating Easter. Although we spent hours upon hours finding and securing affordable accommodations on our walk, we just could not pin down exactly where we would be on Easter Sunday. Ultimately, by the time we made the decision, there were few options left. We ended up in an expensive 4-star hotel in Bolsena with a giant two-person hot tub sitting right in the room. Other than the bed, there was no place to sit except one plastic chair. It was weird!! And there was a sign on the hot tub saying it wasn’t even hooked up and was, therefore, unusable. Which honestly was fine with us, those things put way too much humidity into the room and what a waste of precious hot water! There was a modest-sized tub in the bathroom so we did get to soak, albeit one at a time. We ate at the hotel restaurant and enjoyed a lovely Easter dinner.

As we moved further south the weather warmed. It was hot and sweaty on the trail and I was finally able to stay warm even as my body cooled once we stopped walking. I no longer had to wrap myself around a radiator to stay warm in the evenings. 

Beyond the town of Viterbo, we began seeing more pilgrims than at any other time during the trip. This is a popular starting point for folks who only want to walk for a week and still receive the Testimonium in Rome. There were some folks we saw every day and others we saw only once or twice. As far as we could tell, we were still the only Americans on the trail at this time, though we know others who will begin later in the summer. (!!)

The closer we got to Rome, the more teary I got. There is so much emotion wrapped up in a journey like this one that when I think about all that we had to do to make it happen and all that we have accomplished, it is overwhelming. To be honest, when Steven’s Plantar Fasciitis first flaired up, I think we both had doubts whether or not we would be able to actually complete this pilgrimage. There were a few times it felt like it was touch and go. 

On our last day, the day we arrived at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, we got up early and started walking before sunrise. We did a bit of sidewalk and traffic walking, but also walked through two nature reserves, which was nice considering we were actually in Rome. At the overlook area in Monte Mario reserve we caught our first glimpse of the St. Peter’s Basilica. It looked like it was just a hop, skip and a jump to get there, but no. The via Francigena had one more painful downhill in store for us, another uneven, rocky road with switchbacks that took us forever to descend. That called for gelato, of course, which we got at a gelateria called Lemongrass, which has the best pistachio gelato in the world. That’s just my opinion, but Steven agrees so there are at least two of us who believe that to be true. So it must be, right?

We carried on walking on the sidewalks of Rome until we finally reached St. Peter’s Square. This was The End. I no longer had anywhere to go that required me to walk with purpose. Our pilgrimage was over. We hugged and laughed and cried. We congratulated ourselves. We were really so happy. We were surrounded by throngs of people and yet we were completely alone in our celebration. 

Later that afternoon after we rested, we walked back over to the square. As pilgrims, we were not required to get into the long security line. We just walked up to the guard at the handicapped entrance, flashed our pilgrim passports and he put us at the front of the line to go through the security scanner. Then we headed into the church and walked to the Sacristy. There we were greeted by a man who handed us two Testimonium documents and said with a smile, “You have arrived.”

Radicofani to Acquapendente

These are the last of the rolling hills, as Lazio became more forest and groves of olive and hazelnut trees.
I know I said I would never live in an Italian villa, but I might change my mind on this one. This was a gorgeous property with a stunning home and a little church. We sat by the water well eating an apple. So relaxing!
Our room was above this is the pizza restaurant. We had a lovely dinner here. It is owned by five women who came together to create a lovely space for diners and travelers. Two of them served us and their pizza was the best we had on the VF.
We tried to visit this church which houses a stone brought from the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem that supposedly has a few drops of the blood of Christ. Unfortunately we were unable to see it because it was Easter Sunday and the church did not open until 10:30am. We were too early, so we headed out.
Wall mural in Acquapendente, which by the way means “hanging water”, as in waterfalls.

Acquapendente to Bolsena

In the next town we came to we thought we’d stop in and have a cappuccino. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the cafe, a huge crowd had gathered outside. Then we saw the ambulance and overhead, a medical helicopter. Clearly someone needed serious medical attention. We moved on.
They never tell you how far it is to Rome. 🙂 Well, part of the issue is that there are a couple of towns that claim to be “the” place that is 100 kms. away, therefore pilgrims should start there to earn a testimonium.
More Roman roads, cool to see, hard to walk on!
Arriving in Bolsena, a really gorgeous medieval village. I would have loved to stay there an extra day just to explore the old town. But we cracked on after our stay in the weird 4-start hotel.
The room was freshly renovated and essentially wasn’t finished yet. It had hurriedly been opened for Holy Week. That plastic chair was the only place to sit. So we asked that more chairs be brought to us so we’d have a place to sit other than the bed. They did arrive with two chairs from the bar, so we sat in those.
Leaving the next morning, the sun shining on Old Town Bolsena.

Bolsena to Montefiascone

The gates to nowhere. Very random. But you can see that the terrain has changed from the hills of Tuscany.
Gorgeous Lake Bolsena. This is actually an old volcano, so this is Italy’s equivalent to Crater Lake in Oregon.
We stopped by a little waterfall to eat a KitKat bar. Now that I’ve lost a little weight in my face, all my wrinkles are showing. 🙂
Est! Est! Est! The story behind the phrase goes like this: Back in the day, a German Bishop traveling the Via would sent his servant man ahead to taste wine along their route. If the servant found one he knew his master would enjoy, he would write “Est!” (Latin for “It is!”) on the tavern wall. When he reached Montefiascone, he so loved the local white wine that he wrote on the wall, “Est! Est! Est! Steven enjoyed a few glasses of this wine with his pizza dinner and confirmed that it was, indeed, delicious.
By the time we reached the edge of Montefiascone we were exhausted. We still had a ways to go to the monastery where we planned to stay, so we took a break and sat on a wall. A guy from this place came out and asked if we wanted to sleep there. It was kind of isolated, so no cafes or restaurants around, but we said yes anyway. For €20 each we had a private room and private bath, a vending machine with all kinds of crap and a coffee machine for the morning. We had tuna and crackers in our packs, so we were happy pilgrims!
Leaving Montefiascone the next morning, entering Old Town. We were so glad we stayed at the place before town, because this place was quite the hike and it was gorgeous in the morning sun.
This park we walked through held the remains of an old papal summer home. There is a museum there, but it wasn’t open yet when we walked through. The park overlooks Lake Bolsena.
A nod to modern day pilgrims.

Montefiascone to Viterbo

This is the Via Cassia, a road built in 2nd century BC to connect Florence and Rome.
A brightly painted home in the countryside near Viterbo.
We had to stop and take a break on the outskirts of Viterbo. It was hot, dusty and flat. Plus, we started talking about the food we were going to eat when we got back to Bijou and missed a turn. Ugh! We went nearly a kilometer off the path and had to retract our steps!
Walking through the arch into Viterbo.
We stayed overnight in a little apartment on this street. It was very old on the outside, but completely modern on the inside. We had a washing machine and a kitchen, so we made pasta soup. As it turned out, there were no spoons at all, save for a tiny coffee spoon. We took turns sharing that and taking teeny sips of our soup with one piece of pasta in each spoonful. Dinner was a lengthy affair on this night.
This street has been used by pilgrims for centuries. And of course it leads you right to the church.
The church was actually open, which is a rarity. Most are locked tight. We were on the hunt for a “timbro”, a stamp for our pilgrim passports. No joy in the church, there wasn’t a soul around, but we did find one around the corner in the church library.
On our way out of Viterbo.

Viterbo to Vetralla

Right out of Viterbo we walked the Via Cava Sant’Antonio. These roads were carved out centuries ago built by the Etruscans and in some areas are 12 meters high. Very cool to walk through, but the roads are used today, so we had to listen for cars. We only encountered two or three, so mostly we walked right in the center.
Two Pellegrini we met on the Via, Nick and his 80-year old mother, Angela. They were doing five days from Viterbo to Rome. Nick said it was his gift to his mom to celebrate her birthday. Steven said he would be fine with a new pair of slippers, in case our kids are reading this.
Encouragement and a reminder for pilgrims.
Mural upon entering Vetralla.
Our ostello in Vetralla.
Vetralla was not the most charming place we had visited, but like most Italian villages, it has an old section and a church, which is almost always the best place to go.
Pilgrim art.

Vetralla to Caprinica

We were supposed to get some rain, but we had a couple of showers here and there, hardly worthy of all the rain gear. We are now walking through forests and groves.
And old farms where folks used to live and tend their groves. Now it is mostly modernized with farm equipment to plant, water and harvest the trees. But here, like everywhere, they burn the trimmings, which just chokes the air with smoke.
Literally walking through the grove of hazelnut trees. It was early in the season so there were no hazelnuts to be seen on the trees or the ground.
This is what a mature hazelnut tree looks like in Italy. 🙂
Burt and Kristel, Swiss Pellegrini. We hopscotched with these guys for days as we all walked from Viterbo to Rome.
We had a wonderful little apartment inside that arched doorway in the center. The hosts were amazing. We discovered the boiler was broken, which essentially meant we had no heat, no hot water and for some reason, no gas to the stove, they refunded our money and we stayed for free. It was a very kind gesture which we appreciated.

Capranica to Monterosi

Our room in Monterosi. I know this isn’t a great photo, but I wanted to show you the perspective of what we saw the we opened the front door of our room. Main Street and the church. This is the second time we stayed at what was essentially the town bedroom.

Monterosi to Campagnano di Roma

We had a little trail drama out of Monterosi. A lamb had gotten outside the fence and separated from his mama. He was on our side of the fence and my gosh, the desperation in his cry was heartbreaking! The sheepdogs were trying to lead it back to a hole in the fence, but our presence made him bolt. I knew we were not going to be able to help that little guy. Then along came two cyclists and they tried to corner little sheepie but damn if one of the sheepdogs didn’t fly out from under that fence and charge right at us! He was just giving us a warning.
Finally the little sheepie found a way in and ran like the wind to get back to his Mama!
We had to crawl into Campagnano di Roma, which was on a hill, natch. We stayed in another little apartment that was very cute.
I loved the artwork here and for the most part the place was comfortable. We did some hand washing and it dried fairly quickly in the breezy sunshine. And, for the first time along the entire Via, we had risotto for dinner. I can’t believe we managed to avoid it so far, but somehow we did!
Another view. The bedroom was at the top of those stairs on the left, which was the least comfortable part of the whole place. Or was that the skinny bathtub? Both, now that I think about it.
There was a flea market on our way out of town.

Campagnano di Roma to Formello

Our accommodations in Formello were at the top of these stairs. Just what we like to see at the end of a long day of walking. Not at all.
Leaving Formello. We had eaten lunch at the restaurant on the left, La Cantina. I was hoping for tacos, but nay. This was our last stay in a charming medieval town. We were now on the outskirts of Rome, with only two more days of walking. Two days!

Formello to La Storta

Fortunately the Via stayed mostly in the countryside, which was so nice. It was warm, but not terrible. We had started to get up earlier to avoid the afternoon heat. The issue with that is early check-in time at the places we were heading wasn’t always possible. Still, I’d rather sit at a cafe in the shade than be out on the trail in the heat.
The skies looked threatening, but we never did get any rain.
This is one of the things we would do to entertain ourselves. 🙂
Almost there!!!
Waterfalls, nature’s air conditioning.
This is where our GPS led us to our hotel in La Storta, just outside Rome. It looked kind of sketchy, but turns out the actual hotel was around the corner. It wasn’t any great shakes, but it was all we needed on our last night on the Via Francigena.

La Storta to Rome

Up early and on the road before sunrise. We were trying to miss this traffic, but no joy. The road was busy!
Fortunately, the Via took us through two nature reserves. They are mostly wild and somewhat overgrown, but it was better than the city walking!
I decided I needed my sticks for this puddle.The last thing I wanted to do was fall over into the mud on my way to St. Peter’s!
Our last day of walking and we are excited pellegrini!
Sunrise reaches the nature reserve.
We met this pilgrim at the Monte Mario overlook, where we got our first glimpse of St. Peter’s Basilica. He had been following Steven’s art postings on a VF forum on Facebook, and was very happy to meet him. I suggested a photo, assuming it would be a selfie of all of us, and he practically knocked me over to get to Steven, then handed me his phone so I could take a picture of the two of them. Oh, well. 🙂
Got my own damn selfie with the artist.
We still had a long way to go to get to our final destination.
This rocky path and a few sidewalks stood between us and the basilica.
And this is what that rocky path looked like on a map. It was brutal!
In real life. Still brutal.
Getting very close. Unlike arriving in Santiago where there are pilgrims everywhere, we were the only pellegrini arriving at this time that we could see.
We made it! After 44 days, we had made our way from Aosta to Rome!
If we had to stand in this line to get our Testimonium, I think we would have just skipped it. Fortunately, we got to go to the front of the line!
Now what? Steven looks for directions to our hotel.
I just love these uniforms of the Swiss Guards.
We got our final stamp in our pilgrim passports from the Basilica in Vatican City, bottom right.
Testimoniums.

Steven managed to create a small body of work documenting our trip in paintings and drawings. This is the rather daunting view of the hill we had to climb to Campagnano di Roma. You can see more of his paintings from the via Francigena on his art blog by clicking this link.

Next up: The big passport debacle.

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46 Comments

    1. 2chouters

      Thanks, Joyce! It is quite amazing that we experienced seasons (!!) on this pilgrimage! As we walked, I wondered what must those vineyards look like ladened with fruit. Beautiful, I imagine! So glad to have you along on our journey!

  4. Eric Walker

    So glad you made it. Been following from the very beginning years ago. It is just like being there (except for the pain and the heat 🙂 ). Congratulations to both of you and thanks for keeping us updated with words and pictures!

    1. 2chouters

      So good to hear from you, Eric! I know you’ve been with us for a while, since before that rainy New Year’s Day along the river in Arkansas when we first met you in person! Glad to know you are still along for the ride!

  8. Kristin Lambert

    I’m tired too, from following you both all this loooong way! I couldn’t be more proud of you and thanks for taking us along. You really are special!

  9. Jodee Gravel

    “You have arrived!” – got a little teary over here 🙂 What an amazing accomplishment you two. Even seeing all the incredible pics it’s hard to comprehend what you saw during your 44 days. Love the pic of you between the walls with the vespa. And all your selfies are awesome-your faces when you were almost there! LOL at getting your own damn pic with the artist :-))) The no chair 4 star room and lost sheepie will be stories you tell forever. As always I finish your post feeling like a lazy slug, but grateful to have such adventurous friends who share said adventures!

    1. 2chouters

      Listen, we are the king and queen of the Lazy Slug club. We just got bitten by a pilgrimage bug, but I think that we have scratched that itch for good! LOL, remind me of that in the future if I ever say otherwise, m’kay?

  10. Arrowhead Gramma

    Congratulations Linda and Steven!!! I have so enjoyed traveling along with you via your words and wonderful photos. What a great accomplishment and so proud of you both!!!!

  11. Nickie

    Sweetest words ever: “You have arrived.” Good job, you two. Inspirational. thanks for carrying us along, for the photos and drawings. Come back to the US and you can hike the PCT or the Appalachian Trail! (kidding, I think)

  12. Dolores Tanner

    oh my, saw those steps leading UP to the apt and kept scrolling down to get to the start of the UP section and it seemed to go on forever!!! which i am sure you felt too having to get to the top to relax after a long day…
    Once again just lovely pictures that made me (almost) feel like i was there, sans the heat and sweat and tired muscles…. am sure you are back in Bijou by now and all is well.. can’t wait to see where your next adventure is, but bet you stay and relax somewhere marvelous first…

    1. 2chouters

      Oh, Dolores, you can’t imagine the hills we climbs and descents we made on this pilgrimage. I swear if we added them all up we could have been on top of Mt. Everest! Thank you for coming along with us! Good to hear from you, as always!

    1. 2chouters

      How lucky were we with such gorgeous scenery and mostly good weather to enjoy it? I really expected things to be much more bleak so early in the year, but I was wrong!

    1. 2chouters

      Thank you, Judi! We had zero expectations of any kind words upon our arrival at the Vatican, but this guy surprised us. Kind words AND a smile. We were very happy! I ate my weight in dark chocolate gelato with a bit of pistachio on top for good measure. When we move back to the states, I am totally getting an ice cream maker (after I get my Artemis mixer to make cold coffees!) 🙂

  16. Liz

    What an accomplishment! Thank you so much for taking us along with your wonderful descriptions and beautiful photos. I hope you can decompress in comfort and enjoy the foods you were looking forward to. Well done!

    1. 2chouters

      Thank you, Liz! We have spent the last couple of weeks eating everything we missed while on the VF! Mostly protein and veggies. Lots of Greek salads and grilled chicken! Who ever thought it was possible to get tired of pasta and pizza? 🙂

  17. Alice Cathey Carter

    I am so thankful that we met years ago! I love taking this journey with y’all. Love the pictures and the art! Thanks for sharing. I hope y’all continue to enjoy the journey!

    1. 2chouters

      Thanks Alice, it’s been nice to have you along the way also. We are definitely still enjoying the journey and it’s not showing any signs of letting up 🙂

    1. 2chouters

      Thank you for following along and taking time to comment and let us know you enjoyed our posts. We are still kind of in rest mode, although we are on the move again! There are always more adventures just around the corner! 🙂

    1. 2chouters

      My gosh, I hope not! If I ever bring it up again, you have my permission to smack me! Seriously, we have a hike planned this summer in Ireland, but it is only a two-day hike, so easy peasy. 🙂

  21. Laurel

    Congratulations, you two! I’ve enjoyed so much following along with you. I feel (almost) like I’ve been able to walk along with you through your gorgeous photos. Your little personal notes (making dinner and having to share a tiny spoon to eat it with, LOL) and your self portraits all add to the story. BTW, I really like your selfies. No contrived poses, but very creative. You “got your own damn selfie with the artist,” haha!! That artist paints some really beautiful paintings! 🙂 Rest up, and enjoy being back in Bijou!

    1. 2chouters

      Thank you so much, Laurel. Arriving back in Bijou was glorious, but we were so tired and could not muster the energy to go to the grocery store. So we lived on black beans and rice for two days. Then when we went, we bought everything we missed!!! Our little fridge was packed to the gills and we have been eating like royalty ever since. There really is no place like home. 🙂

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