His soul had succeeded in transforming reality into a happy dream, more tangible and real than truth itself. In short, Francis had discovered what the Medieval alchemists were desperately seeking: the secret for turning the vilest metal into gold.
- Nikos Kazantzakis, on Saint Francis
First full day of walking. We started off after 8, having waited for our host at the Antico Ospitale del Bigallo to come up from Florence bearing fresh coffee and homemade chocolate cake for breakfast! (The alternative being a frugal do-it-yourself breakfast of melba toast and tea.)
We walked through the woods for most of the day, at times on ancient roads paved with flagstones.
Along the way we encountered two beautiful country churches. The first was San Leolino, on the way into Rignano d'Arno, built around the year 1000.
We stopped at the co-op in Rignano sull'Arno for picnic supplies, then crossed the bridge over the Arno, climbed the hill out of the town and found a grassy spot under an olive tree for a lunch break. (Going shopping for one apple, one banana, a small chunk of cheese and a travel-sized toothpaste is the kind of thing that gives me the thrill of realising I'm really back on a cammino!) After this break we were somewhat dismayed to see that we were not done with the ups and downs yet: more hills awaited us in the afternoon of this day with a total elevation gain of 1000 metres - and a loss of about the same number, too. The hills always seem steeper in the afternoon when the sun is hot and the legs are getting tired... But eventually we reached the second beautiful country church of the day, Pieve di San Pietro a Pitiana.
After stopping for a while to admire the view from the terrace in front of the church, the altarpieces by Ridolfi di Ghirlandaio and the ninth-century bas-relief of Saint Peter wearing a Roman toga under the altar, we left the Via Ghibellina and walked along the roadside for one more kilometre to the village of Donnini. Over a cold drink, we waited for the tiniest co-op I have ever seen to reopen at four thirty so we could buy just enough groceries for our dinner. Then signora Carla met us to take us to Casa Memmo, where we have a little house all to ourselves for the evening, with two bedrooms, a kitchen / sitting room and, best of all, a garden with a table in the shade of the grapevines and a small above-ground swimming pool!
There's nothing like a dip in ice cold water to revive the circulation after a day walking up and down Tuscan hills under the sun!
Antico Ospitale del Bigallo - Donnini 23.5 km
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