Consider how a man walking approaches a little town; he sees it a long way off upon a hill; he sees its unity, he has time to think about it a great deal. Next it is hidden from him by a wood, or it is screened by a roll of land. He tops this and sees the little town again, now much nearer, and he thinks more particularly of its houses, of the way in which they stand, and of what has passed in them. The sky, especially if it has large white clouds in it and is for the rest sunlit and blue, makes something against which he can see the little town, and gives it life. Then he is at the outskirts, and he does not suddenly occupy it with a clamour or a rush, nor does he merely contemplate it, like a man from a window, unmoving. He enters in. He passes, healthily wearied, human doors and signs; he can note all the names of the people and the trade at which they work; he has time to see their faces. The square broadens before him, or the market-place, and so very naturally and rightly he comes to his inn, and he has fulfilled one of the great ends of man.
- H. Belloc, Walking
The path between Citerna and Città di Castello does not follow the road for cars down in the valley, but winds its way up and down, cutting across three ridges. Our accommodations at Le Burgne were on the top of the first if these ridges, so we began the morning by descending into a valley, where we passed through a farm where bufale are raised and mozzarella di bufala is made. Still stuffed from our abundant buffet breakfast at Le Burgne, we didn't stop to sample the cheese, but I had a taste later in the day when we were at our hostel with Franco, who had bought a few mozzarellas, and it was delicious!
We climbed to the top of the second ridge and then down again to the village of Lerchi, where we had to walk along the side of a busy road, fortunately only for a short stretch. Then we climbed the last hill of the day, at the top of which is the Eremo del Buon Riposo. Originally known as Santa Croce di Nuvole, the hermitage was renamed after Saint Francis spent a night there in 1213 and exclaimed "O, che buon riposo" - "Oh what a good rest I have had!" Private property of the same family since 1865, if I remember rightly, the hermitage currently belongs to a 94-year-old lady and is taken care of by a very friendly custodian, Andrea, who welcomes pilgrims with a cup of coffee and a tour.
The hermitage is very small and it's hard to believe that during the war, 500 people, including the famous cyclist Gino Bartali, took shelter here, all under the care of a single friar; all but one survived until the end of the war. (One unfortunate soul was killed by a bomb, but only because he refused to take shelter in the crypt and stayed above ground during an air raid out of fear that his provisions would be stolen.)
We ourselves took shelter in the hermitage, not from bombs, or even pandemics, but from the thunder and rain that had finally caught up with us, after threatening but failing to deliver all day yesterday. By the time our tour was over the worst of the storm had passed, and we walked the final hour of the day's stage down the hill into Città di Castello under a gentle rain. With us were Piero and Maurizio, two pilgrims from Ascoli Piceno who told us there is a great walking route from Assisi to their home town. Franco, the pilgrim from Massa we met yesterday, also joined us at the hermitage, and is staying at the convent of Santa Cecilia like us, so we walked into the town together to search for our accommodations.
After checking in, getting out of our raingear and enjoying a hot shower, we all went off to explore the town of Città di Castello before meeting for dinner. One of the poshest restaurants in town, called Le Logge because it is located under the loggia of a palazzo right in the main square, offers a delicious three-course dinner at a special price for pilgrims, only 17 euros including drinks and cover charge!
Citerna (Le Burgne) - Città di Castello 15.5 km
Great introductory quotation today, Joanne! Don't know where you find them, but all your quotes are so well chosen and add a nice touch to each entry. Safe walking! We are following you from Chile! Dad.
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