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Thursday, September 30, 2021

Via Francigena nel Sud Day 19: Buonalbergo - Celle di San Vito

Road to from Rome Day 19: Buonalbergo - Celle di San Vito
23 km walked

Today's stage looked to be the longest and toughest stage on the Via Francigena south of Rome: 33 km, with a considerable elevation gain as we cross the Appennines. For this reason we and the local walkers who joined us arranged to get a lift for the first few kilometres out of town. We then began walking downhill through farmers' fields, mostly ploughed but some still with stubbles of wheat. What goes down must come up, so after crossing the muddy bed of a nearly dry stream, we climbed steeply uphill, sweating in the heat and humidity even in the morning. 








We passed abandoned old stone farm houses as well as fully operational farms, complete with chickens and barking dogs. The first landmark we came to was a site called Bolle della Malvizza, where bubbles of hydrogen and mud rise to the surface of the ground. This volcanic phenomenon was known to the ancients as "the gateway to the underworld" and was the site of a temple to the Sannite goddess Mephites, associated with water and with fertility, both of women and of the earth. So it was appropriate that at this site we were offered loaves of delicious bread made from ancient grains in nearby Montecalvo Irpino! Tearing apart the still warm loaves with our hands, we enjoyed this snack and took a group photo before moving on. 






More wheat fields, more hills and valleys... With a gradual overall climb. We were walking across Ariano Irpino, one of Italy's largest municipalities in terms of territorial extension - as big as Milano, but with pnly a fraction of the population! We passed the turnoff to Aequum Tutticum, an archaeological site where a Roman post-house was located, one day's ride from Benevento. Unfortunately the site itself is not visible from the current route travelled by the Via Francigena. 









Threatening clouds were beginning to gather in the distance, but we were not too worried as we had our rain gear with us and were prepared for anything. Also, today and yesterday we have come across brand new rain shelters at intervals along the Via Francigena. These wooden shelters offer a bench to sit on and a roof to provide shade or shelter from the rain, topped by solar panels which power a recharging unit, so you can even charge your phone while you wait for the rain shower to stop! 

This is one feature I have never seen on a pilgrimage path before, an example of how the new and relatively unknown and undeveloped Via Francigena nel Sud is surpassing the northern parts of the Via Francigena and even the Camino de Santiago! 



Our next stop was at Tre Fontane, where were happy to find not only a fountain of fresh, cold water but lunch waiting for us, offered by the municipality, including mozzarella made on the spot and scamorza hung over coals to melt it for spreading on toast.... Yum!!! 










We concluded this cheesy lunch with ricotta-filled sfogliatelle, a chilly wind arose, driving us off toward the sanctuary of San Vito, at where the priest was waiting to say Mass for us and a large group of people who then walked the rest of the way to Celle di San Vito with us. On the way, we had a little ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate our passage from the region of Campania to the last region on the Via Francigena, Puglia. Then we walked through Italy's largest wind farm, built to take advantage of the winds that sweep these Appennine heights, for we were walking at over a thousand metres above sea level at this point. We passed a brush fire, spreading through the grass on the wind, with water bombers zooming overhead and jeeps racing over the fields to contain the spread of the flames. Never a dull moment on the Via Francigena! 


















Upon arriving in the town of Celle di San Vito, we took a group photo in front of the church - possibly our largest group photo since Rome - and then were treated to a glass of sparkling wine and a tour of the town's small museum of traditional farming culture. 

Celle di San Vito is not only the first town in Puglia on the Via Francigena, it is the smallest municipality in Puglia, with a population of 160. The town is a linguistic and cultural enclave, formed in 1274 when King Charles d'Anjou brought soldiers from France to rout the Saracens under siege in Lucera. The soldiers won the battle and were granted the right to bring their families to settle in the area; ten families chose to set up their homes in the cells of the former monastery of San Vito (hence the name Celle di San Vito) because of its position out of the way of brigands and its favourable climate. 







Provençal cross in Celle di San Vito 


New painting of a pilgrim before the Provençal cross, by C. Nardone

After checking into the municipal albergo, we went down to the local restaurant, Le Fontanelle, where the town authorities treated us to an excellent dinner of local specialties. The cuisine of Puglia is one of my favourites in all of Italy, because it includes plenty of vegetables and legumes and very little meat. My favourite among the many dishes we sampled was the pureed fava beans with chicory... I can't wait to discover the culinary delights that await us over the next 18 days of walking in Puglia! 












Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Via Francigena nel Sud Day 18: Benevento - Buonalbergo

Road to from Rome Day 18: Benevento - Buonalbergo

Our life is a constant journey, from birth to death. The landscape changes, the people change, our needs change, but the train keeps moving. Life is the train, not the station.” ― Paulo Coelho.

Today's small group of walkers gathered at the Trajan Arch in Benevento. The triumphal arch built across the Via Appia in AD 114-117 marked the point where we leave the route of one ancient Roman road, the Via Appia, and take another, the Via Traiana.



The Via Traiana was built under the emperor Trajan as an extension of the Via Appia, covering the distance between Beneventum and Brundisium (Brindisi) by a shorter and less mountainous route,via CanusiumButuntum and Barium rather than via Tarentum. This was commemorated by the construction of the arch at Beneventum.

Shorter and less mountainous sounds as good to us as it did to the ancient Romans! But not even the Romans could flatten the Apennines, the mountain chain running down the backbone of Italy that we need to cross. Today's walk through the foothills of the Apennines involved a lot of ups and downs, especially in the second half of the stage. But the beauty of this fruitful land, with its olive groves, vineyards, and fields of tomatoes, squash and tobacco, and the warmth of the local people made it all worthwhile!










At a place on the outskirts of Paduli, called Taverna because it has always been the site of a roadside tavern, we were offered snacks and wine - at 11 in the morning! A man who lived nearby came over to see what was happening, and showed me a Roman sestertius he had found on his land, as well as various other coins from different ages in history.
It would appear that people have always been drinking wine in the morning on this spot, and consequently dropping coins all over! 


From Paduli we proceeded on to Sant'Arcangelo Tricase, where we met five horsemen returning from Monte Sant'Angelo bearing a new sculpture of Saint Michael, which they delivered to the town on the Saint's feast day. The statue was placed on a large rock covered with a lace tablecloth, and the parish priest blessed it and the horsemen in a short ceremony. 










Continuing towards Buonalbergo once the ceremony was over, we continued to find new distractions to slow our progress, such as petting the foals in a nearby corral, talking to elderly ladies or participating in the grape harvest - for all of five minutes!






Upon arriving in Buonalbergo, after many a hill and dale, we were welcomed by the townspeople with cheering and applause, and were introduced and interviewed before retiring to our pilgrim accommodations at the Casa del Pellegrino. Our hostess Fernanda provided us and the other three guests, from Copenhagen, with a delicious dinner of pasta and homegrown vegetables - perfect for the night before we cross the Apennines!!!