Joanne's long walks: Back on the Via Francigena nel Sud: Vignacastrisi

Road to from Rome Day 36b, the missing link: Vignacastrisi - Tricase

On October 18, 2021 I arrived in Santa Maria di Leuca after walking for 37 days, and completed the Via Francigena south of Rome.

Completed... except for one stage. For some reason known only to the organisers of "Via Francigena. Road to Rome 2021 - Start again!", we skipped the second-to-last stage of the Via Francigena: 14 kilometres between Vignacastrisi and Tricase.

Maybe it was due to lack of time... or insufficient availability of accommodations for the 200 or so people who walked the final stages with us.... for whatever reason, we skipped a stage, and it had been bothering me ever since. I did consider walking those 14 kilometres at the time, but I didn't want to miss out on the excitement of arriving at the end of the Road in Santa Maria di Leuca with the rest of the group... So I too hopped onto the bus, vowing to make up for the skipped stage one day.

And, less than one year later, that day has come! After walking for a week on the Via Francigena in Puglia between Bari and Brindisi with my father and his partner (subject of a future post), we took the train from Brindisi to Lecce to explore that beautiful Baroque city (some photos from last year). Here was my opportunity to make up the missing stage! On the following day, a Sunday, I took the early morning bus from Lecce to Diso and walked two kilometres from the bus stop to Vignacastrisi to join the Via Francigena and begin the missing stage.

The day was perfect for walking: sunny, but with fluffy little clouds and a cool sea breeze. Two kilometres into my walk I came to the town of Marittima, with its houses in beautiful pastel colours.

I met my friend Agnieska, who lives in Marittima, for breakfast in the main square of the town. I first met her during the Road to Rome walk, almost a year ago, when four of us stopped to refill our water bottles at a fountain between Alife and Faicchio.

September 26, 2021

I was taking a break at the fountain with fellow walkers Massimo, Alessio and Alfredo when Agnieska and her friend Barbara rolled up on their bicycles. Within two minutes Agnieska had invited us to stay in her home in Marittima when we reached that stage in our walk... but as it turned out, we skipped the stage! 😖

Well, to be fair, Massimo and Alessio walked it, combining it with the previous stage so as to spend the evening with the rest of us in Tricase. Whereas I accepted the offer of a lift from Vignacastrisi to Tricase with the rest of the group. We were tired, and it was starting to rain... In any case, the bus took us to Tricase, where we spent the evening at the celebrations organised for us by the town, followed by a glass of wine with Agnieska and her friend Maria Grazia. I promised them both that I would be back!

So on Sunday, September 4th, 2022 I met up with Agnieska for breakfast at the café in Marittima and she walked with me as far as Torre del Sasso, after which I proceeded alone for the last few kilometres before meeting up with Maria Grazia, who hosted me in Tricase.

Before leaving Marittima, Agnieska showed me the town's 17th-century underground olive press. Here, she said, olive oil was pressed to be burnt in the lamps that lit up the streets of Paris and London.

Agnieska returned the key to the underground olive press in the town hall that stands above it, and we continued on our way along what turned out to be one of the most scenic stages of the whole Via Francigena!

A dovecot beside the Via Francigena

Pilgrim-themed mural

A caseddhu, a stone hut for storing farm equipment

Agnieska admires the view

The mountains of Albania were visible across the water!

Ancient olive trees and dry stone constructions

Agnieska showed me the treasures along this stage of the Via Francigena, including an eighth-century Byzantine cave chapel dug into the rock in a hidden spot below the modern-day chapel of the Madonna dell'Attarico.

Another highlight of this stage is Torre del Sasso, one of a series of watchtowers built along the Adriatic coast of the Salento peninsula to provide the local population with sufficient warning if marauding Turkish pirates should approach the shore. Unfortunately the tower, which dates back to at least the 16th century, is now crumbling and at risk of total collapse.

You can vote to have it protected and preserved at this link!

At Torre del Sasso Agnieska left me to return to her home in Marittima, promising to rejoin me later in the evening. I continued walking on my own for another hour or so as far as Tricase Porto, where pilgrim host and teacher Maria Grazia Bello awaited me with open arms! My fellow walker Daniela de Sanctis has written an article about Maria Grazia and her school, and how they are involved with the Via Francigena, available here (in Italian).

We swam together in the waters of Tricase Porto and then enjoyed lunch at "Bolina", a waterfront restaurant which offers a seafood pilgrim menu, run by Maria Grazia's husband.

Maria Grazia then took me to my accommodations in a studio flat in the centre of Tricase where her daughter used to live, where I rested until evening. Then I met up with here again, along with Agnieska and a group of their friends, to spend an evening at the "Maru" hot pepper festival in the nearby town of Ruffano. Our evening out included not only unusual spicy snacks such as a chocolate and hot pepper pasticiotto, but a guided tour of the town and a performance by an all-female choir, Coro a Coro.