Methinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow
- Henry David Thoreau
After an evening of peace and quiet at my daughter's new flat in the outskirts of Parma, interrupted only by the excitement of a wrestling match with the sofa bed, we breakfasted and returned to the train station for the ten-minute ride back to Fidenza and walked from the train station through the centre of the town to the cathedral square.
Fidenza
The name Fidenza, in Latin Fidentia, comes from the root fides: trust, or faith. The city's position on the ancient Roman Via Emilia and later on the Via Francigena gave it great importance as a centre of trade. Destroyed by barbarians in the fifth century, the town was rebuilt in the early Middle Ages as Borgo San Donnino, named after the saint who was decapitated in 296 BC on the spot where the cathedral now stands; the original Roman name was restored in 1927.
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| San Donnino post-decapitation |
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| Fidenza's medieval town hall |
Between the years 1000 and 1100 Fidenza was the capital of the Kingdom of Italy; in 1102 it became a free comune, but it was conquered and destroyed once again by Parma in 1268 and rebuilt after 1300. It was in this century that the city's great cathedral was completed.
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| The apse of Fidenza cathedral |
The most interesting part of the cathedral is its Romanesque façade, richly carved with little sculpted figures. At the base of the tower just around the corner on the right side as you stand facing the cathedral are a number of hooded characters in procession, one of whom inspired the yellow pilgrim symbol of the Via Francigena. - Though scholars have recently suggested that these figures may not actually represent pilgrims on their way to Rome, but soldiers in Charlemagne's army returning to France - busting a great myth of the Via Francigena! 😄
Diagonally opposite the tower, in a hidden corner by the cathedral square, is the head office of the European Association of the Vie Francigene, upstairs from the tourist information office. We went in to say hi to Luca and Micol, the two staff members in the office today (many of the staff work from home), and have our pilgrim credentials stamped with the official AEVF stamp. I diplomatically refrained from mentioning the claim that their official yellow pilgrim symbol might actually not be a pilgrim but a military man... walking in the opposite direction from Rome! 😄
I then dropped by the tourist office downstairs to participate in a survey of passing pilgrims, and was rewarded with a free chunk of Parmesan cheese 😋.
The Via Francigena exits the town of Fidenza along a broad tree-lined avenue which becomes a cycling track through the trees. It passes by the church of Saint Thomas Becket, which is unfortunately kept closed, though a notice on the door said you could call the parish priest and ask him to come open the door.
We didn't call but continued on our way, climbing a gravel road to the top of a ridge from which we could see the vast expanse of the plain disappearing into the heat haze to our left, and foothills of the Appennines on our right.
The flat Po Valley is finally behind us!!!
At Siccomonte we met Michelle and Peter, French and English walkers who started at Saint Bernard's Pass. They stopped for a break by the church while we carried on for another hour or so along an asphalt road to Costamezzana. The Via Francigena doesn't go right into the village, though it's only a short detour and, we were later told, there is a nice café there. We already had a picnic lunch that my daughter had made for us, so we stopped in a shady spot and sat down on the grass by the bed of a (dry) stream.
In the afternoon we realised that the flat part of the Via Francigena is truly behind us. The trail went up and down several times, crossing the ridges and valleys. In the low parts it was hot and humid, but when walking along the tops of the ridges there was a refreshing breeze. The views reminded me of the rolling hills south of Siena in Tuscany.
At the spot in the last photograph I met five large dogs intent on defending their territory, the group of houses on the left side in the photo. They were all bark and no bite, but if you prefer to avoid such meetings, I would suggest that after the steep downhill stretch on the dirt road just before the hamlet of Cella you head straight down the hill to the paved road at the bottom of the valley and turn left on the road, rather than turning left before the cattle shed (on the righthand side in the photo) as shown in the gps track. You'll end up in Cella either way!
After a few more ups and downs, dirt tracks, gravel roads and narrow, winding paved lanes, I finally reached Medesano at exactly the same time as Mariella, who had followed the cycling route instead after Costamezzana. We checked into the pilgrim hostel of San Giacomo at Oratorio Don Bosco, right in the middle of the town, and were met with forms to fill in and a barrage of instructions about being sure not to leave the lights on overnight, leaving our shoes and socks in the hall, sorting the trash, cleaning up after ourselves in the kitchen, and so on and so forth. It was all a bit bewildering when you still have your pack on your shoulders, after walking 25 kilometres in the heat! 😄
We are sharing the hostel with our Belgian friend Daniel, who spent the previous night in his hammock in the woods and probably needs to catch up on some sleep, with a cheerful young German who has already emptied a couple of bottles of beer, and with an equally cheerful Dutch woman who has arranged to go out for dinner with the German. Leaving the tiny hostel kitchen for the usual trio of Daniel, Mariella and I!
Fidenza - Medesano 25 km
600 metre elevation gain
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