Road to Home 2023 Day 86: Pontremoli - Filetto

Dai a ogni giornata la possibilità di essere la più bella della tua vita

(Give each day a chance to be the best day of your life)

- written outside B&B Il Gredo, in Filetto 

It was quite a luxury to have my very own room (or monk's cell) in the Capuchin monastery in Pontremoli last night, after being in shared and hostel rooms for several days. I decided to repeat the experience and booked a room at a B&B in Filetto for today - also because the Pontremoli to Aulla stage is a long one, and I didn't feel up to walking the whole way after yesterday's exhausting stage struggling downhill on steep, uneven surfaces all day!

Besides, I wanted to take my time and enjoy the beautiful villages of the Lunigiana, as this area between Liguria and Tuscany is called, after Luni, the ancient Roman city, now a vast archaeological site, on the border between the two regions. 

I set off from Pontremoli, walking along the side of the road on the left bank of the Magra river to Borgo Santissima Annunziata, a cluster of colourful homes surrounding the church of the same name.

I peeked into the cloister of the church, now state property and used as an archive. Then I continued along the Via Francigena, parallel with the road, and the river, to Monteluscio, where I stopped in a café for a second breakfast - I was already hungry, despite having made a bowl of oatmeal before leaving the monastery! 😄 

The other walkers I have met over the past couple of days were ahead of me, amd Mariella is no longer with me, but I met new walkers: a man from Brescia who started out on his walk today from Pontremoli, and another who started from his home in Bergamo, improvising a route across country until he joined the Via Francigena, where he met a Frenchman from Beziers. The two of them are now walking together, and I joined them as far as Sorano, on the way into Filattiera, where I lingered to investigate the church and the stelae, statue menhirs carved into human shapes.

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Stelae

Stelae are carved stone slabs, normally taller than they are wide, found in many places in the world; statue-stelae or statue menhirs are vertical slabs carved with a stylised human figure, sometimes including clothing and weapons. They are most commonly found in southern and western France, Catalonia, Corsica, Sardinia, Italy and the Alps; Iron Age stelae are particularly common in Liguria and, especially, in Lunigiana.

Many of the stelae were broken up during the evangelisation of the area in the years prior to AD 752, as they were considered pagan idols.

The recently discovered Warrior of Sorano is a stele or statue menhir which is unusual in that it was remodelled at a later date, transformed into an image of an armed warrior with an inscription, now illegible. This particular stele was preserved because it had been reused in early medieval times as an architrave over a side door of the church of Santo Stefano in Sorano, facing upwards so that the carved pagan image would not be visible to people passing through the door. It was rediscovered during the restoration of the church in preparation for the celebration of the jubilee year 2000.

Pieve di Santo Stefano di Sorano

Mentioned by Sigeric, and therefore in existence before the year 1000, the church was rebuilt in the 11th to 12th century in the Lombard Romanesque style. The square tower was added later, possibly as a watchtower to guard over the nearby road - the Via Francigena, of course!

The entire construction is made of stones polished smooth and round by the river, joined with mortar and topped with a slate roof. 

On the far side of the church from the road, behind the little cemetery, is a tourist information office with public washrooms, located on the site of a Roman mansio or roadhouse that was in use until the fall of the Roman Empire. Around it stand a number of stelae found in the area.

Filattiera   

By the time I was able to tear myself away from this fascinating area, my new friends had gone on ahead. I walked through the new part of Filattiera and up the hill to the historic village centre, where it was amusing to stand in doorways and watch local residents squeeze through the narrow alleyways in antiquated vehicles 😆.

The name Filattiera comes from the Greek filakterion, to defend or protect, testifying to the Byzantine fortifications present on the site in the sixth and seventh centuries, during the wars between the Byzantine and Lombard empires. The medieval castle and church of San Giorgio replaced these on the hilltop, and the village grew around them.

After leaving Filattiera through an arch in the old town's defensive walls, the Via Francigena heads into the woods for a pleasant,  shady walk toward Filetto, my destination for the day. 

When I came out of the woods, I stopped at a "pilgrim oasis" dispensing chilled purified water to fill up my bottle for only five cents, and then at Ristorante Pizzeria Il Pozzo to fill up my tummy for only twelve euros! 😄

The vegetarian options on the menu were testaroli al pesto followed by vegetable and rice pies with salad. Testaroli are characteristic of Liguria and the Lunigiana area, and were actually a primitive form of bread, before humans discovered yeast and ovens: they are made from flour, olive oil and water, simply mixed, poured into a terracotta dish, and stacked over an open fire. They are now normally made using more modern means, but still taste as good - especially with pesto!

Click here for a modern-day recipe in English!

Filetto

The name Filetto also comes from the Greek filakterion, so it's no wonder I kept getting the two of them mixed up when planning my day! 😄 But fortunately I booked my room in the right place, Filetto, 18 kilometres down the road from Pontremoli. It also arose as a part of the Byzantine fortifications against the Lombard "barbarians"; the remains of the fortifications were incorporated into the walls of the medieval town built along the Via Francigena, with a pilgrim hospice in the woods, referred to in the documents as Selva Donica. Today its functions of accommodating and feeding pilgrims have been taken over by a couple of bed & breakfast establishments and a smattering of bars and restaurants!

Only half of the Pontremoli - Aulla stage today!

Pontremoli - Filetto 19 km