Italy to Santiago II Part 1: Via Domitia Day 10: Susa - Exilles

Che i politici scendano dai loro elicotteri e imparino a camminare

(Let the politicians get out of their helicopters and learn to walk)

- Paolo Rumiz, La leggenda dei monti naviganti (2007)

The Susa Valley is a crowded place. Not crowded with people - crowded with infrastructure. 

The valley has always been an important corridor for travel between Italy and France - which is, after all, precisely why we are here, following the ancient Roman Via Domitia. This is most likely the route travelled by Hannibal in 218 BC, with 38,000 infantry soldiers, 8,000 cavalry, and 38 elephants, only a handful of which survived the crossing. In 118 BC, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus began the construction of the Via Domitia road to the pass. Julius Caesar first came this way when he was appointed Proconsul of Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul in 58 BC, returning several times during eight subsequent military campaigns. Once the various mountain tribes had been subdued, Cottius, an ally of Caesar’s, went about building a bigger and better road; the Via Cottia per Alpem began in Turin and passed through Susa (Segusium), Oulx (Villa Martis) and Cesana (Gadaone or Gaesao), ascending the gorges of Claviere. 

The Mongenèvre pass has been an important crossing point ever since, and nowadays, this means that we have a railway line, a motorway, and two smaller local highways all squeezed into a narrow valley - as well, of course, as the river that created it! As if this weren't enough, construction work is currently under way on a new rapid railway line. The goal is to move freight traffic across the Alps by rail rather than truck in order to reduce CO2 emissions and air pollution, while also providing faster passenger transport as an alternative to travelling by air. Worthy goals, perhaps, but since the project was first announced in the 1990s, the people of the 112 towns and villages along the proposed route of the new line have been protesting against this massive and expensive mega-project, supported by many more people from all over Italy. The movement known as No TAV, for its opposition to the Treno Alta Velocità, questions the worthiness, cost, and safety of the project, and its ability to make a concrete contribution to reducing net carbon emissions when the construction and maintenance work and the cooling of the tunnels are taken into account. They deem the new line unnecessary, outrageously expensive, and driven by the greed of the construction lobby. Not to mention harmful to the mountain environment and disruptive of the underground water supply system. 

More information on the No TAV movement and its activities may be found at this link (in Italian).

"Alta Voracità"

The part of the valley that we walked today might be divided into two completely different halves, with the town of Chiomonte as the boundary. The pictures above were taken in the afternoon, whereas the part we walked in the morning was exactly the opposite - perfectly quiet and very green. We passed by the Roman amphitheatre and climbed a steep hill with a fantastic view of the town of Susa below.

We followed the trail through a forest in shades of green so intense it was almost unnatural. The tops of the mountains around us were shrouded in cloud, with tiny villages clinging to their slopes and a deep river gorge below. 

Descending on the other side, we stopped for a break at a picnic table in a small park before continuing through a grove of magnificent chestnut trees, on a dirt road scattered with big, fat fallen chestnuts. 

We missed a turn on the Via Francigena, but checked the map and realised that our route would actually take us to the same place, faster. We walked on dirt roads and grassy tracks through a bucolic landscape of pastureland, passing a flock of sheep and a herd of cattle. Then we followed highway SS 24 on a dedicated cycling and footpath protected from the highway traffic on the way into the town of Chiomonte. 

I had a mission in Chiomonte: to go to the post office and mail back to the Convento Boutique Hotel in Susa a rebellious key that had worked its way off the keychain and hidden in a deep corner of my trousers pocket when I handed over the keys to the receptionist at check-out. Having accomplished the deed, we attempted to follow the Via Francigena route out of the town but couldn't find the path through the woods suggested by the gpx track. Though looking for it gave us a good opportunity to investigate the side streets and alleyways of Chiomonte! 

We eventually walked down the hill on a paved road and joined up with the route shown on the Via Francigena gpx track at the bottom. Here we came up against a "road closed" sign but went through anyway; we could see why the road was closed to traffic, as the pavement was crumbling away on one side, but perfectly safe for passing through on foot. We later learned - from our hostess for the evening - that at one point during the summer that road had actually been blocked off by the police, to disrupt No TAV demonstrations taking place in the area; this caused major problems for people walking the Via Francigena, as that road is the only one with a bridge across the river! 

We made our way through, and across the bridge by the hydroelectric plant, and I hope we won't be arrested when someone reads this! 😅

On the other side, we followed a small highway, used only by local traffic to access the power plant and the vineyards along the road; for all other traffic, the highway had been supplanted by the ultra-modern motorway towering above it atop soaring piers of concrete, the bases of which have been painted with street art and graffiti by supporters of the No TAV movement. 

After several kilometres this road joined the main local highway, SS 24, where there is more traffic, but not too much, and it travels slowly enough that we judged it safe to walk a kilometre and a half along the highway into Exilles. We were worried about coming up against another closed road or some other difficulty if we left the highway to follow the Via Francigena route, but our hostess in Exilles told us that section is actually fine. In any case, we survived, and the shortcut saved us a kilometre. 😅

We rejoined the official Via Francigena route at Fort Exilles, which is open to visitors but only in summer - Mariella had been there before and reported it was interesting. We continued on through the village of Exilles to B&B Gabriella, where our hostess greeted us with a nice hot cup of herbal tea. We are now almost a thousand metres above sea level, and the air is getting cooler in the evenings! 

Susa - Exilles 17 km

+1000 metre elevation gain 

Italy to Santiago II Part 1: Via Domitia Day 9: Borgone di Susa - Susa

Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies: and walk in it, and find rest for your souls 

- Jeremiah 6:16

We were fortunate to be hosted by a long-distance cyclist in Avigliana: Giancarlo has cycled from Avigliana to Santiago, and is currently working on completing a long-distance cycling route that follows the Apennines all along the length of Italy - from top to toe. One section at a time. And he is of course familiar with the cycling paths in the area where he lives, and he suggested we follow the brand new Ciclovia Francigena della Val di Susa - a route so new my navigation tools didn't recognise  it - in order to shorten the day's stage and get to Susa as early as possible. A heavy rain warning was in effect for all day, and we didn't want to get any wetter than necessary! So we bundled up in all our waterproof gear - which had the agreeable effect of lightening our backpacks considerably - and said goodbye to our kind hosts Giancarlo and Betta, who accompanied us to Avigliana train station to catch a fifteen-minute train ride to Borgone di Susa, where we had left off walking the previous evening. 

We set off in a steady but light drizzle, as I tried out my new waterproofing gear for the first time. Instead of carrying a light rainproof/windproof jacket and a bright orange poncho to throw over top in heavy rain, I bought a garment from the Decathlon that is a cross between a long jacket and a poncho: it has fitted sleeves, and a hump for covering the backpack. It has the additional merit of being black rather than bright orange, a colour I have always detested! 

I also purchased a pair of supposedly waterproof gloves, which worked for a while but eventually started to let the rain in: it's probably best just to wear an ordinary pair of rubber dishwashing gloves, if you really don't want to get your hands wet! 😂

What's more, the gloves made it pretty much impossible to use a smartphone for taking photos, navigating or communicating. Though I did at one point manage to activate my phone without taking off my gloves, and take a picture of my right glove for illustrative purposes - using my left hand to hold the camera still and my nose to press the button! 😜

Luckily I didn't need to use the phone much for navigation, as the Ciclovia Francigena is very well signposted. 

You are here 😅

After walking ten kilometres in the rain, we were ready for a break by the time we came to Bussoleno. We dripped our way into a café, spread out our wet things on the chairs at a vacant table next to ours, and ordered hot drinks and sandwiches. 

When we had dried out sufficiently, we continued towards Susa along a dirt track parallel to the highway. Hoof prints in the mud (and other evidence 💩) suggested that the road was also used for moving herds of livestock, though we didn't meet any - until we came to the outskirts of the town, right outside the Lidl supermarket, where we literally crossed paths with a herd of cows!

We made it into the supermarket despite the cattle, stocked up on healthy snacks, and continued on our way into the centre of Susa.

Segusium, from the Gaulish word sego, meaning fort, Segusia and then Susa in Italian. The site was inhabited by Ligurian and then Celtic tribes before Julius Caesar made a pact with their king, Donnus. Numerous vestiges of the Roman city still survive, including the city gate now known as Porta Savoia, the Arch of Augustus, and the amphitheatre.

Franciscan friars established a monastery just outside the city walls, beside the ruins of the Roman amphitheatre, in the first quarter of the 13th century. Legend has it that it was Saint Francis himself who founded the monastery, on his way through the valley during his pilgrimage to Santiago in 1214, leaving behind a sleeve of his habit. The monastery complex is now the Convent Boutique Hotel, where we have the privilege of spending a night at a bargain rate offered only to pilgrims. The room is a dormitory with five beds, but we are the only ones staying here tonight, so we have been able to hang up our things to dry on the rungs of the ladders leading to the upper bunks! 

Borgone di Susa - Susa 21 km