tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36507994466557876052024-03-27T11:43:14.004+01:00 Joanne's long walksJoannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.comBlogger418125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-6605962191767936962023-10-15T13:06:00.017+02:002024-02-06T18:00:10.466+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 92: Riva Trigoso - Chiavari <p style="text-align: justify;"><i>La vita ti porta in luoghi inaspettati; l'amore ti porta a casa</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>(Life takes you to unexpected places; love brings you home)</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">- written on the wall back in Filetto</p><p style="text-align: justify;">(saved it for today 😁!) </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc6bQsfbFdh8pO5ZuelD5XvcU6e2dS_wYd02uA_iyoJkhw1LvzhUDFoCuy3fa_1ub7sHWJUvK5a0j632skireKG__WMzYya1yps4g0_8zy9Pj-lGqH7wxtalRSuHV1DlCegmOlDGRYWiGP2VSeAVTRzYMeDFtwYe8cAbBGq0S7LJ4MPU55j_giUQWImCY1/s4624/20231009_173418.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc6bQsfbFdh8pO5ZuelD5XvcU6e2dS_wYd02uA_iyoJkhw1LvzhUDFoCuy3fa_1ub7sHWJUvK5a0j632skireKG__WMzYya1yps4g0_8zy9Pj-lGqH7wxtalRSuHV1DlCegmOlDGRYWiGP2VSeAVTRzYMeDFtwYe8cAbBGq0S7LJ4MPU55j_giUQWImCY1/s320/20231009_173418.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I began the last day of my Long Walk home in the village of Trigoso. It seemed a more dignified starting point than the railway station squeezed between the highway and the steel mill down below! And though Trigoso is, well, less than a day's walk from where I live, I had only been there once, a long time ago, and then only in the dark, for a Christmas concert!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_BffWQUjbT7k7mvr0JH4gsCk-6U6R7GF49DqR7-McJRfOPPTt8zK-OmQvXVQvdnKNNDK4HVPV9lWFxeMFkv-Z-ooERHVdp2KJOtP3NLlFv1WeUpyCgW2lR1dawmLRfB4vRwKpJJqAFAakfs02MAS7WlPe-rWgFc_ESytc-JJE2VSStRQlmJWNpkKAd0z/s4624/20231015_092054.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_BffWQUjbT7k7mvr0JH4gsCk-6U6R7GF49DqR7-McJRfOPPTt8zK-OmQvXVQvdnKNNDK4HVPV9lWFxeMFkv-Z-ooERHVdp2KJOtP3NLlFv1WeUpyCgW2lR1dawmLRfB4vRwKpJJqAFAakfs02MAS7WlPe-rWgFc_ESytc-JJE2VSStRQlmJWNpkKAd0z/s320/20231015_092054.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6NWcECtXpLwbTWm5NjEPZ_y9VBPZVdtgVAJ2b3yPLRlgpJLhm0lraiEpAO8Q_BiSyMN7Ot9jHAj1aNxQzJrFbmNedh16Ru8Alsrzj4NdjDujwtNRYcubOvCd9TP4Q4C6KU7ay-WuaKxS4PlIxdkHvhAcDUepYzpXMFoTJVP4Meq9DEB9xJCWjlAcT8_X2/s4000/20231015_092448.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6NWcECtXpLwbTWm5NjEPZ_y9VBPZVdtgVAJ2b3yPLRlgpJLhm0lraiEpAO8Q_BiSyMN7Ot9jHAj1aNxQzJrFbmNedh16Ru8Alsrzj4NdjDujwtNRYcubOvCd9TP4Q4C6KU7ay-WuaKxS4PlIxdkHvhAcDUepYzpXMFoTJVP4Meq9DEB9xJCWjlAcT8_X2/s320/20231015_092448.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1eyb8mexEh6FsP_f7f0wdnEpvPFpNY4adKcSNbn0i9_ITIlzMemGDl8sfFZasOYmdFsDBGD_Vz80ZUisEwWn4W4QLDYUCrAFjIuvmWsfDE2m8eHRPM1kQjyg4Qsn3pxm1lfB3wxxxy8sYjJufhyphenhyphenEDCf-Q6Os-AlmMzC7o9rzZJUNiBssPKa6Dc8APhyC/s1800/IMG_20231015_093844_214.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1eyb8mexEh6FsP_f7f0wdnEpvPFpNY4adKcSNbn0i9_ITIlzMemGDl8sfFZasOYmdFsDBGD_Vz80ZUisEwWn4W4QLDYUCrAFjIuvmWsfDE2m8eHRPM1kQjyg4Qsn3pxm1lfB3wxxxy8sYjJufhyphenhyphenEDCf-Q6Os-AlmMzC7o9rzZJUNiBssPKa6Dc8APhyC/s320/IMG_20231015_093844_214.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I started out from the churchyard, following a red brick lane among the pink and yellow houses of the village down to the highway, which I followed only briefly before turning off onto the Via Antica Romana, the ancient road to/from Rome. This took me all the way into Sestri Levante, avoiding the touristy town centre on the peninsula between the two seas and crossing the medieval stone bridge, heading in the direction of home.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUoYgWLkbtFBGmiRy72w_sifuhSuWuSmA8xPJvJStSwupgtX6WHuLQuYIppfIpnZilzzwwl0XLGecyJzc6KheeTd3-ugXsjUaKqwlZfdASwhSuMPN19yUiGjh8S2hZO9Eb-tCTmgFhlm8MUdh0ptr_up5CjpZTxRP_KzQ7QRxoYFa6OYetL1Es2MyDWUI/s4624/20231015_095834.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUoYgWLkbtFBGmiRy72w_sifuhSuWuSmA8xPJvJStSwupgtX6WHuLQuYIppfIpnZilzzwwl0XLGecyJzc6KheeTd3-ugXsjUaKqwlZfdASwhSuMPN19yUiGjh8S2hZO9Eb-tCTmgFhlm8MUdh0ptr_up5CjpZTxRP_KzQ7QRxoYFa6OYetL1Es2MyDWUI/s320/20231015_095834.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaH_Q0RaslgioRiEhWNDrobjH_nDQsA78rTM1pLClOarp0i_HUS4DOuHeKrot58WDpNAEw4GL0qm6SfF2_IexCVRH6MPmlvWXi4aYcVR7URwmyYhP2DDtW5wag0IYpeoxWhwhi2l8T4bmE7IG5dx9GfDw6VxtUtsJ8lDwK6eBh3O-S9W5vxZBJJ7Cfic0x/s4624/20231015_104020.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaH_Q0RaslgioRiEhWNDrobjH_nDQsA78rTM1pLClOarp0i_HUS4DOuHeKrot58WDpNAEw4GL0qm6SfF2_IexCVRH6MPmlvWXi4aYcVR7URwmyYhP2DDtW5wag0IYpeoxWhwhi2l8T4bmE7IG5dx9GfDw6VxtUtsJ8lDwK6eBh3O-S9W5vxZBJJ7Cfic0x/s320/20231015_104020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyac-kLtHGSmfLrGzwEP0kI9GC0rhV13-qo037pxKAe0E3QvzaYmBb0smPpqsQGPMuIj8SkRKzULSqu2UjCIDfeD7OtBnGvjB2BHUb9Qaers2-n-FloKc5VAoI5Dk_VNyrERpjdoTOjzz06ESPacBn257vKVGWjnokIPA_zBJE045iHxmnJxiF4iH-DMkV/s4624/20231015_100818.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyac-kLtHGSmfLrGzwEP0kI9GC0rhV13-qo037pxKAe0E3QvzaYmBb0smPpqsQGPMuIj8SkRKzULSqu2UjCIDfeD7OtBnGvjB2BHUb9Qaers2-n-FloKc5VAoI5Dk_VNyrERpjdoTOjzz06ESPacBn257vKVGWjnokIPA_zBJE045iHxmnJxiF4iH-DMkV/s320/20231015_100818.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The Via Antica Romana brought me to the chapel of the Madonna della Grappa, where mass was underway. I entered and joined in the service, then asked a lady who looked like she might be in charge if I could get a stamp for my pilgrim credential. She was familiar with this type of request, as the church has accommodations for pilgrims walking the Via della Costa towards either Rome or Santiago de Compostela. She took me through the church cloister and a beautiful garden to a desk where there was a man with a stamp. I told them both the story of my Walk, in brief, and they invited me for coffee, but having obtained my stamp I was anxious to get back on the road!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzj0GMKDpkEu-rqCgrrCRWXCFdQiWCosNfhXUfR5IJyNmdNCe3YN-3N7ZmWwjHcoY8chS8WmWqfp-bn8iUlzc4nmMlEZ0pKGSuDiOUcl5zPClIVeHKpKHxtnn7Ood5TBi_ToNAZm1qTT5XVFtfBX65MOhumDtUGFGTj6JtbfLreH1otHxXytT_ofBt_50/s4624/20231015_125110.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzj0GMKDpkEu-rqCgrrCRWXCFdQiWCosNfhXUfR5IJyNmdNCe3YN-3N7ZmWwjHcoY8chS8WmWqfp-bn8iUlzc4nmMlEZ0pKGSuDiOUcl5zPClIVeHKpKHxtnn7Ood5TBi_ToNAZm1qTT5XVFtfBX65MOhumDtUGFGTj6JtbfLreH1otHxXytT_ofBt_50/s320/20231015_125110.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">I left the streets of Sestri Levante to climb up above the tunnel to the Rocche di Sant'Anna, the ruins of a 15th-century chapel that stood at the top of the cliff, beside what used to be the only road between Sestri Levante and Chiavari before the construction of the road and railway tunnels below.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76ed8RSeGW3G9au7Yazpf-WRllPONjsbg4ho2W46-gtLzvWS4e5UlqaoRcJE4zmNwrtKVFAArePSNKuRFmTIBJkRHWSCsLhYtudqZ-CfdLNSEFTxfZCxC16gjTV2Sv0WPf7OFgqg5aliNYuLyD0fIp9lgqkhN1s6hftstRX6oK6oXFdDN0tLLkGi-CeBW/s4624/20231015_105656.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76ed8RSeGW3G9au7Yazpf-WRllPONjsbg4ho2W46-gtLzvWS4e5UlqaoRcJE4zmNwrtKVFAArePSNKuRFmTIBJkRHWSCsLhYtudqZ-CfdLNSEFTxfZCxC16gjTV2Sv0WPf7OFgqg5aliNYuLyD0fIp9lgqkhN1s6hftstRX6oK6oXFdDN0tLLkGi-CeBW/s320/20231015_105656.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0siE9a6Fy-btKeDi6N_B1hyphenhyphenVNwyqJ-6O-Sax2xTywqAEi7ch2lQh04ySCBwgBvMzlM3LFrm27NlxA74d-gDOaKMGEKfchF2U0f3V-bIlDnOYBdiXPgwhOPjWzdzKZ-OELnjJSdUIpVshb8haciIT-tan0qkP-LOavIaiHJ0VQ66bJMAI8OV7fcoI05ou/s4624/20231015_111219.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0siE9a6Fy-btKeDi6N_B1hyphenhyphenVNwyqJ-6O-Sax2xTywqAEi7ch2lQh04ySCBwgBvMzlM3LFrm27NlxA74d-gDOaKMGEKfchF2U0f3V-bIlDnOYBdiXPgwhOPjWzdzKZ-OELnjJSdUIpVshb8haciIT-tan0qkP-LOavIaiHJ0VQ66bJMAI8OV7fcoI05ou/s320/20231015_111219.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzgd9DLKCw0fuTjV2plpU3E7gvC07zEZCTyfGUg32y4dZz54luOgSu0cZLEPOKmoAdbhudO3RjmVC_gMkH95scToYxhyGRRJg7VSRysTNR1JOP0FgiGvAaYjaf68C_UbahCvIzaLhgEDk1L-j3xRm5Fe5KZIghYc2npKWyCFyi0-fJMXfMlEJb3DNOXvB/s4624/20231015_113024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzgd9DLKCw0fuTjV2plpU3E7gvC07zEZCTyfGUg32y4dZz54luOgSu0cZLEPOKmoAdbhudO3RjmVC_gMkH95scToYxhyGRRJg7VSRysTNR1JOP0FgiGvAaYjaf68C_UbahCvIzaLhgEDk1L-j3xRm5Fe5KZIghYc2npKWyCFyi0-fJMXfMlEJb3DNOXvB/s320/20231015_113024.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEHRZbaFmGEgRAND96L3PZU_AXLhc_80EswVrbwLuTIACVWhewcU9c_MD4c-TbdEd9r1fdhGv1sLo5KHfVm7Rkrl7eoMEDA56FI2FJecfLOSpggPTD734hgP7BwWpI6NAI4Y56cHoKvnzJbqXs6THFyH0yTqIEJI0WKsgyi8jk2Y4siGQQ9lVAHOqhOBs_/s4000/20231015_113108.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEHRZbaFmGEgRAND96L3PZU_AXLhc_80EswVrbwLuTIACVWhewcU9c_MD4c-TbdEd9r1fdhGv1sLo5KHfVm7Rkrl7eoMEDA56FI2FJecfLOSpggPTD734hgP7BwWpI6NAI4Y56cHoKvnzJbqXs6THFyH0yTqIEJI0WKsgyi8jk2Y4siGQQ9lVAHOqhOBs_/s320/20231015_113108.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09m9nQkhSSatOt04p0sRocUOX8lO0r2wez-1Vh_nroP7WyvAVBBLig_7t-9WgjUxUHBC6dHs_ExYuhkSl0HfTF0w53XgcTSMbeXQl3yzHanJkoCOnUNyOdA8ueadAB7UvlFjlYi4sV1xjayEaMffh0WRazV-syVGQBDnySf3Th6ZyMUsdFxiU6XlwpzgS/s4624/20231015_113445.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09m9nQkhSSatOt04p0sRocUOX8lO0r2wez-1Vh_nroP7WyvAVBBLig_7t-9WgjUxUHBC6dHs_ExYuhkSl0HfTF0w53XgcTSMbeXQl3yzHanJkoCOnUNyOdA8ueadAB7UvlFjlYi4sV1xjayEaMffh0WRazV-syVGQBDnySf3Th6ZyMUsdFxiU6XlwpzgS/s320/20231015_113445.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlmxIcIfehriZxuWxAZmEIMgq3QNeOKJtGSTTy76F5E-cLSg020t0EYPubaf9ZCHsboyUDjYPxJcPzCAfaxSw81bv8q5mKpX-UsCrn_CUBAVnoWPuc7k-ddbflo7DUab8GpRjqutmWOGGkohvq6PkW41_tXz5uDILcgA81bJMes3l9a2l4XK6g3QWPGnOQ/s4624/20231015_113546.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlmxIcIfehriZxuWxAZmEIMgq3QNeOKJtGSTTy76F5E-cLSg020t0EYPubaf9ZCHsboyUDjYPxJcPzCAfaxSw81bv8q5mKpX-UsCrn_CUBAVnoWPuc7k-ddbflo7DUab8GpRjqutmWOGGkohvq6PkW41_tXz5uDILcgA81bJMes3l9a2l4XK6g3QWPGnOQ/s320/20231015_113546.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leaving the ruined chapel behind, I turned a corner and saw my hometown appear before me!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPJixmtxf9jsmD7GAM98y85DEWaJADs8wuVlFtvdsxMyxIo7T42VN8uGTOZWO6bGnGfpAhhsbMv_6Kn5LfVLmRSZ68MBNnKS3Eg8VM8bum7KF-IWjuM4368Z3sb1_fBabvhbVqtzMEkxtw3mK0U6rh32H5Yf1Tco227Qp4XFW_dvfJC8e15tOkSilGT71/s4624/20231015_113640.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPJixmtxf9jsmD7GAM98y85DEWaJADs8wuVlFtvdsxMyxIo7T42VN8uGTOZWO6bGnGfpAhhsbMv_6Kn5LfVLmRSZ68MBNnKS3Eg8VM8bum7KF-IWjuM4368Z3sb1_fBabvhbVqtzMEkxtw3mK0U6rh32H5Yf1Tco227Qp4XFW_dvfJC8e15tOkSilGT71/s320/20231015_113640.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlZsBRT6NYpp2_gjWVhF7paaw2mRSQia3MQ_WVLufZX86TQVq2MaTKD5R4xrCZsxwV1_8jpjkL7LZYrrkpWp6cxHMKf498fEIbueZ_539Lx3hyphenhyphen2heC0bbFY8D8bnKbeqC7RIIr2S30tgXw9912UUyQF46hjRPg4cRDygYYziPR-7n1WHcLIMwQcu7Ajke/s4624/20231015_113818.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlZsBRT6NYpp2_gjWVhF7paaw2mRSQia3MQ_WVLufZX86TQVq2MaTKD5R4xrCZsxwV1_8jpjkL7LZYrrkpWp6cxHMKf498fEIbueZ_539Lx3hyphenhyphen2heC0bbFY8D8bnKbeqC7RIIr2S30tgXw9912UUyQF46hjRPg4cRDygYYziPR-7n1WHcLIMwQcu7Ajke/s320/20231015_113818.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This short and scenic trail is a popular day hike, and I met several people, so it was easy to ask someone to take my picture 😁. I also met one long-distance walker, who was doing just a few days on the Via della Costa but had done several long-distance walks before. We had a brief chat before going our opposite ways. This trail is marked as Via della Costa, Sentiero Liguria, and a newly waymarked trail I plan to walk to at the outset of my next Long Walk: the Via dei Celti e dei Liguri, joining Sestri Levante with Milan!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsbwvqqrJxYy8Ua0aSH6FMOKqbTVkbERYGCs_HKbh6MLuSVi2T8N0raci9zS6tXC5BpCZxyawmQoTU5d5llhHXk5lCijIlBOSNNxgjE0uM5C_fThw5fIQxwe9bp0nsyBq1oCYaqmec2n-DhJJjBfDTay3CAdUXZo98R_QBNn-E1OdFui49gGCelk-U0fU/s4624/20231015_104949.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsbwvqqrJxYy8Ua0aSH6FMOKqbTVkbERYGCs_HKbh6MLuSVi2T8N0raci9zS6tXC5BpCZxyawmQoTU5d5llhHXk5lCijIlBOSNNxgjE0uM5C_fThw5fIQxwe9bp0nsyBq1oCYaqmec2n-DhJJjBfDTay3CAdUXZo98R_QBNn-E1OdFui49gGCelk-U0fU/s320/20231015_104949.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The double-headed arrow of the Via della Costa</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBVnwpxU6ANmlnVqEX7AFFehdQzCABZ1Efs5GTOFbQuMik8NibQhNULkdXmecl_PEAykI_PehMBjSXzizJPqUV7syUy2A9AJck4t2cqcrYk5Q3eiW2IiqLicf27EGzRkQAL7-gDkOXiVKA3vpN6zk7hL3zto_fequxIg55VmF4jFsE7C598U66VLuCPfp/s4624/20231015_105434.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBVnwpxU6ANmlnVqEX7AFFehdQzCABZ1Efs5GTOFbQuMik8NibQhNULkdXmecl_PEAykI_PehMBjSXzizJPqUV7syUy2A9AJck4t2cqcrYk5Q3eiW2IiqLicf27EGzRkQAL7-gDkOXiVKA3vpN6zk7hL3zto_fequxIg55VmF4jFsE7C598U66VLuCPfp/s320/20231015_105434.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New trail! Must try it next!!</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7cmS1a3DCgMn5T2B2XzpNF-g-p1RVDfqMmMADvB7FH8EoeXXWPF8rllMvN5BkY1YmUIEeKXy5N5e9lC0hpJU_wg752Bj4cFLIHzjJ_YGwjuVJMmSTm5NxbeacpWCWOZilKv-oZtcotcV3WVkVKv3QMNR8KMIZgsx4seH0nw3VccEVCoXsObosg0TCYwHM/s4624/20231015_113521.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7cmS1a3DCgMn5T2B2XzpNF-g-p1RVDfqMmMADvB7FH8EoeXXWPF8rllMvN5BkY1YmUIEeKXy5N5e9lC0hpJU_wg752Bj4cFLIHzjJ_YGwjuVJMmSTm5NxbeacpWCWOZilKv-oZtcotcV3WVkVKv3QMNR8KMIZgsx4seH0nw3VccEVCoXsObosg0TCYwHM/s320/20231015_113521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcgneJFnQ6aQu4ISIN55oJ8SzykpQK0yV-hzmES3n3zWs2WjWXXYxcxw6RYqpuDoei7-HGCwNGuoRFYXbOOF76tvtFWdns6BJZqMpXMJ1QUukmdI5KgxIb2Ycg64Bx6eEpzPyV5mU22u8nTSdyMqOgBRa0TU97pRGpTrqb8oijKkBYblG5qe5P0iUXe40/s4624/20231015_114140.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcgneJFnQ6aQu4ISIN55oJ8SzykpQK0yV-hzmES3n3zWs2WjWXXYxcxw6RYqpuDoei7-HGCwNGuoRFYXbOOF76tvtFWdns6BJZqMpXMJ1QUukmdI5KgxIb2Ycg64Bx6eEpzPyV5mU22u8nTSdyMqOgBRa0TU97pRGpTrqb8oijKkBYblG5qe5P0iUXe40/s320/20231015_114140.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-T6Gc06iqRjkRKi-MTPBX0IydDNST22kkBeQN6TijetYe4BXSTT9FSXphS0sanxn0I9f55fQLO7JU1Xtp0sc7CJ7m9jRbO-yPPXHkLNH3lq1zFb3Xfe3Ynqh9Xs-F-FM2l7ZdAhPcEJ9VOTzncgFRMnepHpahq-5rxjXB3ulm-TKVTWCzI8qfCTbJrqZ/s4624/20231015_114249.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-T6Gc06iqRjkRKi-MTPBX0IydDNST22kkBeQN6TijetYe4BXSTT9FSXphS0sanxn0I9f55fQLO7JU1Xtp0sc7CJ7m9jRbO-yPPXHkLNH3lq1zFb3Xfe3Ynqh9Xs-F-FM2l7ZdAhPcEJ9VOTzncgFRMnepHpahq-5rxjXB3ulm-TKVTWCzI8qfCTbJrqZ/s320/20231015_114249.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back toward Sestri Levante</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHW24IIvoxayNYyACOMvQdcmtMQ97S33u6pUnifQC4fuZo3ATet_9YySe1BrHWSh30hiLMSjMKMHQOdDkw89QWvrbOHfHhFaoDhdwa4BQLXYkisdtlJI0Z8Wk43EC6JarwlyGbo2cNIOZxqpt61ddh4TiM102PKI8LJ7UuW1k0eGnUZRh2uy6P7IViUgBw/s4624/20231015_114538.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHW24IIvoxayNYyACOMvQdcmtMQ97S33u6pUnifQC4fuZo3ATet_9YySe1BrHWSh30hiLMSjMKMHQOdDkw89QWvrbOHfHhFaoDhdwa4BQLXYkisdtlJI0Z8Wk43EC6JarwlyGbo2cNIOZxqpt61ddh4TiM102PKI8LJ7UuW1k0eGnUZRh2uy6P7IViUgBw/s320/20231015_114538.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking forward toward Lavagna and Chiavari </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The trail brought me down to Cavi Borgo, where I bought some lunch from a deli for a picnic on the beach. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinS2xKX3MecC_wUeeydcq62jmBr70xeQhILIQUzhkTd8-VaSoAp-2x3R6T0ObjsZC2eziU_3vZ1AQyDKCFlKYWDTlG1H0s0OYeikftB8FhdCdcdrIkeS5AbZhbpVkwf9ZIm9bcKnlBkZ4nuFPuXo9GBXdxvb-235OORJvtU6GnVE0_YozbgrzK_YfQjgkS/s4624/20231015_120438.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinS2xKX3MecC_wUeeydcq62jmBr70xeQhILIQUzhkTd8-VaSoAp-2x3R6T0ObjsZC2eziU_3vZ1AQyDKCFlKYWDTlG1H0s0OYeikftB8FhdCdcdrIkeS5AbZhbpVkwf9ZIm9bcKnlBkZ4nuFPuXo9GBXdxvb-235OORJvtU6GnVE0_YozbgrzK_YfQjgkS/s320/20231015_120438.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOwpSjY84OqGxJfWCdo8ar6eV0OjXj48IBXeQ7Eq07zCzXipt1B5bEMDwej5NVJG39P05OcPL8k9-MzMazPQvHaUsfy0tOHHql6rZKQnH0YLUjcW3OpPqqRZRLVC-6biX-GJVil09hqUXO3B6P3JIyAgZmZCNi1ajk6stcYY3B2A5uylFEjS0FS7RHRmi/s4624/20231015_120745.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOwpSjY84OqGxJfWCdo8ar6eV0OjXj48IBXeQ7Eq07zCzXipt1B5bEMDwej5NVJG39P05OcPL8k9-MzMazPQvHaUsfy0tOHHql6rZKQnH0YLUjcW3OpPqqRZRLVC-6biX-GJVil09hqUXO3B6P3JIyAgZmZCNi1ajk6stcYY3B2A5uylFEjS0FS7RHRmi/s320/20231015_120745.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO4yso-2Xf3YJSB3qru4ZqqHwEqS_2xZQEFZHw-J1_U2ZKVgQ9m-dV7Evm_zbIqqTZXDJR3yvOdpSMH1i5lyTwjld67YczOAEKBh3ULdUH4NOA5q13XsKhR2dnuEqr5NeUnRF9P6eyDDNavgmL7P-EN8Sc4NzzSQdIvPe-lkzDRfHqYVkzuOMW9YISSuTv/s4624/20231015_121714.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO4yso-2Xf3YJSB3qru4ZqqHwEqS_2xZQEFZHw-J1_U2ZKVgQ9m-dV7Evm_zbIqqTZXDJR3yvOdpSMH1i5lyTwjld67YczOAEKBh3ULdUH4NOA5q13XsKhR2dnuEqr5NeUnRF9P6eyDDNavgmL7P-EN8Sc4NzzSQdIvPe-lkzDRfHqYVkzuOMW9YISSuTv/s320/20231015_121714.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DvJWn2nOpoWIbx4EkikuxoVlrmn3_-Vi4k-FJfcIm2KNTSketeHZCtb6YhHji7hKMfN3elwMfjcMjjlVCPtsBNnIf5qowEeZKKsFgReTF8iVT-YMQRfnAjKhoqiOdWHTmL_KDboup2Wi38eYY6-D-yiXCjMgoYagBu5I1x9L8rhZ_9UGW5LrSGEbNPet/s4624/20231015_121500.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DvJWn2nOpoWIbx4EkikuxoVlrmn3_-Vi4k-FJfcIm2KNTSketeHZCtb6YhHji7hKMfN3elwMfjcMjjlVCPtsBNnIf5qowEeZKKsFgReTF8iVT-YMQRfnAjKhoqiOdWHTmL_KDboup2Wi38eYY6-D-yiXCjMgoYagBu5I1x9L8rhZ_9UGW5LrSGEbNPet/s320/20231015_121500.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Autumn weather approaching...<br />Time to go home!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I had thought of taking the scenic route via the church of Santa Giulia, 300 metres above sea level, a walk I often take when at home, but there didn't seem much point to going up there today. Suddenly weary of walking, I decided to follow the beach, and the waterfront promenade, instead.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMZ-sKm_R6uD1TlyP28R8mJXeYB8QsZqKl7S1vw1W_cosVFJPPonNsJibVKyLPGQWkK0xZiBl1LOYfVKxqh0Df_Mxzq29wdHK3hyphenhyphenjRsWzurSaOWNaEo4kcYTEDmYdrmn6lw1_oBYmy04h1d4icjJFltEik-mPy5RpkL3wnx6lN1Jd7OZyJTvHds-do_Gy/s4624/20231015_133055.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMZ-sKm_R6uD1TlyP28R8mJXeYB8QsZqKl7S1vw1W_cosVFJPPonNsJibVKyLPGQWkK0xZiBl1LOYfVKxqh0Df_Mxzq29wdHK3hyphenhyphenjRsWzurSaOWNaEo4kcYTEDmYdrmn6lw1_oBYmy04h1d4icjJFltEik-mPy5RpkL3wnx6lN1Jd7OZyJTvHds-do_Gy/s320/20231015_133055.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Giulia at the top of the hill - not going up there today!!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTtVk7U70hyDrVD8hNC_v1B1O1w1QTzog9rWi7CD7REhZi7hKUUNjumgnamgN29RpqFD3HyEDkgUccYEvMhZjNDYd0Pw5Cn4w37nE9OwvyTetN99venwPC4AKcLgkDVtXCRHuJxskRL9dW7_WywFYKxjnwkfc4v0v3Ha6AxSwlmD22KLW4KyiyKOH9tuN/s4624/20231015_132424.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTtVk7U70hyDrVD8hNC_v1B1O1w1QTzog9rWi7CD7REhZi7hKUUNjumgnamgN29RpqFD3HyEDkgUccYEvMhZjNDYd0Pw5Cn4w37nE9OwvyTetN99venwPC4AKcLgkDVtXCRHuJxskRL9dW7_WywFYKxjnwkfc4v0v3Ha6AxSwlmD22KLW4KyiyKOH9tuN/s320/20231015_132424.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach establishments now closed for the season</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN1OHOkppo_DI1gt2KiDsnX2Qhkkc68dXyAjc424_wqd28kkWX8BORce5QdynkJbSB-zjb3so9QpQOqog8eZV005uDZ6-YZtzZq1E7i-0d2JAJIFl8xks3QYHsayBnbGcbKWJh6EFF-npCPvLEUDObVi9yfBQ7BdEzmMqufkFGQeZIkys1slpD55wSiVEa/s4624/20231015_132713.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN1OHOkppo_DI1gt2KiDsnX2Qhkkc68dXyAjc424_wqd28kkWX8BORce5QdynkJbSB-zjb3so9QpQOqog8eZV005uDZ6-YZtzZq1E7i-0d2JAJIFl8xks3QYHsayBnbGcbKWJh6EFF-npCPvLEUDObVi9yfBQ7BdEzmMqufkFGQeZIkys1slpD55wSiVEa/s320/20231015_132713.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFcDCdXm7V5l69hHh7pSFcbuicmXLZ70PKYQAEy2u9k2USLgh3gDr9p_qIcOl4jJTlCARGP3VWtVowyjJ5LUsnFjfbu_Z-tjUDkLBfsEpUtYgA6XoLZ6Bzhi0RRu_GE_tkN2PnkKb1NALOPu58iggl53Ta3sl0zuVzZZ5_5I5brLfxuGiRwFLE0pmi20T/s4624/20231015_133147.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFcDCdXm7V5l69hHh7pSFcbuicmXLZ70PKYQAEy2u9k2USLgh3gDr9p_qIcOl4jJTlCARGP3VWtVowyjJ5LUsnFjfbu_Z-tjUDkLBfsEpUtYgA6XoLZ6Bzhi0RRu_GE_tkN2PnkKb1NALOPu58iggl53Ta3sl0zuVzZZ5_5I5brLfxuGiRwFLE0pmi20T/s320/20231015_133147.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Walking on the sand and pebbles was hard going, but still easier than climbing up to 300 metres! In some places public access to the seafront walkway is blocked by bars, restaurants and beach clubs, but after a certain point there is a seafront promenade that made for easier walking.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But before leaving the beach, I had one more thing to do: leave a seashell I carried all the way from Wissant, on the English Channel in northern France, to Italy! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidH8zlMjt3hwrXEfURWT4aBCEivB3hTUrCu3qm0Rhtw0GxQsgycRwcIyde8Aof50EryqExf2vVyZrPDUotV-RFyY5yYd-B-XEkGXUU-oXuOkTeMqBYaOCGYHei0q9ELMfphkaUtLQyrEb8W51C1L5UWSYJOVyFI4GX0I_zniiZ14gV66Flp9L1CLgaJ-N6/s4624/20231015_134909.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidH8zlMjt3hwrXEfURWT4aBCEivB3hTUrCu3qm0Rhtw0GxQsgycRwcIyde8Aof50EryqExf2vVyZrPDUotV-RFyY5yYd-B-XEkGXUU-oXuOkTeMqBYaOCGYHei0q9ELMfphkaUtLQyrEb8W51C1L5UWSYJOVyFI4GX0I_zniiZ14gV66Flp9L1CLgaJ-N6/s320/20231015_134909.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIUFm6edXb_uDLuPkwD4SEbxuwooIW4rqVgtpdVG4KHfWA9QV5H_RSRqmHgL3W7pP2_vsph5DfNjQQNqp_Vuuw65LAadkkU367vOYtHplbiGpKn_cKvtOmdIb2njb-XfTPS3j5AcKMraCCQAFB4qZjtA1i4AOBtAdcD7ztJpkjJ5ynsOlg1mZypC5VBtN/s4624/20231015_134920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIUFm6edXb_uDLuPkwD4SEbxuwooIW4rqVgtpdVG4KHfWA9QV5H_RSRqmHgL3W7pP2_vsph5DfNjQQNqp_Vuuw65LAadkkU367vOYtHplbiGpKn_cKvtOmdIb2njb-XfTPS3j5AcKMraCCQAFB4qZjtA1i4AOBtAdcD7ztJpkjJ5ynsOlg1mZypC5VBtN/s320/20231015_134920.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJpKTcOt_qEhpsZW30L9Hg69gNPNeN6fIzvP2VWzHwXQ2R1gipuPhc6s1dJFtvDx6MJRyynf5jDCsQcNNqL1iZR44hq-Uj5M8pUtWAWQrJ4C6HIK8XDRqlFkyqYRIodXBrSReNoIOfGx7BKR3OAy7LdMX5M5fDndBn25gxPXE-84h9rSSLB1uH587EiQI/s4624/20231015_134928.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJpKTcOt_qEhpsZW30L9Hg69gNPNeN6fIzvP2VWzHwXQ2R1gipuPhc6s1dJFtvDx6MJRyynf5jDCsQcNNqL1iZR44hq-Uj5M8pUtWAWQrJ4C6HIK8XDRqlFkyqYRIodXBrSReNoIOfGx7BKR3OAy7LdMX5M5fDndBn25gxPXE-84h9rSSLB1uH587EiQI/s320/20231015_134928.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I waited until the Mediterranean waves came up and took this Atlantic seashell before leaving the beach to walk the rest of the way home along the seafront promenade and through the harbour.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Fg_eUyyC1SgayTPT1DLVdDoHxESoFEtp3KlroEOHG0L7jCSxzodORyoeo8W3Be4wVZ8GMyrEBF08AVr-hl1ZfSEnnluuGVYcUaNhvAPQoEa0jtHx7KmvXCrbu2Z_EIFf4eUbVvuQMv8_r6IGruHTQdtJ6jgh5b1xJQJuUvbc1vhvKE9qhIvoeKVqD6BB/s4624/20231015_140007.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Fg_eUyyC1SgayTPT1DLVdDoHxESoFEtp3KlroEOHG0L7jCSxzodORyoeo8W3Be4wVZ8GMyrEBF08AVr-hl1ZfSEnnluuGVYcUaNhvAPQoEa0jtHx7KmvXCrbu2Z_EIFf4eUbVvuQMv8_r6IGruHTQdtJ6jgh5b1xJQJuUvbc1vhvKE9qhIvoeKVqD6BB/s320/20231015_140007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaOrFOCGI3JlJgRbZxeMOsPkVqofD4tZNjAzvDROVw1q7q7wtItC7vyxvA3LC7_4Ehr26BXr3xDxGNP2TL6XwHv12NSxvqMGHjLXNbslf4iORRVU8R94oowwEH05oO4cu1Mx-UrfzkpYRp7cbI-q_efyaJ8i8v6c34bwYzUySYX8kDY6qnPf8Rz0b5MTCG/s4624/20231015_140502.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaOrFOCGI3JlJgRbZxeMOsPkVqofD4tZNjAzvDROVw1q7q7wtItC7vyxvA3LC7_4Ehr26BXr3xDxGNP2TL6XwHv12NSxvqMGHjLXNbslf4iORRVU8R94oowwEH05oO4cu1Mx-UrfzkpYRp7cbI-q_efyaJ8i8v6c34bwYzUySYX8kDY6qnPf8Rz0b5MTCG/s320/20231015_140502.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3C6oQtKayWasgv5-km_hZSsuDFOhetvO6mklWGvBKqY9PoY5mEjIDoFjoJoHCZD5zARCH69R6dyh1Fvw0fsfdeMAq4-z-_XZ_wnND8z3USSuL5YN34_tiQPJre7hHgfGpjv86yf9ApMVAe6-OpfP_2Nhs5vdXAovSb7FT7v_dQzJwjOFe9AeJXQidLw9K/s4624/20231015_141024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3C6oQtKayWasgv5-km_hZSsuDFOhetvO6mklWGvBKqY9PoY5mEjIDoFjoJoHCZD5zARCH69R6dyh1Fvw0fsfdeMAq4-z-_XZ_wnND8z3USSuL5YN34_tiQPJre7hHgfGpjv86yf9ApMVAe6-OpfP_2Nhs5vdXAovSb7FT7v_dQzJwjOFe9AeJXQidLw9K/s320/20231015_141024.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVyancQyUCiQH_3oZnyXt6fCSS5YxUXBb5MFqm-02tmEmHCFu1DMHX5-RUMZAH_w_gKgdGieRE-LB5FqT36TSM4opbzeXTji1UGqvSOppieXtXoLto-vFrsOj5c2TdGyMoD9djrtkWlqhay_segrileINDKgkRGsqZ4120T_NxQ6QlvfSWJJOWm-N1PY07/s4624/20231015_141138.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVyancQyUCiQH_3oZnyXt6fCSS5YxUXBb5MFqm-02tmEmHCFu1DMHX5-RUMZAH_w_gKgdGieRE-LB5FqT36TSM4opbzeXTji1UGqvSOppieXtXoLto-vFrsOj5c2TdGyMoD9djrtkWlqhay_segrileINDKgkRGsqZ4120T_NxQ6QlvfSWJJOWm-N1PY07/s320/20231015_141138.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1DrIUWzc6uW9RoZ-GnbrfSm7_HpsIibrhxWPWXPImdT6UTqPUfytOI0W6nTDPpo-hn0Ff7R6yO6eAiC48wKRVBgPylC8k7SO0nAcS-_9Ol9K-n4Z88YhZqNi1z-CBMxg5dIaWT3ZA76-9KYmMRtt5RDmbGBVl9Ob8Rp7HFaJdL4ObNS-_JQkhhXSOjdA/s4624/20231015_141902.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1DrIUWzc6uW9RoZ-GnbrfSm7_HpsIibrhxWPWXPImdT6UTqPUfytOI0W6nTDPpo-hn0Ff7R6yO6eAiC48wKRVBgPylC8k7SO0nAcS-_9Ol9K-n4Z88YhZqNi1z-CBMxg5dIaWT3ZA76-9KYmMRtt5RDmbGBVl9Ob8Rp7HFaJdL4ObNS-_JQkhhXSOjdA/s320/20231015_141902.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last end-of-stage beer</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjqweECPaNe7ZY63YKl2DSbeXEC3ZDVCede2Yu6QaOCwJepXCMBtLEjqf_uwfpALV126_kzsIkWwnGgov6TdE9eEXSlL5rMNm_US4aqOmRMgnPM7A0f6a68tjUYXFr1fw7bFTtu6Sy5kGosDXMJ_abGnN8h7nUH2vJ-y_DPcJd9RTrmrTVuKdCD__n3hlX/s4624/20231015_142957.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjqweECPaNe7ZY63YKl2DSbeXEC3ZDVCede2Yu6QaOCwJepXCMBtLEjqf_uwfpALV126_kzsIkWwnGgov6TdE9eEXSlL5rMNm_US4aqOmRMgnPM7A0f6a68tjUYXFr1fw7bFTtu6Sy5kGosDXMJ_abGnN8h7nUH2vJ-y_DPcJd9RTrmrTVuKdCD__n3hlX/s320/20231015_142957.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The yacht harbour</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14U_M8PnNXR1fC1HeiPR_XFXN_0v-DlD499KKqggbo974kNLyb8i73uhzogXe3TXZXsYFa31_ci3wExDR4prH2YJtJsxX5BnEzDGKI-ebo2yME_IPK9BkVaCdcDGcjXUjAnp4W9O-Bi-BGARS4h9aan0VpJAQp16qB4syR-Dgmv-P582teBhS-ytk9ruc/s4624/20231015_143426.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14U_M8PnNXR1fC1HeiPR_XFXN_0v-DlD499KKqggbo974kNLyb8i73uhzogXe3TXZXsYFa31_ci3wExDR4prH2YJtJsxX5BnEzDGKI-ebo2yME_IPK9BkVaCdcDGcjXUjAnp4W9O-Bi-BGARS4h9aan0VpJAQp16qB4syR-Dgmv-P582teBhS-ytk9ruc/s320/20231015_143426.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shipyards</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxffogTbDPBpwE6y5vPlAnRMhr1CBC3Bl71Qjzx8FErEQ_YWsdXE0_RZcJmUGIRYn5tiphOEP8FWpnPigLph3qnDfjeerXqDkd9YyxN_f1RrBEXA9DMZgMiAZBI763hpvSJ1DTJ2hfZpMSYGExxFsIT0VAlhvzr6TVCjRhQrUuPmY8SS1KTv9mOFJxuYm/s4624/20231015_144048.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxffogTbDPBpwE6y5vPlAnRMhr1CBC3Bl71Qjzx8FErEQ_YWsdXE0_RZcJmUGIRYn5tiphOEP8FWpnPigLph3qnDfjeerXqDkd9YyxN_f1RrBEXA9DMZgMiAZBI763hpvSJ1DTJ2hfZpMSYGExxFsIT0VAlhvzr6TVCjRhQrUuPmY8SS1KTv9mOFJxuYm/s320/20231015_144048.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sentiero Liguria takes me all the way home</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmEgnroi62QSQwVfjODSQPNkf5majlk3NyxCMUN4agHS9xeFAVpDoaiaSgy3kUGvnqGiWrrNPIcTMBJWsnQyvz9jeeEhgAqVHdXLlmNQhcOTSO9Sz_EEkgl1gj9fFRaRvyTiw2FVoU7m_uz0mCUgw_uV2WhNwD6ipQZpv7XjijwTeikqVFDHpqNJwrBlM/s4624/20231015_144127.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmEgnroi62QSQwVfjODSQPNkf5majlk3NyxCMUN4agHS9xeFAVpDoaiaSgy3kUGvnqGiWrrNPIcTMBJWsnQyvz9jeeEhgAqVHdXLlmNQhcOTSO9Sz_EEkgl1gj9fFRaRvyTiw2FVoU7m_uz0mCUgw_uV2WhNwD6ipQZpv7XjijwTeikqVFDHpqNJwrBlM/s320/20231015_144127.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossing the bridge to Chiavari </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVCd2EjIUStpU15zeyNrLDP1QeiFX0f3_zUeTiXBErHUpKJpgbq2Uw-6qkUCUxZ8dr_thzroPt_GNak89q4-2sYB7O3xxpeGWnlkuI8AKqwTP7LIvadOWdMOdRtFaizZINiAEy1QmaIghbJkM_sGPZvW3v448_k9VZ0dwk5a6NLZvqT2t4C4qZWyKNP3M/s4624/20231015_144549.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVCd2EjIUStpU15zeyNrLDP1QeiFX0f3_zUeTiXBErHUpKJpgbq2Uw-6qkUCUxZ8dr_thzroPt_GNak89q4-2sYB7O3xxpeGWnlkuI8AKqwTP7LIvadOWdMOdRtFaizZINiAEy1QmaIghbJkM_sGPZvW3v448_k9VZ0dwk5a6NLZvqT2t4C4qZWyKNP3M/s320/20231015_144549.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">No fanfare... no Compostela... no Testimonium...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just Home!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(and cake! 😋)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrH2KiI1_xZjWIE-T1f2jYeyP0VXb6XSGsnVYs1SuIo0wuh4xi13VnEXCxDeJPr46MVPZEGBc4dTZ0LuQoJW-WoXrP7JIhFY56D-7q9ZWV0IIBFswbdbS9rQRTnEU4fBYZXQAm-hx228DmDDBqjsanBzkVrEM8WFdWjRCCxXGCyH9-f3lep8ehB5hF8CV/s4624/20231015_144950.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrH2KiI1_xZjWIE-T1f2jYeyP0VXb6XSGsnVYs1SuIo0wuh4xi13VnEXCxDeJPr46MVPZEGBc4dTZ0LuQoJW-WoXrP7JIhFY56D-7q9ZWV0IIBFswbdbS9rQRTnEU4fBYZXQAm-hx228DmDDBqjsanBzkVrEM8WFdWjRCCxXGCyH9-f3lep8ehB5hF8CV/s320/20231015_144950.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzSbPr6cnVAIDeBypsgWcj0lIrYIz6A7E-y8QOiNUcq-zqYyx16Xf9BdwMnKrlowMa9ZsMxnWZrzuoJlN1-62E0cj0UZiIIQ2cSHd2yBcZe9MW91hrXwpgNCh62xnFTc6auFqMWKsLHHV9efO783KDupr1iNxwRluOrmeASxOpLFJYnL3AS_jEQI5x4J2/s2400/Screenshot_20231015_145509_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzSbPr6cnVAIDeBypsgWcj0lIrYIz6A7E-y8QOiNUcq-zqYyx16Xf9BdwMnKrlowMa9ZsMxnWZrzuoJlN1-62E0cj0UZiIIQ2cSHd2yBcZe9MW91hrXwpgNCh62xnFTc6auFqMWKsLHHV9efO783KDupr1iNxwRluOrmeASxOpLFJYnL3AS_jEQI5x4J2/s320/Screenshot_20231015_145509_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Riva Trigoso - Chiavari 12.5 km</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Total from Aosta to Chiavari: 628.5 km</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Grand total from Leeds, England to Chiavari: 2696 kilometres </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">122 days</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-91072969572506588332023-10-14T21:09:00.007+02:002024-01-09T14:22:03.179+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 91: Deiva Marina - Riva Trigoso <div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Coltiva e custodisci<br /></i><i>Il tuo andare e il tuo stare,</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>La casa e il cammino</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>La tenacia e la luce dentro ogni passo.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Written in the church of San Giorgio in Moneglia</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before setting out from Deiva Marina I dropped by the tourism office to ask for a stamp on my credential, as stamps are hard to come by now that I am no longer on the Via Francigena ! The route I am following is the Via della Costa, or the Sentiero Liguria, or a combination of the two - they sometimes coincide. For a brief explanation of the differences, see <a href="https://joanneslongwalk.blogspot.com/p/walking-across-liguria-via-della-costa.html" target="_blank">this page</a> on this blog!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbYqE4g-F-AL3LN4OlkiNNMD5I7_v4VjP-_Z1daT8tjAendWRTNiXY_EpQsq_FVqPHJT7PL5b7TfcDE2WipDPAPY9InHxyo4XyHItFvqLagJJBGAGgFqMkkXL9aX9SQQH9NhY02tzd0ayW45A9s0FAizl8s61U5kTWp_D2PkbO_skTiHayM6e5_bCmLaF/s4624/20231014_105839.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbYqE4g-F-AL3LN4OlkiNNMD5I7_v4VjP-_Z1daT8tjAendWRTNiXY_EpQsq_FVqPHJT7PL5b7TfcDE2WipDPAPY9InHxyo4XyHItFvqLagJJBGAGgFqMkkXL9aX9SQQH9NhY02tzd0ayW45A9s0FAizl8s61U5kTWp_D2PkbO_skTiHayM6e5_bCmLaF/s320/20231014_105839.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9rT6sFtFBe7qe4NNig87vg4c3HnGwAk_H59kdh987zsO2MyqvUZ9S8RXCHDIUo1GfnzAYpZhYrS8ix730MsMt5e3XAebfljfPd77c4AObxu02kApCQxHb8nYCHQhO1QRc-dSDy3g70HLHYGHSGhAvxFDm_CJuyxv1Lgi8b3qy22STkoaM9NTkoMD_nBk/s4624/20231014_090404.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9rT6sFtFBe7qe4NNig87vg4c3HnGwAk_H59kdh987zsO2MyqvUZ9S8RXCHDIUo1GfnzAYpZhYrS8ix730MsMt5e3XAebfljfPd77c4AObxu02kApCQxHb8nYCHQhO1QRc-dSDy3g70HLHYGHSGhAvxFDm_CJuyxv1Lgi8b3qy22STkoaM9NTkoMD_nBk/s320/20231014_090404.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I left Deiva behind and climbed steeply up a road which, after the last house, turned into a rocky path through a wood of ilex, or holm oak, <i>lecci </i>in Italian: the original native species of the south-facing slopes of the mountains of Liguria, facing the sun and the sea. They gave way to dwarf trees, struggling to grow out of the bare rock of the promontory.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTr1TOAYy7XoWOGIW_n_ZnKhv56agk5GNHKKG0iF_Qmsrv1yqpZR5HTSiNw2Mmi9FtNNwbH9nJRuDvR1XMhyphenhyphenflBHApj2_uxHxfy05kgpiYx1uWOk8d593BnEnstuaTeWpdJ8GLuat_uoa-MPAMHCgEzC5hlyS227KTBRnWl3Wit6P00r33DivCJ4oybVt/s4624/20231014_091834.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTr1TOAYy7XoWOGIW_n_ZnKhv56agk5GNHKKG0iF_Qmsrv1yqpZR5HTSiNw2Mmi9FtNNwbH9nJRuDvR1XMhyphenhyphenflBHApj2_uxHxfy05kgpiYx1uWOk8d593BnEnstuaTeWpdJ8GLuat_uoa-MPAMHCgEzC5hlyS227KTBRnWl3Wit6P00r33DivCJ4oybVt/s320/20231014_091834.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I climbed higher these straggly trees gave way to Mediterranean scrub. The trail was solid rock, crumbling and flaking in places - better to be going up rather than down, with such footing!</div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJOqEF8r05xbvNHP5iwE27C8HSTr3j62uw_gAwp2wBLYjZ345KMgSMkbzjgVt8LrgO3G_fEM17ic-QxBSo4VcS6Oq3_4TobTr4GzjFx-3uaf9uUrMtoFB3ZHhX2lCy2TmgFoRQ5QH376QsW7awQoaulTHSSDEAqCbxNS8mmUJIrCOiwDxJN-MI6MKKkHN/s4624/20231014_092720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJOqEF8r05xbvNHP5iwE27C8HSTr3j62uw_gAwp2wBLYjZ345KMgSMkbzjgVt8LrgO3G_fEM17ic-QxBSo4VcS6Oq3_4TobTr4GzjFx-3uaf9uUrMtoFB3ZHhX2lCy2TmgFoRQ5QH376QsW7awQoaulTHSSDEAqCbxNS8mmUJIrCOiwDxJN-MI6MKKkHN/s320/20231014_092720.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I crested the hill at around 350 metres and the town of Moneglia came into view. The path took me there via Lameglio, a village I had hiked through before with my <a href="https://liguriah.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">English-speaking hiking group</a>; on those occasions the church steps in Lameglio provided a classic location for a group picture!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSqaMX80GaltxLocsEmAMrrQn6HPZZApAHjUkqvd734AO5rsqMvHFz86Kv4YhzZSeNUlFa4NHOhC7lSGPEPKI_Bpzi4iHsXKv2uAEzJMZl_btXOflrMQIAmlCBuz-_OGRIe4lES8uacIVnGuZianj66ssiSdCqCCkIzeCK2Xi3NTAc0nBOL-Vcy4zvfsk/s4624/20231014_094410.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSqaMX80GaltxLocsEmAMrrQn6HPZZApAHjUkqvd734AO5rsqMvHFz86Kv4YhzZSeNUlFa4NHOhC7lSGPEPKI_Bpzi4iHsXKv2uAEzJMZl_btXOflrMQIAmlCBuz-_OGRIe4lES8uacIVnGuZianj66ssiSdCqCCkIzeCK2Xi3NTAc0nBOL-Vcy4zvfsk/s320/20231014_094410.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidf8x9ojgHPQdIVWXHpALUPoaBiDt5bIRmBUL7bJ88y-2q6bYaAwiTn7ifzKgatnuoYCTSbaei07CKzmjwwRrEVpAC_DSuX_UA0E0OjvsHq2PyX8T391oFd5OR4jdbFFWqoHpAk3EG2EP5aZAVwJ03ghWmfOY7GJWZWpSam50XxrGBw9sULBOQjRLaqXaq/s4624/20231014_094944.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidf8x9ojgHPQdIVWXHpALUPoaBiDt5bIRmBUL7bJ88y-2q6bYaAwiTn7ifzKgatnuoYCTSbaei07CKzmjwwRrEVpAC_DSuX_UA0E0OjvsHq2PyX8T391oFd5OR4jdbFFWqoHpAk3EG2EP5aZAVwJ03ghWmfOY7GJWZWpSam50XxrGBw9sULBOQjRLaqXaq/s320/20231014_094944.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwLPSmaXIfn2unDx1cOJ6FyHA12zRykFC_tdQOc1NY6gCWe7hvhgmMBCpJmKxmgRT9YsW-BdvrHcf0raYzjIQXhWu5z5cBVKBkECje2C6Q4KhuHr1sM6GC64QibdVDaVDjMqhIlZAWs6d0D7yuEe-xlNNjPOA1dpjt8rYh6v8fkvts26eO5IYEL_35dRwY/s4000/20231014_095308.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwLPSmaXIfn2unDx1cOJ6FyHA12zRykFC_tdQOc1NY6gCWe7hvhgmMBCpJmKxmgRT9YsW-BdvrHcf0raYzjIQXhWu5z5cBVKBkECje2C6Q4KhuHr1sM6GC64QibdVDaVDjMqhIlZAWs6d0D7yuEe-xlNNjPOA1dpjt8rYh6v8fkvts26eO5IYEL_35dRwY/s320/20231014_095308.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4sGiBdmd0uANtasMCqQa0yAtrNAlKeS2DHRBPX5hk_Lti4j6GgQ2ejrHep5n5v4NPsAsHwEZ19UijRpJTm630GUzgIGedz3nT32mGqRRsiuUoJ9ZajLMhiCB2ueAli3WOKJ4cLuf92JeoRva7NnQoRd2LLl_TZD2zvkK-iQ1ynFTHHMtAvEDXita7z_x/s4624/20231014_095534.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4sGiBdmd0uANtasMCqQa0yAtrNAlKeS2DHRBPX5hk_Lti4j6GgQ2ejrHep5n5v4NPsAsHwEZ19UijRpJTm630GUzgIGedz3nT32mGqRRsiuUoJ9ZajLMhiCB2ueAli3WOKJ4cLuf92JeoRva7NnQoRd2LLl_TZD2zvkK-iQ1ynFTHHMtAvEDXita7z_x/s320/20231014_095534.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I descended the rest of the way into Moneglia, where I stopped for a morning ice cream - coffee and chocolate, flavours I can't have in the afternoon! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIovEA_OVwR0rw6kR6hbGo-5kwMCNNdf8c_w1utLYFTi6haEiBMcJkxft-esyE54E0AFqCfSCSjuUd2C7qiw0GFZX2eQ_FK20OQ7q0hXQOm9ctCVsWIQ3P5pjNrxXcxg__9iRxssfrJAOivFrlFBNjEKsZ4pJzCzFIk9We9C0BEebtGDlWb-bvWMVDeO4/s4624/20231014_100147.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIovEA_OVwR0rw6kR6hbGo-5kwMCNNdf8c_w1utLYFTi6haEiBMcJkxft-esyE54E0AFqCfSCSjuUd2C7qiw0GFZX2eQ_FK20OQ7q0hXQOm9ctCVsWIQ3P5pjNrxXcxg__9iRxssfrJAOivFrlFBNjEKsZ4pJzCzFIk9We9C0BEebtGDlWb-bvWMVDeO4/s320/20231014_100147.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVyVWQeV87pekv_hXSghqvl_4gKSHqnFQtmB-MnOYwDA64khZ55GqqF1aPI1D4gKrssA3_pUn1tYUCpgzgdnkOCTlRn7mla7RGxHbyb7rYuo1UVIFWjU23gzOpH9aSryNV1vUNZHOKtKQS02X0r3nes0LBczHdO8H6yKGhPhYWl08-FMdNdSt2TrKDQGPb/s4624/20231014_101953.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVyVWQeV87pekv_hXSghqvl_4gKSHqnFQtmB-MnOYwDA64khZ55GqqF1aPI1D4gKrssA3_pUn1tYUCpgzgdnkOCTlRn7mla7RGxHbyb7rYuo1UVIFWjU23gzOpH9aSryNV1vUNZHOKtKQS02X0r3nes0LBczHdO8H6yKGhPhYWl08-FMdNdSt2TrKDQGPb/s320/20231014_101953.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-vAeWdMUtIJa-1l0xEvwKTAGc59FPow4VtkU32oFnMcioMyCch5FlphfbCXVCFsDCJWeYpWbjG7WjenI4M7t-frdlbngtnhg3ON5bno-m9gR5ckbW8jL-SSBuGYRAWGl4QqGqVfs1YwGx3qj293ryj0CBEeMhyphenhyphenqEGCcOd6vrTDeF3JzCwOcMyx8PHGar/s4624/20231014_103200.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-vAeWdMUtIJa-1l0xEvwKTAGc59FPow4VtkU32oFnMcioMyCch5FlphfbCXVCFsDCJWeYpWbjG7WjenI4M7t-frdlbngtnhg3ON5bno-m9gR5ckbW8jL-SSBuGYRAWGl4QqGqVfs1YwGx3qj293ryj0CBEeMhyphenhyphenqEGCcOd6vrTDeF3JzCwOcMyx8PHGar/s320/20231014_103200.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I stopped outside the Baroque church of Santa Croce to take a break and admire the <i>risseu</i>, the mosaic of black, white and red pebbles traditionally laid in front of church façades in Liguria. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQEF82nJV_vp5rnNoqZtzvIHCwg9mx5LShVvKqpTx6SiOyDHTc0vYOuhsA6xogeoJcl5oECT06CBroXFUpepfFfpF-zDY9xeMr-qKnnvi8b0mrhsv0M4gYdC6RA-t4QAzBkpQ7J4x9GgTDOLN3w56-cI-pIYIuRAXNUjOVyNRcGWtC9vwthq6d7Ib7hrA/s4000/20231014_102918.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeQEF82nJV_vp5rnNoqZtzvIHCwg9mx5LShVvKqpTx6SiOyDHTc0vYOuhsA6xogeoJcl5oECT06CBroXFUpepfFfpF-zDY9xeMr-qKnnvi8b0mrhsv0M4gYdC6RA-t4QAzBkpQ7J4x9GgTDOLN3w56-cI-pIYIuRAXNUjOVyNRcGWtC9vwthq6d7Ib7hrA/s320/20231014_102918.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">In the church of San Giorgio I encountered a colourful 18th-century statue of the saint in the act of killing the dragon.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAixgf4L-51GDpRPB2fBFMSQopR62tmFLcKVyy6KoE4FgULb00SAHfrEPnuHBhLrv6_DBwa6DxgPFKxTGfxh4axLpNlhefCf6Jh6OkY4Xe2dr6erhEexo5j3ozvmMS3JX249op2vd6LgUvQyKIMcIp-mXES5yrL1DapsPNErMM15gwpilbxcep__Dc4Z11/s4624/20231014_105104.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAixgf4L-51GDpRPB2fBFMSQopR62tmFLcKVyy6KoE4FgULb00SAHfrEPnuHBhLrv6_DBwa6DxgPFKxTGfxh4axLpNlhefCf6Jh6OkY4Xe2dr6erhEexo5j3ozvmMS3JX249op2vd6LgUvQyKIMcIp-mXES5yrL1DapsPNErMM15gwpilbxcep__Dc4Z11/s320/20231014_105104.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhelrHgJCVFAN6Gt_eaVJ_pqx6wjDByg5U7roX06kqjCD7Enj82rqtpm3iYQ1cLDB-UsIahow7UQe3aExaY-W52toqlBRTJB-lt81pzykigSv0Rr1oV8wSfKPcE6CtHmH4dmAWMTuuIZhX06F2utyvJ8vBFChq5z50-jYt9VI9gKPELznqS_QOgDGavK7aw/s4000/20231014_105422.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhelrHgJCVFAN6Gt_eaVJ_pqx6wjDByg5U7roX06kqjCD7Enj82rqtpm3iYQ1cLDB-UsIahow7UQe3aExaY-W52toqlBRTJB-lt81pzykigSv0Rr1oV8wSfKPcE6CtHmH4dmAWMTuuIZhX06F2utyvJ8vBFChq5z50-jYt9VI9gKPELznqS_QOgDGavK7aw/s320/20231014_105422.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjED-Shv_7Y6frO9u0yTkrcgj1oQg8lOhblx9jum0tgK_XIITQDTkeQo0V0ERVent93nXfNkx87ljZjnM0PpPsuTo2qA3-j8yEAnjWXhtKoNlefEeNLFfm-0oMstwLJ263jEeYfG0t54-cWzgyjYwihVU6BcQDdhPa8gY8TRno4_60AGBQk9_0XjKYiQizi/s4624/20231014_112300.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjED-Shv_7Y6frO9u0yTkrcgj1oQg8lOhblx9jum0tgK_XIITQDTkeQo0V0ERVent93nXfNkx87ljZjnM0PpPsuTo2qA3-j8yEAnjWXhtKoNlefEeNLFfm-0oMstwLJ263jEeYfG0t54-cWzgyjYwihVU6BcQDdhPa8gY8TRno4_60AGBQk9_0XjKYiQizi/s320/20231014_112300.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZnDQC67afXAe2LFtfiivYD_-l0xV4-ZOrYfIlejFpJqvMtcyl4hGu-ib2owFoSOgSW8uP1Dj470WwopUfLbjLY8GkksPmXtiX4OqlFpMkwn2yqEMCrBHxuAKfmoqwTG_tKeJe9SMzdBAXxSUNCoTnjQp9IHnbhvlASdrDFFK0aoljrQ3CwlyDLcbtyhe/s4624/20231014_114235.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZnDQC67afXAe2LFtfiivYD_-l0xV4-ZOrYfIlejFpJqvMtcyl4hGu-ib2owFoSOgSW8uP1Dj470WwopUfLbjLY8GkksPmXtiX4OqlFpMkwn2yqEMCrBHxuAKfmoqwTG_tKeJe9SMzdBAXxSUNCoTnjQp9IHnbhvlASdrDFFK0aoljrQ3CwlyDLcbtyhe/s320/20231014_114235.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I then began the long climb over Punta Moneglia to Riva Trigoso. This is pretty wild territory: once you leave behind the last houses of Moneglia, you're in the woods. Scrubby woods, of the kind that grow perched on the rock, facing the sun: skinny little pine trees, heather, broom, juniper, and arbutus, also known as strawberry tree because of its bright red fruit.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuU6aN5i3Z5h5UNMK1MPVDFBJx7WwkZgZq9RWrvlWkMe21tjQNeVMSVKRTsr-h2HfGrvfudnceWZWpiATwlE2-U8Cq8sEbQcIp_mUnIj2C2DMO65JaW9JIvKf0_hS1j1n-IAuguxesDhW59c2Rmq7FvbKexzbz7E2npMOzVhiHbw9Qq6hyphenhyphenMtSD7Yi4ub1a/s4624/20231014_114517.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuU6aN5i3Z5h5UNMK1MPVDFBJx7WwkZgZq9RWrvlWkMe21tjQNeVMSVKRTsr-h2HfGrvfudnceWZWpiATwlE2-U8Cq8sEbQcIp_mUnIj2C2DMO65JaW9JIvKf0_hS1j1n-IAuguxesDhW59c2Rmq7FvbKexzbz7E2npMOzVhiHbw9Qq6hyphenhyphenMtSD7Yi4ub1a/s320/20231014_114517.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHoD_Vh5b8U3srKGSV-1jDWGdzIwjnb86PjLGt4iOP-faP9XQ-CP3AzbPFy9Gfmx5ObRUNzfZ-I3SKwDz_kAYQy25yH3CmEc3ZZXTgrTURvgMAKQFBdKsjASKRN4tWOAXt2GwLQngWNapv3Q4KVPV13MtJZGqg6Q9EP5l8IkjhyvxQFIPvYPdOCTPw4NmJ/s4624/20231014_114131.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHoD_Vh5b8U3srKGSV-1jDWGdzIwjnb86PjLGt4iOP-faP9XQ-CP3AzbPFy9Gfmx5ObRUNzfZ-I3SKwDz_kAYQy25yH3CmEc3ZZXTgrTURvgMAKQFBdKsjASKRN4tWOAXt2GwLQngWNapv3Q4KVPV13MtJZGqg6Q9EP5l8IkjhyvxQFIPvYPdOCTPw4NmJ/s320/20231014_114131.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">At this time of year the fruit is just beginning to mature. Some trees had plenty of bright red, soft fruit, while the fruit on others in shadier spots was still hard and yellow. The arbutus tree is unusual in that it produces both flowers and fruit at the same time; this year's flowers become next year's fruit. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sarsaparille vines decorated occasional trees with their own red fruit, pretty to look at but not edible - unless you're a Smurf! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIh73kiwfl9fGcNKBVD1beS5fBDvJhyphenhyphenx2K9n79VfaBtB6sFdm2hDglrCmnS7gPWp1wgUSPjOgOPWYQ0_eU50mdJnUtQoDcn5rf-e6mou17ajEEVwvbI0OPQ6cR0ha9KFL8mPPitsQz3MWbEREID6mXiTHyQkv9g4rJWMQKYeg739RFfKRMKKs7DoJg3N-/s4624/20231014_115606.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMIh73kiwfl9fGcNKBVD1beS5fBDvJhyphenhyphenx2K9n79VfaBtB6sFdm2hDglrCmnS7gPWp1wgUSPjOgOPWYQ0_eU50mdJnUtQoDcn5rf-e6mou17ajEEVwvbI0OPQ6cR0ha9KFL8mPPitsQz3MWbEREID6mXiTHyQkv9g4rJWMQKYeg739RFfKRMKKs7DoJg3N-/s320/20231014_115606.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The easiest of the trails between Moneglia and Riva climbs to an elevation of about 350 metres and takes approximately three hours to hike. There are longer and more difficult routes, some of which I have walked in the past, either intentionally or by accident 😄. The promontory has a network of trails and you have to be careful you follow the right one for where you want to go... as well as watching your step on narrow trails of crumbly rock and loose dirt. A route that demands concentration! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5RqMADwjGi3-BNZIMfWb5pFoxFEks0uLKv82TeY9UJcpHj_URwExuS1ygn_t9rcLGXxqljYooBJtsJLDNAuvav_HlWAUjoPceMR6N2RS1PsPbnLoEdlOF3FzflwNBCEw8NRlxfzgvbIe3jUtV0802aWpjC4ai46fdraFnsl1vEs12j9DUc25OeLTCU-a/s4624/20231014_124232.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5RqMADwjGi3-BNZIMfWb5pFoxFEks0uLKv82TeY9UJcpHj_URwExuS1ygn_t9rcLGXxqljYooBJtsJLDNAuvav_HlWAUjoPceMR6N2RS1PsPbnLoEdlOF3FzflwNBCEw8NRlxfzgvbIe3jUtV0802aWpjC4ai46fdraFnsl1vEs12j9DUc25OeLTCU-a/s320/20231014_124232.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trail network of Punta Moneglia</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssBwhSSMQEOOXDHehkaYksGR_Vts3Y6C3LEyhFiu3sHwazBs5ot7ZUIttGm7ix_gdTF2w-gggvJSYQXfuhwILhAziGq5cahvPPZGmN6TPrQjouRNMCNV3sMM7edC78CkVAxDMR0yXefXgF746zeXK4i9gdltfPBWYg92dkSKQGfUEOwKhPGBerpWkhdWi/s4624/20231014_115243.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssBwhSSMQEOOXDHehkaYksGR_Vts3Y6C3LEyhFiu3sHwazBs5ot7ZUIttGm7ix_gdTF2w-gggvJSYQXfuhwILhAziGq5cahvPPZGmN6TPrQjouRNMCNV3sMM7edC78CkVAxDMR0yXefXgF746zeXK4i9gdltfPBWYg92dkSKQGfUEOwKhPGBerpWkhdWi/s320/20231014_115243.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A typical stretch of trail</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgeUTBCIvHUFfJxgKbJLedjULypEl39itekiwwYUAtNuZQBtKHaIQJz-ZLmiJQ3cphkMPz3tQxdzOIzfjSCnPt9i6qYEbC_hg9buCt4mxW7XTF6Y7wOotXcfpfKcgPaptxaA63iA8RIHasWQU0R60S_KYgO31q8qaWKGAQJGJ90vBOGAs1kcWqEN69ybw/s4624/20231014_115023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgeUTBCIvHUFfJxgKbJLedjULypEl39itekiwwYUAtNuZQBtKHaIQJz-ZLmiJQ3cphkMPz3tQxdzOIzfjSCnPt9i6qYEbC_hg9buCt4mxW7XTF6Y7wOotXcfpfKcgPaptxaA63iA8RIHasWQU0R60S_KYgO31q8qaWKGAQJGJ90vBOGAs1kcWqEN69ybw/s320/20231014_115023.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_T_kmB7SuuSUJTOoqqo7I2jnUqxpFurYHo4fbQKZVQal6scDLi916eeBu1_37f8ZLQCTTpTwRFxlegMyXuN6jL0XItUTy_o9JZjBUJxcRBcmv03vuhlrY9830L_3HVStw21ckA0SaCwBhyphenhyphenAgL5BvRmE0UqzqG0vbUsSb1mnVFq9A9gR5H6-A2KZYuNGQR/s4624/20231014_120517.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_T_kmB7SuuSUJTOoqqo7I2jnUqxpFurYHo4fbQKZVQal6scDLi916eeBu1_37f8ZLQCTTpTwRFxlegMyXuN6jL0XItUTy_o9JZjBUJxcRBcmv03vuhlrY9830L_3HVStw21ckA0SaCwBhyphenhyphenAgL5BvRmE0UqzqG0vbUsSb1mnVFq9A9gR5H6-A2KZYuNGQR/s320/20231014_120517.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi262csHcdE43Mc6OF9Xo1sJ6vZePq7ic-1g3TL5kJU1cZf12upp9AVp1w3oZIPT9gOMZ7TFfc463TkPDy4lZWvCqbajUCNAlg8zOjy0XePR5ToNAa7rbLl9ls5e2fuue4bzlq8GPjwbM56gwrPTN1fJvzs3BUsCXbUm8Lwl8aWHG_FvmYj1FNtabQ3GKkn/s4624/20231014_132612.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi262csHcdE43Mc6OF9Xo1sJ6vZePq7ic-1g3TL5kJU1cZf12upp9AVp1w3oZIPT9gOMZ7TFfc463TkPDy4lZWvCqbajUCNAlg8zOjy0XePR5ToNAa7rbLl9ls5e2fuue4bzlq8GPjwbM56gwrPTN1fJvzs3BUsCXbUm8Lwl8aWHG_FvmYj1FNtabQ3GKkn/s320/20231014_132612.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBl3Debyv3pxawpGsJFQMLkKn7ZQjEx5xx9LU4u6M08QgKPYHy29PFsVLfiv0XQmsgKZ6OwpmPsE9Iz9tByKCAfYvRzBQxFuPln6yad6BqCVQz6RtV0Ei-Mdi43FYoPe4_hRuhuotIKHUV3QqEXTwpqUvaCD9pXgiT3J1MlqDrLVcMqVEIfs_5k5wvhakc/s4624/20231014_141306.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBl3Debyv3pxawpGsJFQMLkKn7ZQjEx5xx9LU4u6M08QgKPYHy29PFsVLfiv0XQmsgKZ6OwpmPsE9Iz9tByKCAfYvRzBQxFuPln6yad6BqCVQz6RtV0Ei-Mdi43FYoPe4_hRuhuotIKHUV3QqEXTwpqUvaCD9pXgiT3J1MlqDrLVcMqVEIfs_5k5wvhakc/s320/20231014_141306.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Riva Trigoso finally came into view when I rounded the last bend on the side of the promontory. Riva, originally a fishing village, is a beach resort town which also has a very large and well-known shipyard; Trigoso is a village a little way up the hillside. The two are separated by railway tracks and a steel plant. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After a break for lunch at a picnic table at the crossroads of trails to Riva Trigoso, Punta Baffe and Monte Moneglia, I took the most direct route to Riva, stopping along the way to pick the fruit of the arbutus or strawberry trees. I filled a plastic bag with fruit, which weighted down my backpack... I could afford to do so as my pack was lighter than usual. As you may have guessed I am "commuting" to the trail for these last couple of stages, rather than seeking and paying for accommodation so close to home! So today I walked down to Riva Trigoso train station, took a twenty-minute train ride home, and then made six jars of jam with the fruit I had carried down in my backpack.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yummm!!!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8eCb2tol7ewBcNBgonwGDO_m5riLKkqksOlPRecBY15ot_jjyDTjpvr0if-H1pu94-a-4XgCdGyZW7tagIHYcPQAfGf-eFkdzqNjO2XfeZGJ6GtsCh8VEYEyHp4RMrzmAr_LUzMEQ1XLU0LCIvtwsqFRBAlm5IhMp4ZsSGY6AiNH8bX8rxP2Ek-xD61P/s1280/IMG_20231014_201451_726.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8eCb2tol7ewBcNBgonwGDO_m5riLKkqksOlPRecBY15ot_jjyDTjpvr0if-H1pu94-a-4XgCdGyZW7tagIHYcPQAfGf-eFkdzqNjO2XfeZGJ6GtsCh8VEYEyHp4RMrzmAr_LUzMEQ1XLU0LCIvtwsqFRBAlm5IhMp4ZsSGY6AiNH8bX8rxP2Ek-xD61P/s320/IMG_20231014_201451_726.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puréed arbutus fruit</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmA9yW0v0FL17E1OX7HY0SJsZwwx1JgDR33-NCqkSig-PijLonVrLnYOzUKJAh3eDkruA83SV0RrvZma1YSjIpM3Tfi6gD2dS19-lU0DdZYzdjQsn0BMJhvLUjotsURY2Ljjywhk3WW2oFXWagiR0Smkb3jhchJdjU33YyldxHc49jfYGV_GhBs3cwx2Y/s1280/IMG_20231014_201451_195.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmA9yW0v0FL17E1OX7HY0SJsZwwx1JgDR33-NCqkSig-PijLonVrLnYOzUKJAh3eDkruA83SV0RrvZma1YSjIpM3Tfi6gD2dS19-lU0DdZYzdjQsn0BMJhvLUjotsURY2Ljjywhk3WW2oFXWagiR0Smkb3jhchJdjU33YyldxHc49jfYGV_GhBs3cwx2Y/s320/IMG_20231014_201451_195.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jam on the boil</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh29NNeZDm0F15xnqVfZKUBk4n8XfSYVk-yGE5etZfMmggh6QXNEzIK_xj2KpiZl2A2EtOooSGRyWy9_XEoJoS-JIvrYpv_Xkn1V8bwSmPH3YZ8SSFqeGjxLtUMM8wHYp1kThC3RPxdK9jZSxtwqZNTch86tF0akso6i9oyL15JgjrTG7wY8dq6BgTz-W4/s1280/IMG_20231014_201451_232.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh29NNeZDm0F15xnqVfZKUBk4n8XfSYVk-yGE5etZfMmggh6QXNEzIK_xj2KpiZl2A2EtOooSGRyWy9_XEoJoS-JIvrYpv_Xkn1V8bwSmPH3YZ8SSFqeGjxLtUMM8wHYp1kThC3RPxdK9jZSxtwqZNTch86tF0akso6i9oyL15JgjrTG7wY8dq6BgTz-W4/s320/IMG_20231014_201451_232.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkGN16D9lwopz-1Gj8ptlbK11rFhyKaA3K2xvm59ObiXGMq6pPnyoeD50W6OqBxynmH8kd69oAI9GzteaJna4Gi6SpMaDbSsC6nlS_3acV2jXi9mv8cmLwRVEQct1gDUrYnDfKxb21XqnKxMI2q850_D62aJ0VEY_n3tv-d9QI2cnnQDvBAxB9QouXzjF/s2400/Screenshot_20231014_145305_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkGN16D9lwopz-1Gj8ptlbK11rFhyKaA3K2xvm59ObiXGMq6pPnyoeD50W6OqBxynmH8kd69oAI9GzteaJna4Gi6SpMaDbSsC6nlS_3acV2jXi9mv8cmLwRVEQct1gDUrYnDfKxb21XqnKxMI2q850_D62aJ0VEY_n3tv-d9QI2cnnQDvBAxB9QouXzjF/s320/Screenshot_20231014_145305_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Deiva Marina - Riva Trigoso 14.5 km</div>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-31089274432877294862023-10-13T19:02:00.004+02:002024-01-09T14:22:09.759+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 90: Santuario di Soviore - Deiva Marina <p style="text-align: justify;"><i>To know the earth under one's foot and go, in wild delight, ways where there is water.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">- Malcolm Lowry, <i>Ultramarine</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9NTnojGWQ0iadBMFWXE9umIQjCfBQgIbWdTq-f8bVb86Y-vy3_TXzB-RecnunSWoyLecCX3ijVOxQzaysXuSnf8RJOHL2qOqJurlo7gBat9fb23WBDJ3U2AWdGvw9owyjISC0vUgKkj38kIR2LrpDHZOpQS2D76YUqJfdDrhQl1xlvUFJapJFm-CnNKj/s4624/20231013_075419.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9NTnojGWQ0iadBMFWXE9umIQjCfBQgIbWdTq-f8bVb86Y-vy3_TXzB-RecnunSWoyLecCX3ijVOxQzaysXuSnf8RJOHL2qOqJurlo7gBat9fb23WBDJ3U2AWdGvw9owyjISC0vUgKkj38kIR2LrpDHZOpQS2D76YUqJfdDrhQl1xlvUFJapJFm-CnNKj/s320/20231013_075419.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The sea! Today I finally reached the sea again, 89 days after leaving the seashore at Wissant!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">From the Sanctuary of Soviore, 450 metres above sea level and above the town of Monterosso, last of the Cinque Terre, I walked downhill along the road to join path number 574, a gravel road which became a dirt track leading to the colourful village of Fontona. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg43qP3EGyO7IGqknqXOKF0yiV5w1ZAgmLECrSG7lvZV15fPEeciOTC9uaaRMzu7RCmk9e78ygi3n0kYqp1bCMgvIVF5NQ0EeJUxStCDCgwBdcE_SFyWsaYTMm2BlE_zHNM2j5c-wGOF5fzxCd0Vehx24aOtJACs48FZNKSvA7F2sx7JyRqVfYvN8UmAPql/s4624/20231013_091141.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg43qP3EGyO7IGqknqXOKF0yiV5w1ZAgmLECrSG7lvZV15fPEeciOTC9uaaRMzu7RCmk9e78ygi3n0kYqp1bCMgvIVF5NQ0EeJUxStCDCgwBdcE_SFyWsaYTMm2BlE_zHNM2j5c-wGOF5fzxCd0Vehx24aOtJACs48FZNKSvA7F2sx7JyRqVfYvN8UmAPql/s320/20231013_091141.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosAVxBUFtBmqvrRvjGSs0doA2IvbaBvcyJNY0dc90-F9UnU3wneaK6iiqAU0dy4f5GVmrQfRS1drLpzgugpJPyF0KT6TmYaatGKUGyjt1kJZt4o9zfKoIz6Bdzcbti1QYk34nXlQ3xR2ypISxxblBye8HPyJJOwt7xrRDMAH6asfeS9Dy6VtUcLaGXlqr/s4624/20231013_091546.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosAVxBUFtBmqvrRvjGSs0doA2IvbaBvcyJNY0dc90-F9UnU3wneaK6iiqAU0dy4f5GVmrQfRS1drLpzgugpJPyF0KT6TmYaatGKUGyjt1kJZt4o9zfKoIz6Bdzcbti1QYk34nXlQ3xR2ypISxxblBye8HPyJJOwt7xrRDMAH6asfeS9Dy6VtUcLaGXlqr/s320/20231013_091546.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhego9OUbzMsSjjYfy6CTqRkczTGVQ2nTM3U9zJL5qbG-spwGtgW8NLXn4lOvbntwETQ3MoucAuI0tFSxdwzoOaUrAMBVvssQjV5pPa7sKoYh7mnXq3SYX5keHFVk4YHh9wO2LOKa9tXo1SdEJ0T1EsMfgf9FVww4ixtkcrHI8bW_5LXDjO5Zv_ka5rHBeE/s4000/20231013_092112.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhego9OUbzMsSjjYfy6CTqRkczTGVQ2nTM3U9zJL5qbG-spwGtgW8NLXn4lOvbntwETQ3MoucAuI0tFSxdwzoOaUrAMBVvssQjV5pPa7sKoYh7mnXq3SYX5keHFVk4YHh9wO2LOKa9tXo1SdEJ0T1EsMfgf9FVww4ixtkcrHI8bW_5LXDjO5Zv_ka5rHBeE/s320/20231013_092112.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96WdxZ3rjx687V0NbXxH-kkavFotsoi9CZ1r7ucpnzJP0bFy22iPyapkU4FYWZIsWaYmuVUTmk5JwM2YCfCCdircNEr6xVS9KkEu2GzppcVz8I5kCLRtoIaGoaboi2dkT602D0Vcqe57p3e6Z3OIC8gtYkvXxn8g2JxtUuvB4TAwGbXLlnm-1HGPwicpJ/s4624/20231013_092202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96WdxZ3rjx687V0NbXxH-kkavFotsoi9CZ1r7ucpnzJP0bFy22iPyapkU4FYWZIsWaYmuVUTmk5JwM2YCfCCdircNEr6xVS9KkEu2GzppcVz8I5kCLRtoIaGoaboi2dkT602D0Vcqe57p3e6Z3OIC8gtYkvXxn8g2JxtUuvB4TAwGbXLlnm-1HGPwicpJ/s320/20231013_092202.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMG1EoTI0IwOBTnfsxijCzpTaXHEiJV_edjXhnUoP1Sw8SOF5pjvVDyW7Uv8HOeX0PlVc2lzSUpE-LrRGvUlBifq2mTrL4I6kdg63mN6lRQj0-mzxew8-kewtNS3mU_Zg3QxkJR66hHOdu2ykt8hBM58YUbkm12rRs2zOe9xwYE2SnyfAL-rK0mm9fdgG/s4624/20231013_092728.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMG1EoTI0IwOBTnfsxijCzpTaXHEiJV_edjXhnUoP1Sw8SOF5pjvVDyW7Uv8HOeX0PlVc2lzSUpE-LrRGvUlBifq2mTrL4I6kdg63mN6lRQj0-mzxew8-kewtNS3mU_Zg3QxkJR66hHOdu2ykt8hBM58YUbkm12rRs2zOe9xwYE2SnyfAL-rK0mm9fdgG/s320/20231013_092728.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3sPJouHPRYHva5X9Byd_rG5IHw28rPahkoLn_NzbwIySMBGmiD7V1JQILUZZQTKtYWPxGcqLDEYYcNaZcdrqK-kcuR0Tc9t3_CznFHLjpv2-o1GGGSo8MarWoW4fX8iumvyMST0Dr7BNUhtNaEz6Bm9rW3hL84m9WFlmWO1xFOpHvCJuH2_McY5Y_nIW/s4624/20231013_094901.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3sPJouHPRYHva5X9Byd_rG5IHw28rPahkoLn_NzbwIySMBGmiD7V1JQILUZZQTKtYWPxGcqLDEYYcNaZcdrqK-kcuR0Tc9t3_CznFHLjpv2-o1GGGSo8MarWoW4fX8iumvyMST0Dr7BNUhtNaEz6Bm9rW3hL84m9WFlmWO1xFOpHvCJuH2_McY5Y_nIW/s320/20231013_094901.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The trail became a path down into the valley, where it joined a paved road passing through a place poetically named Albero d'Oro, and entered the town of Levanto. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5L3j2N1Xv6uPkiEiSTxyt75csaVmBYnKQkjlGVcGnnR3a6g85CGoJUtbkfYsoEre7F7Ctu1lrNJlZEYOR5DE2Jqrg1drp4RUkKx5K3pFWShi8hZ3ZJX5SRARh8ns6sV8saWHWL1zMC9h63StaNI85PZ55sPf-SfDx0jQOmebU6NLhSHPdBXvw47ICsHWb/s4624/20231013_101257.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5L3j2N1Xv6uPkiEiSTxyt75csaVmBYnKQkjlGVcGnnR3a6g85CGoJUtbkfYsoEre7F7Ctu1lrNJlZEYOR5DE2Jqrg1drp4RUkKx5K3pFWShi8hZ3ZJX5SRARh8ns6sV8saWHWL1zMC9h63StaNI85PZ55sPf-SfDx0jQOmebU6NLhSHPdBXvw47ICsHWb/s320/20231013_101257.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvisydIrlPCajo6LombvNUl7oEfkvfkcd-qt0swJtgvQ_TWyoYiZwdQhiZ940CVI9VO72-3KQYN5wiO6IrUHRZWYbj5PnbgHAYHa4EVkWCaJoi1iI4k65rK_Jny8kPF8mnhAlawhWMex8pqu-HM7JwdBnyGswzNhjCLptDUq0XhFAX9vAewIxzYusGLcul/s4624/20231013_101734.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvisydIrlPCajo6LombvNUl7oEfkvfkcd-qt0swJtgvQ_TWyoYiZwdQhiZ940CVI9VO72-3KQYN5wiO6IrUHRZWYbj5PnbgHAYHa4EVkWCaJoi1iI4k65rK_Jny8kPF8mnhAlawhWMex8pqu-HM7JwdBnyGswzNhjCLptDUq0XhFAX9vAewIxzYusGLcul/s320/20231013_101734.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Levanto is a beautiful town with a lot to see, and I recommend it as a base from which to explore the Cinque Terre; but today I stopped only long enough to obtain a stamp on my credential from the tourist office. I then walked down to the waterfront, and for the time on this route since leaving Wissant, on the English Channel, I came to the sea!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidq1H7TdWnyppbEoRlbFOM0mc4QDQy1Er1pm7CNOf8Jw2DqpKxY4wJpYdyiXxODvZBwOIQNpv0nuDQwWbrlpDcURyjVGw6FztjoSZUZXyzMLCndoIZNd1mY7PSg-UB5p857s8RLv346tXCrncnx2WP1wf7Q7nGUrCKNOrWMOBSS-06wwWWMKV7bjx1P68Z/s4624/20231013_102947.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidq1H7TdWnyppbEoRlbFOM0mc4QDQy1Er1pm7CNOf8Jw2DqpKxY4wJpYdyiXxODvZBwOIQNpv0nuDQwWbrlpDcURyjVGw6FztjoSZUZXyzMLCndoIZNd1mY7PSg-UB5p857s8RLv346tXCrncnx2WP1wf7Q7nGUrCKNOrWMOBSS-06wwWWMKV7bjx1P68Z/s320/20231013_102947.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheX3evtmWzrZfLdAqO5Cz4Hr0ici8L0dYyIpidpzTZuxt_3PwM5ZNNGkhM2_rmynJGpPoXfhl5h-hr7Ewc-gNg0DZdPfHHnqHpfyGW2Vppl75LHDzUj4f5DZ36bSF2dUmU88Q3tJFwQKCF6clf3LsuWmm73Cx9j0tRBtGYta2qZZKHtJdvteMnfOsfBSqG/s4624/20231013_103625.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheX3evtmWzrZfLdAqO5Cz4Hr0ici8L0dYyIpidpzTZuxt_3PwM5ZNNGkhM2_rmynJGpPoXfhl5h-hr7Ewc-gNg0DZdPfHHnqHpfyGW2Vppl75LHDzUj4f5DZ36bSF2dUmU88Q3tJFwQKCF6clf3LsuWmm73Cx9j0tRBtGYta2qZZKHtJdvteMnfOsfBSqG/s320/20231013_103625.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">I left Levanto on a bicycle path that passes through five kilometres of former railway tunnels, emerging briefly to tempt me with the near-deserted sandy beaches of Bonassola before plunging back into the darkness of the railway tunnel, which continued all the way to the little fishing harbour by the railway station of Framura.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgPmhr6XPYuYDgAFWO2jktFthczKEU1ZK__vg_5ZwPRnxdt2vTe1y_aKhBVJtsaDKPwzObL7TTU8Wf5RfFNNrvNkGQAo6zcRkBy2vg1tXcNl4xXMVlZuSBmPJUaJ9QJH4Jv-dfhFgXpmrMav1AwIjAlnEckbRrPV2b7vs_v1B7VrRDDOn5Li3kfl93PXZ/s4624/20231013_104521.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgPmhr6XPYuYDgAFWO2jktFthczKEU1ZK__vg_5ZwPRnxdt2vTe1y_aKhBVJtsaDKPwzObL7TTU8Wf5RfFNNrvNkGQAo6zcRkBy2vg1tXcNl4xXMVlZuSBmPJUaJ9QJH4Jv-dfhFgXpmrMav1AwIjAlnEckbRrPV2b7vs_v1B7VrRDDOn5Li3kfl93PXZ/s320/20231013_104521.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurOt8HRGEld3clU_894US8zLrWGKK6p9zmB6fOUWKD3Cwp1EKR3HsS0NBorOyb2_LArKPet4O6rbXLAfCNMW4Y98o_PI6LBxBmjGILf2eHk5fPvfZRhyphenhyphentW2vAqmOSniOBAGbaVbQp0zK_i7DO0jDzqUx1TzUifepC97kgV4sxBrooZClJ4V9WfDc4TWn1/s4624/20231013_105841.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurOt8HRGEld3clU_894US8zLrWGKK6p9zmB6fOUWKD3Cwp1EKR3HsS0NBorOyb2_LArKPet4O6rbXLAfCNMW4Y98o_PI6LBxBmjGILf2eHk5fPvfZRhyphenhyphentW2vAqmOSniOBAGbaVbQp0zK_i7DO0jDzqUx1TzUifepC97kgV4sxBrooZClJ4V9WfDc4TWn1/s320/20231013_105841.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbmCpf_Gb47NscYt2HLIrHv1Jw23XpLQCGbdarodYYpBsMwYFo6FI5-1wfZfB9XE1mXh4HeC5V16HlGI86_LlB7fmE7N0jD7V1bE9qEV2yRS52WP99wMv0PAkLRF4w-esYLz0QVmgqXm6vobG33VuUXPR3rj5BbahCSZ1WuPeb-vNoiA9vSXDSsS0j7H6/s4624/20231013_110022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbmCpf_Gb47NscYt2HLIrHv1Jw23XpLQCGbdarodYYpBsMwYFo6FI5-1wfZfB9XE1mXh4HeC5V16HlGI86_LlB7fmE7N0jD7V1bE9qEV2yRS52WP99wMv0PAkLRF4w-esYLz0QVmgqXm6vobG33VuUXPR3rj5BbahCSZ1WuPeb-vNoiA9vSXDSsS0j7H6/s320/20231013_110022.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEind-filCkoc-4yzGIuvOzzNBS0pfDmEgFFiT0TPfRAbX2MPNZo0ayRY4cbDHy9KDu18KG6Alq4Egpgph6M72-lXVftxe9luLqaSb9Rfx2REJ9mTRXbMXvtlVGm5jIZFapNqJH6VPpSS1FIsXATRhvo-ciFZBLSugD8i5c8lV_RpYq1aquDwlktwueiO2w-/s4000/20231013_110855.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEind-filCkoc-4yzGIuvOzzNBS0pfDmEgFFiT0TPfRAbX2MPNZo0ayRY4cbDHy9KDu18KG6Alq4Egpgph6M72-lXVftxe9luLqaSb9Rfx2REJ9mTRXbMXvtlVGm5jIZFapNqJH6VPpSS1FIsXATRhvo-ciFZBLSugD8i5c8lV_RpYq1aquDwlktwueiO2w-/s320/20231013_110855.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonassola</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6sraP6Rl0_Y8nCI_GngEjYSftlCWGw2wrSEUFdcnH0sQspayqrRvncxWBkQEG8GatXEZr5HN_3vv2SKe1r2ClgkcdEEHqTbmqwHGUnl_pT3rgglrQ1QMW-6-TDc9BMkonj8ELtCvCWelr1BG4krKnRGPT202HDh7MvGNAeNT1Ly7_cS6ZhRQHPiZee4N/s4624/20231013_111138.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6sraP6Rl0_Y8nCI_GngEjYSftlCWGw2wrSEUFdcnH0sQspayqrRvncxWBkQEG8GatXEZr5HN_3vv2SKe1r2ClgkcdEEHqTbmqwHGUnl_pT3rgglrQ1QMW-6-TDc9BMkonj8ELtCvCWelr1BG4krKnRGPT202HDh7MvGNAeNT1Ly7_cS6ZhRQHPiZee4N/s320/20231013_111138.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tempting beach of Bonassola</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOdaWbbMlsNoPllI26v7mNF4k1zg_wPR72-Vx0rfFg1k9JNx7wLNlcic08hResijsyPRlecTVM0_jdHVBMg75EWhaAFsqjw-vfoHy9ICnt9sEPv_zWIttBlGsTB8sGQ2bC9Tu99UP2JqoDg7bFZ1p5NJHbjbKzj8L00vYcMWCXL81O_PgaIZOgRZBJxoVF/s4624/20231013_112108.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOdaWbbMlsNoPllI26v7mNF4k1zg_wPR72-Vx0rfFg1k9JNx7wLNlcic08hResijsyPRlecTVM0_jdHVBMg75EWhaAFsqjw-vfoHy9ICnt9sEPv_zWIttBlGsTB8sGQ2bC9Tu99UP2JqoDg7bFZ1p5NJHbjbKzj8L00vYcMWCXL81O_PgaIZOgRZBJxoVF/s320/20231013_112108.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonassola</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtYxHPRHQ2qJySPPXITJlMGOTwd1o7rI18fUqM2Luq_68goyiDL_JHwpN5bijniG-fzhC4ow5CL2D7BNFVL34XRnrI54tsgMWRd3YEXPwJL7KJxMc5-bAy6D9hPr-U6YsUa4OQlraWFDCF3VrMEQJbsdkUWfZqlvy2mL7pax8ivYHsIn0koqStbv95xTb/s4624/20231013_113233.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtYxHPRHQ2qJySPPXITJlMGOTwd1o7rI18fUqM2Luq_68goyiDL_JHwpN5bijniG-fzhC4ow5CL2D7BNFVL34XRnrI54tsgMWRd3YEXPwJL7KJxMc5-bAy6D9hPr-U6YsUa4OQlraWFDCF3VrMEQJbsdkUWfZqlvy2mL7pax8ivYHsIn0koqStbv95xTb/s320/20231013_113233.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1EBc0U75jg96NXSAviW0_t8-QBQfl9K5MOvSDkryAeW9BxwiiFXqz-vTGg_UipAqCWH1icklEMHofRdsrCRx5jUFuof-6PVY2RLSD2mHG35DdA5_xeFqHLOxhlHkkOatz7KvtS7vQsAZnjYPL9zVb37u6z8qFItmR2tGuDKo9kiy8c9ZT4084RIdGXfS/s4000/20231013_113833.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1EBc0U75jg96NXSAviW0_t8-QBQfl9K5MOvSDkryAeW9BxwiiFXqz-vTGg_UipAqCWH1icklEMHofRdsrCRx5jUFuof-6PVY2RLSD2mHG35DdA5_xeFqHLOxhlHkkOatz7KvtS7vQsAZnjYPL9zVb37u6z8qFItmR2tGuDKo9kiy8c9ZT4084RIdGXfS/s320/20231013_113833.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOLU2SsF1KCYVhVhcRlauY7gYVNMtKGxPWe4Uubop5To_-zIdNZr98Kc1YM9uWtaViAGG88q6DH5R0mJoBeR6cp_ZdZDpoDZZDFxzRdhyDmr4iDQE6sDIwfqIjs5sSiTD4SYUAHZjNGMNemn29YNyleFkHrmQsmCkpgFNMN1_NmzvP3cwqi0SEQlA8CCMU/s4624/20231013_114443.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOLU2SsF1KCYVhVhcRlauY7gYVNMtKGxPWe4Uubop5To_-zIdNZr98Kc1YM9uWtaViAGG88q6DH5R0mJoBeR6cp_ZdZDpoDZZDFxzRdhyDmr4iDQE6sDIwfqIjs5sSiTD4SYUAHZjNGMNemn29YNyleFkHrmQsmCkpgFNMN1_NmzvP3cwqi0SEQlA8CCMU/s320/20231013_114443.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4E1_8SCdoKNAct0DE4XdgEFEGvbaM83qkGJZPX2Lc7Ip-W0JHqpfpV_dtnwKtVs-Cd6FCto4EYzZVDJ3WH25odKBriiHhL9ccHBqeAI514qU0EGR18iBCZHDxxbH9wkLYG4NuryKGGEGvdy2FnjKerIfJb19I0mvfUp82ggK3zEmOCfNqyIUwIGHZOSV4/s4624/20231013_123151.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4E1_8SCdoKNAct0DE4XdgEFEGvbaM83qkGJZPX2Lc7Ip-W0JHqpfpV_dtnwKtVs-Cd6FCto4EYzZVDJ3WH25odKBriiHhL9ccHBqeAI514qU0EGR18iBCZHDxxbH9wkLYG4NuryKGGEGvdy2FnjKerIfJb19I0mvfUp82ggK3zEmOCfNqyIUwIGHZOSV4/s320/20231013_123151.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Framura is not a single town, but a municipality made up of five separate hamlets: Anzo, Ravecca, Setta, Costa, and Castagnola. </div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUciKxlVhcYB7kwf6MuuyPEAmK8FAPXMnVEP5TQkk3ufqQLsh7JdyN2z_9ySZBA5dEdse1nmEuAFJS-whdnzBNxlXycpa9D73b9jJH4HLoGtKqRZ3e0bAEUGiJ2aQ9NsjuL1Fvhd5O2Ni_smli6VRqjHR9U8ekMi2S6Xv0J1mRWTiH1tpsPkwzE3DZ0Ns/s4624/20231013_123437.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUciKxlVhcYB7kwf6MuuyPEAmK8FAPXMnVEP5TQkk3ufqQLsh7JdyN2z_9ySZBA5dEdse1nmEuAFJS-whdnzBNxlXycpa9D73b9jJH4HLoGtKqRZ3e0bAEUGiJ2aQ9NsjuL1Fvhd5O2Ni_smli6VRqjHR9U8ekMi2S6Xv0J1mRWTiH1tpsPkwzE3DZ0Ns/s320/20231013_123437.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLf2U3Edk9OQQvzpscilBSItV9McJrxq_Y_FAGkSHXP3tl2LMgEJk12XCua8nRcoeCtUg-4BCfz6xoJ_es9l3_RTU0aj61emTygPPewXn6owGE_jKXJfO6_9OyvHWBWDe2M2Hec8CSxgU3dKQkr36aLFokfcs50T9XthYz_tfdcdALtX6mUNGuJN53c177/s4624/20231013_125033.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLf2U3Edk9OQQvzpscilBSItV9McJrxq_Y_FAGkSHXP3tl2LMgEJk12XCua8nRcoeCtUg-4BCfz6xoJ_es9l3_RTU0aj61emTygPPewXn6owGE_jKXJfO6_9OyvHWBWDe2M2Hec8CSxgU3dKQkr36aLFokfcs50T9XthYz_tfdcdALtX6mUNGuJN53c177/s320/20231013_125033.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmxBz9eOBG_fcul2ixTNzsAhbsK50UPeSJqSrrmXiy1y5Bi_-J2semo2WZkQMVaCeZvbKI_P6Mfa72NI5tj5CylDx_eT8zX5EufWSggDnc9VUA0Bb8stbXgoiHptvY2wDf0Kh72rdFlxncCUkEKjjZE4rCRxjmSyt00-qiYUVqWHcKRd-k_h__xSMrq2Y/s4000/20231013_133952.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmxBz9eOBG_fcul2ixTNzsAhbsK50UPeSJqSrrmXiy1y5Bi_-J2semo2WZkQMVaCeZvbKI_P6Mfa72NI5tj5CylDx_eT8zX5EufWSggDnc9VUA0Bb8stbXgoiHptvY2wDf0Kh72rdFlxncCUkEKjjZE4rCRxjmSyt00-qiYUVqWHcKRd-k_h__xSMrq2Y/s320/20231013_133952.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">I passed through Anzo and climbed the steps up to Setta, where I stopped for lunch: the village had an open bakery and a bench in the shade, by a fountain, in a pretty little square. Framura has two hostels, the Perla del Levante in Anzo, closer to the sea, and another hostel high up in Costa, which, according to the date carved in stone over the door, has been open since the year 1400! 😮</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have always wanted to stay there... but it was early to stop walking, and in any case my route today did not take me all the way up to Costa, but turned off lower down the hillside. There are no more disused railway tunnels west of Framura, so the only way to go on is up and over the promontory. There are three ways to do this: around the north side, over the top, or the route I chose, around the sunny southern side, with views back toward the hamlets of Framura and over the sea. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvhyphenhyphenDBF976CfJHsuzSy2YuWT6QEuqJWXxovJhVn6EyX3WOX9vHfQZfmtDHkAr_FCan-SgLv1tuoo2_8x5GV6UiBvVcnKOAflEn0d72rczs0pKEgJDRpDltQ_cyfwG_vZSVzqAAEfGEwEFEeOelNKiExNjJLbRARpfLQjlWTs2XY8S2GzSTuFFP0Bb9AO2X/s4624/20231013_134555.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvhyphenhyphenDBF976CfJHsuzSy2YuWT6QEuqJWXxovJhVn6EyX3WOX9vHfQZfmtDHkAr_FCan-SgLv1tuoo2_8x5GV6UiBvVcnKOAflEn0d72rczs0pKEgJDRpDltQ_cyfwG_vZSVzqAAEfGEwEFEeOelNKiExNjJLbRARpfLQjlWTs2XY8S2GzSTuFFP0Bb9AO2X/s320/20231013_134555.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkcaOqsvGoLQ5mvtu9WBoY0llCb2nJ3T0ko3ETqtLhhZ9kOYi7sioy6eY5XV1lSnP-VmIIEiBut-EIJB6E9Ua2bzMcaNM8FVSVOWsA7q5IfZ3ADNR7uOBGU6j-0jng11mk1Nmpu6Z_GTPUI-qErXnYFYx1UDuM60pEH8oEZSLiqwVnfi07Ky-kJnWJGYp/s4624/20231013_140300.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkcaOqsvGoLQ5mvtu9WBoY0llCb2nJ3T0ko3ETqtLhhZ9kOYi7sioy6eY5XV1lSnP-VmIIEiBut-EIJB6E9Ua2bzMcaNM8FVSVOWsA7q5IfZ3ADNR7uOBGU6j-0jng11mk1Nmpu6Z_GTPUI-qErXnYFYx1UDuM60pEH8oEZSLiqwVnfi07Ky-kJnWJGYp/s320/20231013_140300.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TwLZbI10BaGAuIvYcViCUtCSJgU4uFjSlFrnNleRscX4mcSNbQuQ2NvJ_jq-Jcf41Aua9USlecjgXnIFjVphidBhJq6oXkX8PC1eGBOVgv7pS_kHE89cvBvs83QtZ6u3GajoazCtNjtPN_iN1eRpTk7Dc0WwM5SGIF0-XV4jGKn8btKEMILh8xDFwbP5/s4624/20231013_141145.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TwLZbI10BaGAuIvYcViCUtCSJgU4uFjSlFrnNleRscX4mcSNbQuQ2NvJ_jq-Jcf41Aua9USlecjgXnIFjVphidBhJq6oXkX8PC1eGBOVgv7pS_kHE89cvBvs83QtZ6u3GajoazCtNjtPN_iN1eRpTk7Dc0WwM5SGIF0-XV4jGKn8btKEMILh8xDFwbP5/s320/20231013_141145.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4OnrChXHXvM1GcsqOCdY53_ANEWjVNh3YKZCQvF86W9X6bT-fNr9xbMLniCMDBGNjf70i_ahDWV9A7xREv_yu1f6FCDkA3QzMcip1XLuXOsEYPj9xKICCxYmw8I0t1hSF63QWWWdCYWkoFo5c-6kqBFcnJd3ZnYQr-jkfuzat28ZjxJxgnR1RfT55IpKD/s4624/20231013_142126.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4OnrChXHXvM1GcsqOCdY53_ANEWjVNh3YKZCQvF86W9X6bT-fNr9xbMLniCMDBGNjf70i_ahDWV9A7xREv_yu1f6FCDkA3QzMcip1XLuXOsEYPj9xKICCxYmw8I0t1hSF63QWWWdCYWkoFo5c-6kqBFcnJd3ZnYQr-jkfuzat28ZjxJxgnR1RfT55IpKD/s320/20231013_142126.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The paved road turned to a dirt track among pine trees, which I eventually left to follow a steep trail down to Deiva Marina, coming out above the campground by the sea. This was the shortest route, and the one with the least elevation gain, but the downhill stretch into Deiva was very steep, on crumbling dirt and rock surfaces covered with leaves and loose pebbles. Such treacherous footing is just the thing when you're tired after a long day's walking! But I made it safely to the bottom, where I lost no time getting down to the beach for a refreshing October swim! </p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXHGkEkpna1mMLN_lQilJQAvCxDsV4OpCaU2lRdVVLEzBtc5k77uLcElA_jKKsq3m1C2NhnZrRrvTS8ZDtfYO_2qPYn9CPp6YPrt5EBWsUCFzIb6pNPhmQYPZYkuEsBmkZeUc3LiyiOh7c_1FH61ljI5wNVkTI3PYuoWGaRMvffNvN6HYRHeRH1dMvQIX/s4624/20231013_151301.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXHGkEkpna1mMLN_lQilJQAvCxDsV4OpCaU2lRdVVLEzBtc5k77uLcElA_jKKsq3m1C2NhnZrRrvTS8ZDtfYO_2qPYn9CPp6YPrt5EBWsUCFzIb6pNPhmQYPZYkuEsBmkZeUc3LiyiOh7c_1FH61ljI5wNVkTI3PYuoWGaRMvffNvN6HYRHeRH1dMvQIX/s320/20231013_151301.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxfJoXuB3XyAVJCEsKSXPnKfZEsjaF6IiYirUmXFIy1S2RuPVxsy1TWTagMuiNL4qiUdICecD2W3haf6tjtSbCuof91CBfiGXPY3sS0Gocr8ku1K0r0xpGXpbydrjFTzVkquMESYvKbH5HO-W3lpyASYC4ULxRgUsqYaDf-eCxtO34tRW1a_-_rVoDrJAd/s4624/20231013_161632.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxfJoXuB3XyAVJCEsKSXPnKfZEsjaF6IiYirUmXFIy1S2RuPVxsy1TWTagMuiNL4qiUdICecD2W3haf6tjtSbCuof91CBfiGXPY3sS0Gocr8ku1K0r0xpGXpbydrjFTzVkquMESYvKbH5HO-W3lpyASYC4ULxRgUsqYaDf-eCxtO34tRW1a_-_rVoDrJAd/s320/20231013_161632.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was up there!</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgESydeEITOgcWscW4mGKNJzw62x35TfptY-FCQQHMlPoqLLjJO-zZ6qrwRlE1bMi7zCSp38C44AeMPBPb9MITc7SrBbnAGdKNbBHoFPE9dB7gjmDqTSdiM4ie9AuNkBhfn_BLCZBdNaFCWLXYmdJ1ycp0xIibXsfXzetTgoWcyESjRLSq9B_8agXZi3pw1/s4624/20231013_152239.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgESydeEITOgcWscW4mGKNJzw62x35TfptY-FCQQHMlPoqLLjJO-zZ6qrwRlE1bMi7zCSp38C44AeMPBPb9MITc7SrBbnAGdKNbBHoFPE9dB7gjmDqTSdiM4ie9AuNkBhfn_BLCZBdNaFCWLXYmdJ1ycp0xIibXsfXzetTgoWcyESjRLSq9B_8agXZi3pw1/s320/20231013_152239.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNhAAT8kcEK-w2QCCV_fx9Ln2hVqp1JvwL23E9aEqWJO5puqg-0kBjR5NP1xQwxsTKpWJivEZ_ijn6arNgcffijSAg5pmYt8YUdwjQSyKxyqmePHbeGNYZMU6C6Kml_dLtpCsRGjNT1wK7RHqLqcy_PxOeO3K5_S5EjSwSFB7favwynsuqw1xuJ4o7xMg/s2400/Screenshot_20231013_165141_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNhAAT8kcEK-w2QCCV_fx9Ln2hVqp1JvwL23E9aEqWJO5puqg-0kBjR5NP1xQwxsTKpWJivEZ_ijn6arNgcffijSAg5pmYt8YUdwjQSyKxyqmePHbeGNYZMU6C6Kml_dLtpCsRGjNT1wK7RHqLqcy_PxOeO3K5_S5EjSwSFB7favwynsuqw1xuJ4o7xMg/s320/Screenshot_20231013_165141_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Santuario di Soviore - Deiva Marina 27 km</div><div style="text-align: center;">(including 5 km in tunnels, with no gps signal</div>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-13776173272404987442023-10-12T18:35:00.016+02:002024-02-14T16:49:17.219+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 89: La Spezia - Santuario di Soviore <p style="text-align: justify;"><i>The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">– Marcel Proust</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKFSaBFhFld7_fsMkr7aJXYjDJHXjTJBqTmkCHh4HkroKuWBwh8oIW4fxjpASZzcpzdXhzdgFA6iFDLd6YKNPs5dk0mgJXYb0NgpcElUXsmXXgIdTlC8cvL1t6ilsdQICqciWLcDB1UhdKW6fsid28zpkBQ4u1yMzoV5XidPhBnJxUaLIqJc2mN-mT9Do/s4624/20231012_115308.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKFSaBFhFld7_fsMkr7aJXYjDJHXjTJBqTmkCHh4HkroKuWBwh8oIW4fxjpASZzcpzdXhzdgFA6iFDLd6YKNPs5dk0mgJXYb0NgpcElUXsmXXgIdTlC8cvL1t6ilsdQICqciWLcDB1UhdKW6fsid28zpkBQ4u1yMzoV5XidPhBnJxUaLIqJc2mN-mT9Do/s320/20231012_115308.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Having overcome the obstacles between Sarzana, on the Via Francigena, and La Spezia, on the Via della Costa - two motorways, railway lines, a river and a military and commercial port - I faced another, equally daunting obstacle today: the Cinque Terre!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Most people don't think of the Cinque Terre as an obstacle. In fact, they come from all over the world to see them! They offer some of the most scenic, and most popular, hiking trails in Italy. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">But if you want to get from A to B - say, from Rome to Santiago, or from England to Chiavari, to take just a couple of common examples 😂 - the Cinque Terre represent a major hurdle to be overcome. Their daunting geography, with plenty of ups and downs, ins and outs, and their equally daunting prices, given their popularity as a tourist destination, require careful planning and consideration. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">There are basically three ways to hike across the Cinque Terre. The first and most obvious way is via the lowest path, closest to the sea. But it involves a lot of steep ups and downs, the payment of a daily ticket to access the national park, and throngs of tourists. I only hike these trails in winter, when the tourists have gone home! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The second route is the Via dei Santuari. Each of the five villages of the Cinque Terre has its own sanctuary, perched up in the hills high above the village. I've walked this route, not all at once but as a series of day hikes at different times, and it's pretty tough, as it involves even more ups and downs than the lower route, as well as as series of ins and outs, twists and turns, as the trail follows the conformation of the hills along the coast, running halfway up the hillsides. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The most direct way to get past the Cinque Terre is right across the top! The Alta Via delle Cinque Terre, abbreviated AV5T, requires an initial climb from sea level to around 700 metres, but then it stays there, with relatively few variations in elevation, as the trail runs along the top of the mountain ridge behind and above the Cinque Terre. The major disadvantage of this route is that you spend all day among the trees, and see nothing of the famous villages and vineyards of the Cinque Terre! 😄</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But I've seen them before, and will no doubt see them again, so the choice is clear! The Alta Via it is! But... how to get up there from La Spezia? </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0SM5UaTFFJsQxHzdcZvBodY3nrEBUM6Gfrja8sGzJqfA98MpvT0a32yx0G6zKJHfVkMvD-fWmlIusT_XaV8UoACwBcmc7lciz4DbD3RR9mH1n4JYZcJf8PcW7Cxw_p5K_aTnzBU2UZN0yHsiPV-HOYq0KPgDcIRmBSe3vuWvPZo6l34-7xPHHej5uiOH/s4624/20231012_085449.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0SM5UaTFFJsQxHzdcZvBodY3nrEBUM6Gfrja8sGzJqfA98MpvT0a32yx0G6zKJHfVkMvD-fWmlIusT_XaV8UoACwBcmc7lciz4DbD3RR9mH1n4JYZcJf8PcW7Cxw_p5K_aTnzBU2UZN0yHsiPV-HOYq0KPgDcIRmBSe3vuWvPZo6l34-7xPHHej5uiOH/s320/20231012_085449.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How to get from down here to up there?</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6gLC8MG0k4fdqm6Bjd1TzvGP0m39zU3-N-fJJx0vwxtOeEK_uSjHv4ZhpYX74NgNptJ495HHo-kXa4B2zHtwIbfQrg1nga1XJZF50xkD4Q0B9PivHyXQGOsJfca50htxX2Y9795IPRhMx_mg9F3yjD3b1sS0KZE81gRkq2bi4YOmb8CTn_dXJI4Gwwi8m/s4624/20231012_090004.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6gLC8MG0k4fdqm6Bjd1TzvGP0m39zU3-N-fJJx0vwxtOeEK_uSjHv4ZhpYX74NgNptJ495HHo-kXa4B2zHtwIbfQrg1nga1XJZF50xkD4Q0B9PivHyXQGOsJfca50htxX2Y9795IPRhMx_mg9F3yjD3b1sS0KZE81gRkq2bi4YOmb8CTn_dXJI4Gwwi8m/s320/20231012_090004.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This sign is not very helpful!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">I thought I would go up through Biassa, but the ever-helpful mapy.cz suggested a different route would be shorter: trail 523, connecting Pegazzano - presumably originally a separate village, but now a tucked-away corner of La Spezia - with the Sanctuary of Vignale, 300 metres above sea level and above the city, then passing through the forest between Monte Biassa and Monte Parodi to connect up with the AV5T trail at Sella di Carpena. The trail passes through several inhabited areas, so you are not alone in the woods, except in a couple of short stretches. And there are no hunters about, as most of the trail is within the buffer zone of the national park!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I huffed and puffed my way up the trail, with occasional views over the city of La Spezia, getting smaller and smaller below.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCpk3UudhdwS8j8FwA4MELcmQmPqLzlTT9gEptgUsoBw-eTNQvoXkuSnAyCgNyrHMLYcZ58GORvA1Kmgo0A2VmwL5pfTwcObqjreSQ4Wie9MpuB17e8rOtU0PJw1IzJqp1dsaAWvVc4SMSrpT-O4qsBQsg5qcl1HxA4KvDuroycJOK6_0pV-ptuOmr4Wuv/s4624/20231012_091608.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCpk3UudhdwS8j8FwA4MELcmQmPqLzlTT9gEptgUsoBw-eTNQvoXkuSnAyCgNyrHMLYcZ58GORvA1Kmgo0A2VmwL5pfTwcObqjreSQ4Wie9MpuB17e8rOtU0PJw1IzJqp1dsaAWvVc4SMSrpT-O4qsBQsg5qcl1HxA4KvDuroycJOK6_0pV-ptuOmr4Wuv/s320/20231012_091608.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9k4Gu1AzNsrcgFFTLV0Gwolvx7jnWT0UGPwld12P3Y1GkQ0Cy3d3CKKV-EZ4_PCdEBKu_R62RKX5cTLa7665Y6B2tSFSQrM0OXxOYeZ4ivW4XhPlUE3tdZLAroJ-nujh9_rnWVNiNU4Ypdnkc-1wQkvCH881IxvRYsaf-F4PzTWzynrCdpqH4IDyK4nt/s4000/20231012_093334.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9k4Gu1AzNsrcgFFTLV0Gwolvx7jnWT0UGPwld12P3Y1GkQ0Cy3d3CKKV-EZ4_PCdEBKu_R62RKX5cTLa7665Y6B2tSFSQrM0OXxOYeZ4ivW4XhPlUE3tdZLAroJ-nujh9_rnWVNiNU4Ypdnkc-1wQkvCH881IxvRYsaf-F4PzTWzynrCdpqH4IDyK4nt/s320/20231012_093334.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hylFJkA9cqPwNKotJXVlRGYY3JuVdeZpRUkluO7Xdco_3L2WcWG-l14UF6Dx8nzamcV6c_AvliGfEPSJkMxZSbnd3vfMbr7BKJXS8fsSNI2bfsASubBf_9Y2Ut1fTUscJX73hZOe7rJiImfcfENb46cauEc8HqsTLSpM4Y2Eg68LdfXWNb3duqwjJiab/s4624/20231012_093921.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hylFJkA9cqPwNKotJXVlRGYY3JuVdeZpRUkluO7Xdco_3L2WcWG-l14UF6Dx8nzamcV6c_AvliGfEPSJkMxZSbnd3vfMbr7BKJXS8fsSNI2bfsASubBf_9Y2Ut1fTUscJX73hZOe7rJiImfcfENb46cauEc8HqsTLSpM4Y2Eg68LdfXWNb3duqwjJiab/s320/20231012_093921.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgerdjyHxj_PCNiWqR12xP2g2qzfEJpdEo_Ajr2tZ0hU3mkW65dDS-Fwv4021F2BnxcTmYXI5528LCrSoSZrPmv_h94ow68qyGj0bQI1F5jcigDdWe2URRhJHpWrIAymM2HmU0F7Iq_ofUW4c8q6XbZhScNyBLv40Rk6HWU3IQ4gdpy5X0qB4rJlGuoYagh/s4624/20231012_094010.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgerdjyHxj_PCNiWqR12xP2g2qzfEJpdEo_Ajr2tZ0hU3mkW65dDS-Fwv4021F2BnxcTmYXI5528LCrSoSZrPmv_h94ow68qyGj0bQI1F5jcigDdWe2URRhJHpWrIAymM2HmU0F7Iq_ofUW4c8q6XbZhScNyBLv40Rk6HWU3IQ4gdpy5X0qB4rJlGuoYagh/s320/20231012_094010.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0wosF5Lp3_e_OK-L3WFg-op5R8R_uirnMUjOLkh6Qq0ZIn9Drr5kBwePXGcwNdyQASOqa9EJZvp0W1o2e1QL5LAyrQ-LIbY1kwukqTbEpDbpXLo2PCK5BawPBsbui44FQjP7Xe5QhiwIHLcisVz4s9qVRocAcrNtwYm2LfnmSWX2T-MYscvQqqJnnMRK/s4624/20231012_100633.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0wosF5Lp3_e_OK-L3WFg-op5R8R_uirnMUjOLkh6Qq0ZIn9Drr5kBwePXGcwNdyQASOqa9EJZvp0W1o2e1QL5LAyrQ-LIbY1kwukqTbEpDbpXLo2PCK5BawPBsbui44FQjP7Xe5QhiwIHLcisVz4s9qVRocAcrNtwYm2LfnmSWX2T-MYscvQqqJnnMRK/s320/20231012_100633.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65232IkEcd0_zqLzixDJ5yK8fd0LHoM6kJI1gyioyegs6T4dtRppp4UvqDIKc0WEjRB09ifbtugZjHuqytLCxt08Y6wQsBozy3e_usTqFQcFPM-2mUPtgAqPxF6n9deUgKvpxmbsMSBV3TBFxaejqNtelIeVi96mGMTsJg-l4gcPFoh2JnGfJlRt5ZM4j/s4624/20231012_110943.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65232IkEcd0_zqLzixDJ5yK8fd0LHoM6kJI1gyioyegs6T4dtRppp4UvqDIKc0WEjRB09ifbtugZjHuqytLCxt08Y6wQsBozy3e_usTqFQcFPM-2mUPtgAqPxF6n9deUgKvpxmbsMSBV3TBFxaejqNtelIeVi96mGMTsJg-l4gcPFoh2JnGfJlRt5ZM4j/s320/20231012_110943.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1G7kSQckfsH4r-b8gc_FGL7M5hBKpG3tL1QIwdZNHfqr3oKvzz6JkzJ13ApyfmiagkbAJ3wJudXdR6B_4QP49oJkh8VGHwjWn2didukNZPbbTdZDduji8jYJMxfMIniOrKWm27L2OKifUgPnV58DHswlBzHwJTflB803LvFv6AgnMzm3DSs4ETkDRbRj/s4624/20231012_111026.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1G7kSQckfsH4r-b8gc_FGL7M5hBKpG3tL1QIwdZNHfqr3oKvzz6JkzJ13ApyfmiagkbAJ3wJudXdR6B_4QP49oJkh8VGHwjWn2didukNZPbbTdZDduji8jYJMxfMIniOrKWm27L2OKifUgPnV58DHswlBzHwJTflB803LvFv6AgnMzm3DSs4ETkDRbRj/s320/20231012_111026.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjnEQ8XYF13qDhZAlRkpLtvHGyhoeVfg3hQR9FRxDy0JDp7lbzDLhYEkHgcAR2bS59C2k2cn-ezac9jMJaF7Ev9MegpZFYAd7LcQNDponC_AChs0LqwjVmJvm5McvLvhziMHS3VudoL4XD66tkjAJdk9b9eyIrmEBD8Ids_t4QPgPBMhj9hO7DQAEFwh5/s4624/20231012_113806.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjnEQ8XYF13qDhZAlRkpLtvHGyhoeVfg3hQR9FRxDy0JDp7lbzDLhYEkHgcAR2bS59C2k2cn-ezac9jMJaF7Ev9MegpZFYAd7LcQNDponC_AChs0LqwjVmJvm5McvLvhziMHS3VudoL4XD66tkjAJdk9b9eyIrmEBD8Ids_t4QPgPBMhj9hO7DQAEFwh5/s320/20231012_113806.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Then I spent the rest of the day walking along the AV5T, in the opposite direction from <a href="https://joanneslongwalk.blogspot.com/2015/09/day-5-adventures-of-joannix.html" target="_blank">the way I walked it in 2015</a>, on my first Long Walk to Rome. My memories of the trail were vague: I expected an easy day on a broad, flat trail once I got to the top, but in actual fact the trail does go up and down within a range of 500 and 750 metres in altitude, and there are narrow sections on the side of the mountains, and bits scrambling up and down rocky slopes, where I was too busy scrambling to take pictures, as well as the broad, flat, easy sections I remembered. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1p7L9msd9kvclXSCyJTBAxaY3Yuu5fJTy1KBT_JSIK9UmqrZkk9ChlhRgmBr1bcjh5KweC8tGIm1i4lple9KI6uFOrh9uQGx7gn_solrYtL674KAmOInlz6IZoMFt5DdTcHNr5ZwuiHWhFNdz-L58sQUACezFOiTk35alVbCTUAK8v0of-yzgKDDtpR4Q/s4624/20231012_123012.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1p7L9msd9kvclXSCyJTBAxaY3Yuu5fJTy1KBT_JSIK9UmqrZkk9ChlhRgmBr1bcjh5KweC8tGIm1i4lple9KI6uFOrh9uQGx7gn_solrYtL674KAmOInlz6IZoMFt5DdTcHNr5ZwuiHWhFNdz-L58sQUACezFOiTk35alVbCTUAK8v0of-yzgKDDtpR4Q/s320/20231012_123012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HekU0RBgKeXLYGAG9oCJyet6MJ6ShbgTNt11VIO3_RoogRu9HOOFCURFt5nC9PcFzrLZ145CDSR9FtDT7AznXkl7RjOcgGKDErKwQU7BmPVk4GQLJrkPI17lmPAkNCh2GnG2yNnbyry5R7AyUOfFjJygXcbzz-lZKY5MkmPlHh5MhDKVV1zJYwRZdHFE/s4624/20231012_131749.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HekU0RBgKeXLYGAG9oCJyet6MJ6ShbgTNt11VIO3_RoogRu9HOOFCURFt5nC9PcFzrLZ145CDSR9FtDT7AznXkl7RjOcgGKDErKwQU7BmPVk4GQLJrkPI17lmPAkNCh2GnG2yNnbyry5R7AyUOfFjJygXcbzz-lZKY5MkmPlHh5MhDKVV1zJYwRZdHFE/s320/20231012_131749.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHP7AtiYcIMBewaDLPl38mWAVhuH9Rt2Pb6QIWhXOMzrs7_aCK0HKqiaJ1cooXh7ODpAR3wtOsFNY3PJtNjWXsGETPkoU3Zuzlt0IZsdRf_Xb1gA_UYA_fmvLLCN1ERHEaCmamajx_nThK0EwfOLH8V8BOyp2hGTbtIfq_oCQ6NP4M_95qoxMFDhDrFQnG/s4624/20231012_144246.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHP7AtiYcIMBewaDLPl38mWAVhuH9Rt2Pb6QIWhXOMzrs7_aCK0HKqiaJ1cooXh7ODpAR3wtOsFNY3PJtNjWXsGETPkoU3Zuzlt0IZsdRf_Xb1gA_UYA_fmvLLCN1ERHEaCmamajx_nThK0EwfOLH8V8BOyp2hGTbtIfq_oCQ6NP4M_95qoxMFDhDrFQnG/s320/20231012_144246.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The highlights of the day were a quick glimpse of one of the Cinque Terre villages, Manarola, <i>way </i>down below, and a menhir - not even standing up, but fallen over and broken, so basically just a big rock beside the trail; I would never even have realised it was a menhir if someone hadn't written MENHIR on it in black felt pen!! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbDviSIgv5lUAHmFp0VsCKHOHLD-uIxzhGKnUikJ_gSKpfzDysmKtg7LDIE0I4-1fMKO1VKc6P6PGDWo7fqFewy8qLWrUXzVej5vDCFk4qzXPorpXBwtiRH6_ZddjBUMJpBJwGznbtvlozdVYqsQiWppSq7LjYyaMRPa728LEjP-0UI7hrx4QcZin6cYYm/s4624/20231012_112439.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbDviSIgv5lUAHmFp0VsCKHOHLD-uIxzhGKnUikJ_gSKpfzDysmKtg7LDIE0I4-1fMKO1VKc6P6PGDWo7fqFewy8qLWrUXzVej5vDCFk4qzXPorpXBwtiRH6_ZddjBUMJpBJwGznbtvlozdVYqsQiWppSq7LjYyaMRPa728LEjP-0UI7hrx4QcZin6cYYm/s320/20231012_112439.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIaLN8-TiFoFdaIXeWO2VcnZKbP-pGGMtnqHbHiA7I6mS5U1EDL1bAdqYR-xWYMYvqGwyxXv_4y34AWdENA4xtoJ-PiaGWWe9RkKYGcY4dfFseNEZHrGml7HMjk6FxB2iomWQEyt8d9MdsX2_iMiYw40RPWeWZQhTdMRUffxZASS8YTta3CIHpTKswAmj/s4624/20231012_115116.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIaLN8-TiFoFdaIXeWO2VcnZKbP-pGGMtnqHbHiA7I6mS5U1EDL1bAdqYR-xWYMYvqGwyxXv_4y34AWdENA4xtoJ-PiaGWWe9RkKYGcY4dfFseNEZHrGml7HMjk6FxB2iomWQEyt8d9MdsX2_iMiYw40RPWeWZQhTdMRUffxZASS8YTta3CIHpTKswAmj/s320/20231012_115116.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">By the time I reached the end of the AV5T at the appropriately named village of Termine, which means "end", I was perfectly ready to end the day's walk - after only 21 kilometres! But these are 21 <i>Ligurian </i>kilometres, not 21 kilometres in the flat lands of the Po valley, and they came with a cumulative climb of over 1300 metres - more than the day we crossed the Cisa Pass!!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So I followed the road to the Sanctuary of Soviore, where I had stayed, and had a lovely evening, <a href="https://joanneslongwalk.blogspot.com/2015/09/day-4-montaretto-salto-della-lepre.html" target="_blank">on my way to Rome in 2015.</a> I was delighted to find that the Sanctuary was still open - until the end of October, when it closes for the winter - and still offered simple hostel accommodations in addition to the hotel-style rooms advertised on the website! I booked myself in and sat down to a slice of cheesecake in the café in order to regain some of the calories sweated off puffing my way up the mountain!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the evening I returned to the restaurant for dinner. I spoke to a couple of Canadians sitting at the next table with an Australian friend they had met on the bus up to Soviore (yes, there is a bus service all the way up there!) and they invited me to join them. I took my glass of wine over to their table and we spent a pleasant evening conversing before retiring to our respective rooms - they on the hotel side, in the big pink building that also houses the restaurant, and me as the sole guest of the hostel, in a rather dilapidated building tucked away behind the church. It was just a bit spooky, being the only one there! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P3tnG-GXoARbE6T3-p83rE8lX1QxvI0nXRlggFiVw1ZaqOidAhxlQNXXtYCbgVeIcvd9OaLJXc3kAoLOq2lNjE4gZoAMFx_memMh77ZCueSCbGkbHm9RYl4iqKvNiCTizWahAsMn49NbcKDgSpwCbfM2eF0iLQktsbXAouWFvqeA0ehPwgs6SoU4iljX/s4624/20231012_151322.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P3tnG-GXoARbE6T3-p83rE8lX1QxvI0nXRlggFiVw1ZaqOidAhxlQNXXtYCbgVeIcvd9OaLJXc3kAoLOq2lNjE4gZoAMFx_memMh77ZCueSCbGkbHm9RYl4iqKvNiCTizWahAsMn49NbcKDgSpwCbfM2eF0iLQktsbXAouWFvqeA0ehPwgs6SoU4iljX/s320/20231012_151322.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmuLiyOjvYOaZkPZOH2ZEdZ58WrmPyUZ222R6cGt9dG0JjDamn9iI3IjyobDNmV-WmhCBSMDR5k6CTSd0O7-rv3ISXUh1TEo0uKmIjrQKm3PKgpBIkbOXXFkQavAKUAgyDXA72RljVeeHtBckX95VTdOx3tr6dCprJsvInwPt-h_GpIuMRpiUAlez8apkM/s4624/20231012_151109.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmuLiyOjvYOaZkPZOH2ZEdZ58WrmPyUZ222R6cGt9dG0JjDamn9iI3IjyobDNmV-WmhCBSMDR5k6CTSd0O7-rv3ISXUh1TEo0uKmIjrQKm3PKgpBIkbOXXFkQavAKUAgyDXA72RljVeeHtBckX95VTdOx3tr6dCprJsvInwPt-h_GpIuMRpiUAlez8apkM/s320/20231012_151109.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBQu6DCgMm0dR1F6tVRxTCIUIHM_COfXdjwqnDLCmewi_s-I3V_QxBRw9MIPhQwedGqUu9-IFJOkLG7G4nTYcft2FmSmMiJQcCcHNQZ_RRCZVmnz1gul0tCEtSIbWNbPsMNpRoGIMFrWYJX2ltT59rN9OI6Rb5SpPriyySuoQexwfrEUEVr-2Kayqntvl/s4624/20231012_150915.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBQu6DCgMm0dR1F6tVRxTCIUIHM_COfXdjwqnDLCmewi_s-I3V_QxBRw9MIPhQwedGqUu9-IFJOkLG7G4nTYcft2FmSmMiJQcCcHNQZ_RRCZVmnz1gul0tCEtSIbWNbPsMNpRoGIMFrWYJX2ltT59rN9OI6Rb5SpPriyySuoQexwfrEUEVr-2Kayqntvl/s320/20231012_150915.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Monterosso in the mist from Soviore, 450 metres above sea level</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAZqSALZdPex6l-PoPzuoULBAkOEKbRjpenX9108qgXP4ztWPdkkSrIAGFQXULQ2PY8FoHLVAjT4n0SSmM56uEVc4cCCPbwYHgPAw5Pimm2O3TBRc3eHr8b8dDYrFTihsiUfp_OGNSsHZnJkra5ytFi5RCcfRXrw77-XSf4c-VG1lrBVpRb0Z8Gic9FkZ/s4624/20231012_173405.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAZqSALZdPex6l-PoPzuoULBAkOEKbRjpenX9108qgXP4ztWPdkkSrIAGFQXULQ2PY8FoHLVAjT4n0SSmM56uEVc4cCCPbwYHgPAw5Pimm2O3TBRc3eHr8b8dDYrFTihsiUfp_OGNSsHZnJkra5ytFi5RCcfRXrw77-XSf4c-VG1lrBVpRb0Z8Gic9FkZ/s320/20231012_173405.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slightly decrepit but beautiful hostel building </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbNaXPvKWAJX4CygW0FHfjKf0q0P8r2VwsZusX-0Xk6jkmhJYJCfKUJ-IfjtigwZqkfGitI52x25nXl5X2_rk27NBX1V0xuma5J5NTyX7Nbd6yw3NZlKlRCggYZ41yoRenlRI_EbP6AYvJV7RGu5QRlXwQkxFRcs8qaPdxhCg5577Vk13_RoWAjj-TWEK/s4624/20231012_163403.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbNaXPvKWAJX4CygW0FHfjKf0q0P8r2VwsZusX-0Xk6jkmhJYJCfKUJ-IfjtigwZqkfGitI52x25nXl5X2_rk27NBX1V0xuma5J5NTyX7Nbd6yw3NZlKlRCggYZ41yoRenlRI_EbP6AYvJV7RGu5QRlXwQkxFRcs8qaPdxhCg5577Vk13_RoWAjj-TWEK/s320/20231012_163403.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Funky but spooky hostel corridor</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdAImf68eNCK51QNiUSFBsKV6jX2gUJ-89Kn82ZzWHkkGEkP6M8x98iXEX8Ub_pigvfqKt4asU4fJ_4GznW_NNo3FKCg29YsrpQk41LC26k0S0vBu3TwzBdx9Jc7E-69hN7ExdqYgk8__y7WB8OGJZHCtgggV8Zx7kdwIjp26LKQAitALpsGGvR5QP3P9W/s4624/20231012_184825.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdAImf68eNCK51QNiUSFBsKV6jX2gUJ-89Kn82ZzWHkkGEkP6M8x98iXEX8Ub_pigvfqKt4asU4fJ_4GznW_NNo3FKCg29YsrpQk41LC26k0S0vBu3TwzBdx9Jc7E-69hN7ExdqYgk8__y7WB8OGJZHCtgggV8Zx7kdwIjp26LKQAitALpsGGvR5QP3P9W/s320/20231012_184825.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My funky little corner</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xU3aohLzbSoMMNQLOD5JUbANaPnp9UY57CTxBSOK2LnOwJDcGC5PrIXjE64LJBKgV2YcJib-Dx2GyTSVyi0Qyj2bT-iGdyaUOYITdq81pkbPldy5O4c9yMJ47Jh-jjEJW4PswniTzb0sjXUsdilIFeSQM_cSjOSLuzmg4QE8lOYuGL5008B3EDiP-Ukx/s4624/20231012_183719.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xU3aohLzbSoMMNQLOD5JUbANaPnp9UY57CTxBSOK2LnOwJDcGC5PrIXjE64LJBKgV2YcJib-Dx2GyTSVyi0Qyj2bT-iGdyaUOYITdq81pkbPldy5O4c9yMJ47Jh-jjEJW4PswniTzb0sjXUsdilIFeSQM_cSjOSLuzmg4QE8lOYuGL5008B3EDiP-Ukx/s320/20231012_183719.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset over Punta Mesco</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdkPxaeAxVmOW7ZKiyzq0Hmeg2bOetDce3Aa6IdNJsYpmhEb8YqFRJUH-tLyff0vXNJZsK-zC-7xAODkoNNjjO4nuznw5g-rI5Gba5kLfBDWfJU0OoJuJQPuKgbqrLfFGWrUtprVxVlhRr87PQqQ8bnvs6dpM2MaiAFsba5LIm8p4nWpAnkhUmupJFfzE/s2400/Screenshot_20231012_174236_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdkPxaeAxVmOW7ZKiyzq0Hmeg2bOetDce3Aa6IdNJsYpmhEb8YqFRJUH-tLyff0vXNJZsK-zC-7xAODkoNNjjO4nuznw5g-rI5Gba5kLfBDWfJU0OoJuJQPuKgbqrLfFGWrUtprVxVlhRr87PQqQ8bnvs6dpM2MaiAFsba5LIm8p4nWpAnkhUmupJFfzE/s320/Screenshot_20231012_174236_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">La Spezia - Santuario di Soviore 21 km</p><p style="text-align: center;">1360 metre cumulative climb </p><p style="text-align: center;">Only two more days to walk home!! </p><p style="text-align: center;">(If all goes well)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-52042671221153822512023-10-11T17:34:00.010+02:002024-01-09T14:22:21.245+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 88: Bibola - La Spezia<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Follow your dreams; they know the way.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">- Kobe Yamada</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLg-p2A0Xsr9Qfgxbiq1pogXcwWtJ9IiB43VpnKJRA-L5OPTtupQKCiVIxRk7rOWtexAyjI2Mv_XNKHARxHZWIFdvPypQp6XfrroDBii4kRD6nOxybEhM_GFj6f02HUEu4QMgg0nhEujUHjTLJOkjihlR5mMUTx3hzTPEcBQ9HhiYs3kKbKO-tp2n8FfZA/s4624/20231011_101922.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLg-p2A0Xsr9Qfgxbiq1pogXcwWtJ9IiB43VpnKJRA-L5OPTtupQKCiVIxRk7rOWtexAyjI2Mv_XNKHARxHZWIFdvPypQp6XfrroDBii4kRD6nOxybEhM_GFj6f02HUEu4QMgg0nhEujUHjTLJOkjihlR5mMUTx3hzTPEcBQ9HhiYs3kKbKO-tp2n8FfZA/s320/20231011_101922.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">Totally exhausted, I slept almost ten hours in my little house at the top of the hill in Bibola. When I awoke, a mist was rising from the Magra river valley, and by the time I was ready to leave, the world was shrouded in fog, with only my hilltop village rising above the ocean of white!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5e5UENnrDDZFRh0oN-J478s-TVC84jIC8UP9qRXm0ldzcw6Tc0fiuCUY-BmeutWkMpvSIG1t2xrN6jg3hsWYL1y0I3xui6Sl3Od1GbNfafJ4tjd0BRic5ZZ52Ir-ks6ryVjYL_PRQmDVboaz5uFpQobo5xV0IE60e52c5fjpZwSERy9aAtzNqZ7-923aS/s4624/20231010_185354.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5e5UENnrDDZFRh0oN-J478s-TVC84jIC8UP9qRXm0ldzcw6Tc0fiuCUY-BmeutWkMpvSIG1t2xrN6jg3hsWYL1y0I3xui6Sl3Od1GbNfafJ4tjd0BRic5ZZ52Ir-ks6ryVjYL_PRQmDVboaz5uFpQobo5xV0IE60e52c5fjpZwSERy9aAtzNqZ7-923aS/s320/20231010_185354.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCnWAXNWHU4NixdRJ4kXadK8m0SN-K2R64bvVXc9L1w8fWdpMoT9SKPKY0qvsRIuwpyLyecCdc5itPBv9kaZkZimXKtQY6hS75GZkzGjJ1DGGmBi9RLSjU646-k0bbqyxqt_C3up0gHcEzBFy74lzybqbrb0Apmk_RPG0kHlUxWVBCDu1Ya6zZF8QohsF/s4624/20231011_081210.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCnWAXNWHU4NixdRJ4kXadK8m0SN-K2R64bvVXc9L1w8fWdpMoT9SKPKY0qvsRIuwpyLyecCdc5itPBv9kaZkZimXKtQY6hS75GZkzGjJ1DGGmBi9RLSjU646-k0bbqyxqt_C3up0gHcEzBFy74lzybqbrb0Apmk_RPG0kHlUxWVBCDu1Ya6zZF8QohsF/s320/20231011_081210.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSstwuFxOZl3uU4ZwuVt9r_h_0s5Xb76SxG0p-TtoLVxmc3P7-CraukCAD_w1kMa-X10L12JL1xqHVrGsi3kWXCRcMkI4jA2k-jYfzHJcev2jmW5hvz3mVmJ0WkrYSEYMwlr8GaHSK0rFccyPRHeVStP0sJ0trHunXaGCn-SySd8NdJbVzjN7cLIE_HVz2/s4624/20231011_081641.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSstwuFxOZl3uU4ZwuVt9r_h_0s5Xb76SxG0p-TtoLVxmc3P7-CraukCAD_w1kMa-X10L12JL1xqHVrGsi3kWXCRcMkI4jA2k-jYfzHJcev2jmW5hvz3mVmJ0WkrYSEYMwlr8GaHSK0rFccyPRHeVStP0sJ0trHunXaGCn-SySd8NdJbVzjN7cLIE_HVz2/s320/20231011_081641.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">I followed the well-marked trail to the village of Vecchietto, which took a while to get through, behind a tractor that was delivering a whole winter's supply of pellet to a house in the village, at a snail's pace! Lots of time to take photographs. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvyPDnbnox016AjsXwR0DkVoFJfahiS-2Wc6bgzycteISz22uknuxjP5UZx7mlEz_3XCFByrk4ibmVpI9L4yp6FjjK86Xgl8GImXEMg1sdXtzQqw1s9qnEqCi9DBnmqOxw_I5zP1ASwb4CDfC0RCpkIJc36pZnvpPKdeK2EoYQaI_k7Gy1c5AsW8y6jD8w/s4624/20231011_081937.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvyPDnbnox016AjsXwR0DkVoFJfahiS-2Wc6bgzycteISz22uknuxjP5UZx7mlEz_3XCFByrk4ibmVpI9L4yp6FjjK86Xgl8GImXEMg1sdXtzQqw1s9qnEqCi9DBnmqOxw_I5zP1ASwb4CDfC0RCpkIJc36pZnvpPKdeK2EoYQaI_k7Gy1c5AsW8y6jD8w/s320/20231011_081937.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK45SqNPxtcbJYZ0mZ9Wmpk0iXXfGW2g1t13Gd700lfZuXu2YdU3c4eNK2ZKx-dlKhx8WNObDNnyh76AjKaxtiVeytwsity9Yxv4_yylIDa8js4RZx0Avpo-mhMXZJJQNq3NQckTLkjFazHhhVhHvLS5KTaaLMzrd0Xzw0LuZeAVD1gBYisvg-MT4OSnx6/s4624/20231011_082029.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK45SqNPxtcbJYZ0mZ9Wmpk0iXXfGW2g1t13Gd700lfZuXu2YdU3c4eNK2ZKx-dlKhx8WNObDNnyh76AjKaxtiVeytwsity9Yxv4_yylIDa8js4RZx0Avpo-mhMXZJJQNq3NQckTLkjFazHhhVhHvLS5KTaaLMzrd0Xzw0LuZeAVD1gBYisvg-MT4OSnx6/s320/20231011_082029.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKc1IeBPiFwWw2A04-u2-V0l-YF_97HkQVhbI2_af8OQ7XtoTgEpbm1rroRf2tSsXEekuH9j-RGSmgebvuTkhXRurS9y-7mYS8SqAGh18RhT6tUj6KhiCUwywy3xAKzdQOFQwIeD9POXkhUOiWJWQAj2c5TaZVej3wibV4go7-H176TpRAbS4hfMsuncj6/s4624/20231011_082049.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKc1IeBPiFwWw2A04-u2-V0l-YF_97HkQVhbI2_af8OQ7XtoTgEpbm1rroRf2tSsXEekuH9j-RGSmgebvuTkhXRurS9y-7mYS8SqAGh18RhT6tUj6KhiCUwywy3xAKzdQOFQwIeD9POXkhUOiWJWQAj2c5TaZVej3wibV4go7-H176TpRAbS4hfMsuncj6/s320/20231011_082049.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The trail then entered a thick forest of chestnut trees, climbing high up over the aptly named Monte Grosso to cross the border from Tuscany into Liguria!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOXW98J9uazzsGXdFiBDW9Tc5UobwrIz2rXSgThXYviO5VCmAF6MTJk6UHZqJROiXxRTVDFX_Z6uCYTcj_cWc6j6VWRV8SSE8mgOS5-Hbs8vM20XPJQKFaan-9_idvbLR9ITBuYnJ20Ya0jEOvNsF2wGjrjL73NinAe1ndHe0WUh0lx7ePJcOstQ-EFRoe/s4624/20231011_083811.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOXW98J9uazzsGXdFiBDW9Tc5UobwrIz2rXSgThXYviO5VCmAF6MTJk6UHZqJROiXxRTVDFX_Z6uCYTcj_cWc6j6VWRV8SSE8mgOS5-Hbs8vM20XPJQKFaan-9_idvbLR9ITBuYnJ20Ya0jEOvNsF2wGjrjL73NinAe1ndHe0WUh0lx7ePJcOstQ-EFRoe/s320/20231011_083811.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFCP5-oRczjnI4YTGvFPynXMYYo5VUSxzy8Vs0F93ZpAX5vfMGj3IjJroS58yMqUzwFF9KxQHwyOsyBQ3iwzZm69xNk6cx7gJPi9nkQi4CZPgue3sIwek0hEu-X8bVKmZFEgLnVXYO5hSZpkOfUXhUpelTTs2Pp48OepeFUhMMbzSGuAA3OGOhB1S2C-5/s2576/20231011_091940.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2576" data-original-width="1932" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFCP5-oRczjnI4YTGvFPynXMYYo5VUSxzy8Vs0F93ZpAX5vfMGj3IjJroS58yMqUzwFF9KxQHwyOsyBQ3iwzZm69xNk6cx7gJPi9nkQi4CZPgue3sIwek0hEu-X8bVKmZFEgLnVXYO5hSZpkOfUXhUpelTTs2Pp48OepeFUhMMbzSGuAA3OGOhB1S2C-5/s320/20231011_091940.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSCHVYm5UNb6BMvK-IhbJf0fSvQykPrKHur6G5T4o-hsvCxca-bzcmM9Ph0RiPmZiwRIpMNhYKLu9dRovwDcpmF-0W6jwcZGQqDjlzYh10FCbBT4B_xjjcfZ52t19KtZdpjzSzrgD4F2LK5rU4SkoXhl8oH4UmLVvhgfzsuN4ADDW1YCdP8s5cHZ4sZDJ/s4624/20231011_095204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBSCHVYm5UNb6BMvK-IhbJf0fSvQykPrKHur6G5T4o-hsvCxca-bzcmM9Ph0RiPmZiwRIpMNhYKLu9dRovwDcpmF-0W6jwcZGQqDjlzYh10FCbBT4B_xjjcfZ52t19KtZdpjzSzrgD4F2LK5rU4SkoXhl8oH4UmLVvhgfzsuN4ADDW1YCdP8s5cHZ4sZDJ/s320/20231011_095204.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDmIAhBmuw1yXsyz6pFI9Tf02u584oQGyQWMW26BkF0NcQpGWbmOoa0Xn-bjNaLE9g4WeYgKHOcs5eAl0v3cSK5LZ2W7LPk9ry9ekte0m5lDHe7lwUtNoKfmQnVga5QblGJhmOOwpM8k7CQWj61J7IEnOBgt-04dx8CZpZe4fBGmSw7H31g6jdnzcShbT/s4624/20231011_095358.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDmIAhBmuw1yXsyz6pFI9Tf02u584oQGyQWMW26BkF0NcQpGWbmOoa0Xn-bjNaLE9g4WeYgKHOcs5eAl0v3cSK5LZ2W7LPk9ry9ekte0m5lDHe7lwUtNoKfmQnVga5QblGJhmOOwpM8k7CQWj61J7IEnOBgt-04dx8CZpZe4fBGmSw7H31g6jdnzcShbT/s320/20231011_095358.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">After almost ten kilometres I finally arrived in my first Ligurian village, Ponzano Superiore; I was glad I hadn't attempted to come this far last night! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The brightly coloured houses and sunshine of Liguria welcomed me back to my home region, and I sat on a bench in Piazza Immacolata looking out over the territory I would be walking through next.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGbfJVkERokgmRe0-Cclzt8ykJTjdAuYOlFAc5b8fvG4debrmnvgiCmlN9WCzgNjs6IUhutg2qh5qUo5wH4C9Je8Aa3YyZWzzCMBNZmuR0Be3xuq2AU6Wpmf-3lFreF3W9amX-Jh5sXpuAqdtvrbCGKS1BkN48S4-YySngOKuEcoaf42l1IKGCkenoUjnU/s4624/20231011_100348.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGbfJVkERokgmRe0-Cclzt8ykJTjdAuYOlFAc5b8fvG4debrmnvgiCmlN9WCzgNjs6IUhutg2qh5qUo5wH4C9Je8Aa3YyZWzzCMBNZmuR0Be3xuq2AU6Wpmf-3lFreF3W9amX-Jh5sXpuAqdtvrbCGKS1BkN48S4-YySngOKuEcoaf42l1IKGCkenoUjnU/s320/20231011_100348.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvDTL-D_bKMRLwdvxMvkdLb0pS8qG84sfZ4cR0784FNEhLbt9Y9EjBDXG-r8PlhataeUoxPIpsCfYOZy1qDvhPyiR1pR8QYdnPhsuCJxAoRLr0vOUVDSMKsmPh6IZigGLmgmHrSt-q0OjA_cfphyphenhyphenflxdbR2AIUpcqM7zDi8bita8g6S3xn_z1Dh2GuNGy/s4624/20231011_100647.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvDTL-D_bKMRLwdvxMvkdLb0pS8qG84sfZ4cR0784FNEhLbt9Y9EjBDXG-r8PlhataeUoxPIpsCfYOZy1qDvhPyiR1pR8QYdnPhsuCJxAoRLr0vOUVDSMKsmPh6IZigGLmgmHrSt-q0OjA_cfphyphenhyphenflxdbR2AIUpcqM7zDi8bita8g6S3xn_z1Dh2GuNGy/s320/20231011_100647.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmTHwyUsIys_lqvhKqUcm1XP3J6IeLFfMxjjpjG3K0hm2o1B0X0CMnBAb3S82DfYdBDa6wEo-gTt8O6-TnokhDslVT_nhZGARaGE1Ru8acgYxSbn1ESmRKXBBuTLW6J4X7KYVqts_M9YHmB7sy3WyQvYnUEpBhaTsPB346jk4A4uKXltmDvLBKWpSyOgU/s4624/20231011_101252.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmTHwyUsIys_lqvhKqUcm1XP3J6IeLFfMxjjpjG3K0hm2o1B0X0CMnBAb3S82DfYdBDa6wEo-gTt8O6-TnokhDslVT_nhZGARaGE1Ru8acgYxSbn1ESmRKXBBuTLW6J4X7KYVqts_M9YHmB7sy3WyQvYnUEpBhaTsPB346jk4A4uKXltmDvLBKWpSyOgU/s320/20231011_101252.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjO2pJnIpIxnneTU0xBp2brZsKfl3Yff_eGXMLcceXEqMh1gzlu9HELj-zq-tAmg53cgpXmhwfWV9qLI-5Cl9FOkHOstWuar6TtvqEf5Y7zYtbUEQtRWQ-z_1XEFOfSK9E5BuUsKrFxB3f5yx458SvXn49EjpeX5y3agk3N6F0rkI_ocYs4drzS6-trUf/s4624/20231011_102124.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjO2pJnIpIxnneTU0xBp2brZsKfl3Yff_eGXMLcceXEqMh1gzlu9HELj-zq-tAmg53cgpXmhwfWV9qLI-5Cl9FOkHOstWuar6TtvqEf5Y7zYtbUEQtRWQ-z_1XEFOfSK9E5BuUsKrFxB3f5yx458SvXn49EjpeX5y3agk3N6F0rkI_ocYs4drzS6-trUf/s320/20231011_102124.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAD1xT0szEzRDh6_fEayBhkVkP8LwgTqLkdaT3kwIE_ehKCLyEdyfdtBMBod17tuEMXDNGuTqK0sq-pH8Ymy77IGE-NvQFsLMEXtEzLHs6dKVEgxeMXyqP6kQ37cJl5hYy0ti1QQVfUHF2gaZbck711NmTEKZBy_47wa3GuyZrgwuDjbUc3HPIh8cAWhyk/s4624/20231011_102345.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAD1xT0szEzRDh6_fEayBhkVkP8LwgTqLkdaT3kwIE_ehKCLyEdyfdtBMBod17tuEMXDNGuTqK0sq-pH8Ymy77IGE-NvQFsLMEXtEzLHs6dKVEgxeMXyqP6kQ37cJl5hYy0ti1QQVfUHF2gaZbck711NmTEKZBy_47wa3GuyZrgwuDjbUc3HPIh8cAWhyk/s320/20231011_102345.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCD8ONqihaICw_QYDHWREeFa_RxA6AWVdaD9xguAWYwU0z7jCGQ4MxZhAQJNZ38L2xeC1yo-nb0lf_QEQUmhbRQTItoWbddKALfYA4bWBv9e_WG2wjpck_IsEe7__VfPBJK7s-srrZG7UDDBjBi-qvr_TmJ0xvwmxqN401PL-yISG0CBs_e2t_3tbyGWnj/s4624/20231011_111856.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCD8ONqihaICw_QYDHWREeFa_RxA6AWVdaD9xguAWYwU0z7jCGQ4MxZhAQJNZ38L2xeC1yo-nb0lf_QEQUmhbRQTItoWbddKALfYA4bWBv9e_WG2wjpck_IsEe7__VfPBJK7s-srrZG7UDDBjBi-qvr_TmJ0xvwmxqN401PL-yISG0CBs_e2t_3tbyGWnj/s320/20231011_111856.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1m-JkU_EQeL7theztXHs74rRh9lfgI1_NS23h4KWp3Wfcub3_LUxUfaghAkSz4dBDkTiBuT1P9dtQZYvWJM38896D-S2A3HEAm1WQyI43cyGSL7TLRIm-zIQkYtenL-f-ToT4bb_m4rZt3xCoygxx1FrUghhwhaWY3ao9X7_-nFeNVUFK4rwjtlpEhaw/s4624/20231011_111932.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1m-JkU_EQeL7theztXHs74rRh9lfgI1_NS23h4KWp3Wfcub3_LUxUfaghAkSz4dBDkTiBuT1P9dtQZYvWJM38896D-S2A3HEAm1WQyI43cyGSL7TLRIm-zIQkYtenL-f-ToT4bb_m4rZt3xCoygxx1FrUghhwhaWY3ao9X7_-nFeNVUFK4rwjtlpEhaw/s320/20231011_111932.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQmSSLf767nhUicmGmq0flSaZ7FEsaziidUWRO3lvDY-BxKGRT43usG_c1OuFXUfViiINqOaZY1Ylew_beUBvje1eI-_FRYVm4fgBHks1KyLfCwdmYxOtzoeIX6RNCQTsEuEiUM7z5xjGX1U66qFI8UhILERZKzHDcKG4v6jgdzWcigW0QfxzaM_Vgy4_R/s4624/20231011_112031.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQmSSLf767nhUicmGmq0flSaZ7FEsaziidUWRO3lvDY-BxKGRT43usG_c1OuFXUfViiINqOaZY1Ylew_beUBvje1eI-_FRYVm4fgBHks1KyLfCwdmYxOtzoeIX6RNCQTsEuEiUM7z5xjGX1U66qFI8UhILERZKzHDcKG4v6jgdzWcigW0QfxzaM_Vgy4_R/s320/20231011_112031.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">At Ponzano Superiore I parted ways with the Via Francigena, my constant companion for the past 1800 kilometres or so. I followed path number 343 from Ponzano Superiore to Madonnetta... and was surprised to find that it too was waymarked as the Via Francigena! Or Via Francigena of the Valley.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9zKM2towI8fZ-lPpluR6ePru0pX6R6h6rzsUGXfo0-4RtjD1g0M8ci9pVOWbxmb6W5moqN0Vgo78EVRzSmJLMDAfmQqr3ORvWUsPvslofOh6ZhTTd_Cj-qSjU2Icofi2y_O_rGg-kL_OaxJCnkECHNJiyWDZWINnB0meCYaaJlZAH6H_QHD0k_E7qJxz/s4624/20231011_112413.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9zKM2towI8fZ-lPpluR6ePru0pX6R6h6rzsUGXfo0-4RtjD1g0M8ci9pVOWbxmb6W5moqN0Vgo78EVRzSmJLMDAfmQqr3ORvWUsPvslofOh6ZhTTd_Cj-qSjU2Icofi2y_O_rGg-kL_OaxJCnkECHNJiyWDZWINnB0meCYaaJlZAH6H_QHD0k_E7qJxz/s320/20231011_112413.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_OjMN7fLFQSit-jGNywVh1lwZDF5S6UaFJkk4aTLdPkO47I_nDChDNDmKuYH_ns52nTjhn2l1KBxF88GYR9Syk_Z-4gw7NmQHSgx6Tj8b9xp1rTboykcXzrRacovLcAUXxHKeLP6gEh-bO-6i_3057foctNETzMVHvP40ZG48YtFAwLzBRJLdAyar-IY/s4624/20231011_113202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_OjMN7fLFQSit-jGNywVh1lwZDF5S6UaFJkk4aTLdPkO47I_nDChDNDmKuYH_ns52nTjhn2l1KBxF88GYR9Syk_Z-4gw7NmQHSgx6Tj8b9xp1rTboykcXzrRacovLcAUXxHKeLP6gEh-bO-6i_3057foctNETzMVHvP40ZG48YtFAwLzBRJLdAyar-IY/s320/20231011_113202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFs3dwLfTQA2keeI9-SecEBYBEK8tx01ZtzNoTiyejk8SMVafrl1cCU-rW_8w4Khv1eQdvQuK22xUdp7L_FPNhFpYnUhKSgvEeUYFodpalokHq8pJJhPEd2eRFvGY-Aft_W8xoic8bg3ih9VkIBE9HCwbIG7YqqiPy-upSecaipFX-yQM889KAlHKr2Pb/s4624/20231011_113337.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFs3dwLfTQA2keeI9-SecEBYBEK8tx01ZtzNoTiyejk8SMVafrl1cCU-rW_8w4Khv1eQdvQuK22xUdp7L_FPNhFpYnUhKSgvEeUYFodpalokHq8pJJhPEd2eRFvGY-Aft_W8xoic8bg3ih9VkIBE9HCwbIG7YqqiPy-upSecaipFX-yQM889KAlHKr2Pb/s320/20231011_113337.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjujiZR2yTkp2gTb6MPuRVUeM8UVT2BD-syy3qdr1ZGlOyio75h2zWx3ifH8GpnsZCjuDiydk30aTePjwMJJXSn2-Nq3jXVSLjqSmBWCsKQMEgYsggy4Bbq7BYAFTuN1Jz1tPhWM4fyktI7yh-PzYzqUuZoNW4Ao0qxvW5DCYjeQiwce0WMqAvb_4Qj_eLu/s4624/20231011_115125.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjujiZR2yTkp2gTb6MPuRVUeM8UVT2BD-syy3qdr1ZGlOyio75h2zWx3ifH8GpnsZCjuDiydk30aTePjwMJJXSn2-Nq3jXVSLjqSmBWCsKQMEgYsggy4Bbq7BYAFTuN1Jz1tPhWM4fyktI7yh-PzYzqUuZoNW4Ao0qxvW5DCYjeQiwce0WMqAvb_4Qj_eLu/s320/20231011_115125.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">This trail emerged onto the main road in Ponzano Magra right by a <i>trattoria </i>serving a workman's lunch, and as it was noon and I was feeling the effects of a walker's appetite - another constant companion of the past 1800 kilometres! - I walked right in. I didn't feel at all out of place in my sweaty T-shirt and boots, as all the other patrons were similarly dressed, though for working rather than walking! The logos on their t-shirts suggested they were plumbers, builders, gardeners, road maintenance workers...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After this quick and inexpensive lunch, I followed the route mapy.cz had devised for me, on demand, between Ponzano and La Spezia. After a false start heading toward a trail that was overgrown with brambles, I followed a gravel road along an irrigation ditch that allowed me to pass underneath the railway tracks and the motorway, and then join a cycling track that crosses the Magra river on the motorway bridge of the A15, thus overcoming the three major obstacles to connecting the Via Francigena with the Via della Costa on foot! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was pretty funny walking over the motorway bridge with all the cars and trucks zooming past on the other side of the barrier! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9uOOT91dNpVeUIcPM4IrYK1DA57EgrOlQ46hld57Y5KETczT-9rm2gukcgcj0370AYyAeY-paDOGyQXRRKfn3KBlsWLjZv_qD9o52ksR5jEiUZbpjo9ThfgyXFgjXkRWyvO-E_tsepquVxeU0MadMZc24IotHWzw0pDx-rf3edaANwbk8rqDLV8I50w6/s4624/20231011_131954.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9uOOT91dNpVeUIcPM4IrYK1DA57EgrOlQ46hld57Y5KETczT-9rm2gukcgcj0370AYyAeY-paDOGyQXRRKfn3KBlsWLjZv_qD9o52ksR5jEiUZbpjo9ThfgyXFgjXkRWyvO-E_tsepquVxeU0MadMZc24IotHWzw0pDx-rf3edaANwbk8rqDLV8I50w6/s320/20231011_131954.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3hpTheL0L45oKMKZ8Feer2v5Igrq2Zl_IT2mUSQvIXqFc5EU4zCBxJbp3DukFdkZSTeV3_2NnJoQCAx2bqCiuE3ELOPwrJMrPyjuofeDx8tLSCKpEirhKQ5lNWUChPXmOl9sPWwwf_WETIrsakPcQ7m3zML8r7x7vbJ4WhcaX9Y26tugcVRbc7JW5huW/s4624/20231011_132345.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3hpTheL0L45oKMKZ8Feer2v5Igrq2Zl_IT2mUSQvIXqFc5EU4zCBxJbp3DukFdkZSTeV3_2NnJoQCAx2bqCiuE3ELOPwrJMrPyjuofeDx8tLSCKpEirhKQ5lNWUChPXmOl9sPWwwf_WETIrsakPcQ7m3zML8r7x7vbJ4WhcaX9Y26tugcVRbc7JW5huW/s320/20231011_132345.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bC_PKDBdXPRkydn7MTkraaJKbhEUmO5MdT31A0PZNs6u2koCh8fmLyqtlhV9sv_gLIkL-AWxNvoey3K06gfnpYgi8uSiI5uusc14qawVkkxEPqHQcpWyHQ1_g08IHm69J48ajwBlOxtnLh1xlv5Yd4WkJaWfQIGSDp1l4FFmFvaFBxqtrn37_nvDPPoi/s4624/20231011_132406.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bC_PKDBdXPRkydn7MTkraaJKbhEUmO5MdT31A0PZNs6u2koCh8fmLyqtlhV9sv_gLIkL-AWxNvoey3K06gfnpYgi8uSiI5uusc14qawVkkxEPqHQcpWyHQ1_g08IHm69J48ajwBlOxtnLh1xlv5Yd4WkJaWfQIGSDp1l4FFmFvaFBxqtrn37_nvDPPoi/s320/20231011_132406.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGKef8SbSy8IUiXvnsvdulz-xdrPjIy3iMVc7Q4p4oFCRriK_gh2jjaQi1Ptu4cRgvzi2C3ESW-zdmNExRzuszPVv0CorCIifce0rRm08_dZRCEPNxK967JlEwPadjuGiG1hz5BMLGkTeySHpechMzdzuYQiMSki4WjJEPXSTy88QGty6sNVlV1wHw_bm/s4624/20231011_132822.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGKef8SbSy8IUiXvnsvdulz-xdrPjIy3iMVc7Q4p4oFCRriK_gh2jjaQi1Ptu4cRgvzi2C3ESW-zdmNExRzuszPVv0CorCIifce0rRm08_dZRCEPNxK967JlEwPadjuGiG1hz5BMLGkTeySHpechMzdzuYQiMSki4WjJEPXSTy88QGty6sNVlV1wHw_bm/s320/20231011_132822.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Gl9pif-XJBkBQHtiZ8xS4Rb3mBd-DvM_fZCVqeMf_1mXAsvJn1DD5oHpXP1Loxr8SqpGCJoNXrJr56-sXZY2road00qYbJDCJzjKj1LZ8yw-DTnnbbXKqTmAmthpfUPLy5VdikqUdX8B3RsyyA5QlUH-sXrZyNBJmSJEkD0URuZWdy2Plbcr7H1xllqX/s4000/20231011_133609.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Gl9pif-XJBkBQHtiZ8xS4Rb3mBd-DvM_fZCVqeMf_1mXAsvJn1DD5oHpXP1Loxr8SqpGCJoNXrJr56-sXZY2road00qYbJDCJzjKj1LZ8yw-DTnnbbXKqTmAmthpfUPLy5VdikqUdX8B3RsyyA5QlUH-sXrZyNBJmSJEkD0URuZWdy2Plbcr7H1xllqX/s320/20231011_133609.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The view from the bridge was fantastic!!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtfM4c16PmnEvScFiTsv2HkhVUNElAc5jw4CkJJzSZtPOgi9wxrG6SpZa6ai1Og3mNWdI_Euhcv49sfaig6BfXO7cw5MDCx6O32S50SrmldXt21s8QgaTstoMbUq40U2nRlmltpsnRA7TH1-oS6Bc9kKQM2JsxWffZmU_fEN9fjs4kUondD-4tSYeQmo0/s4624/20231011_132908.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtfM4c16PmnEvScFiTsv2HkhVUNElAc5jw4CkJJzSZtPOgi9wxrG6SpZa6ai1Og3mNWdI_Euhcv49sfaig6BfXO7cw5MDCx6O32S50SrmldXt21s8QgaTstoMbUq40U2nRlmltpsnRA7TH1-oS6Bc9kKQM2JsxWffZmU_fEN9fjs4kUondD-4tSYeQmo0/s320/20231011_132908.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">On the other side, I continued to trust mapy.cz for the route, though it took me under the motorway and over a stream, and then back again... in this particularly pedestrian-unfriendly corner of the world it seemed to be necessary. Similarly, my route crossed under the railway line and then back again. But it soon left behind the chaos of the valley - with the two motorways, railway lines, river, container port and industrial zone - to climb into the hills above La Spezia and join the AVG or Alta Via del Golfo, a U-shaped walking route around and above the city. I walked this route in 2015, and you can read about it <a href="https://joanneslongwalk.blogspot.com/2015/09/day-6-avg-alta-via-del-golfo.html" target="_blank">at this link</a>; today I only did a small portion of the AVG, climbing up to San Venerio at an elevation of 150 metres and then back down to sea level and into the city of La Spezia.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8Cd3a7Pw1WHUOSbOOHH8m2cHo65VA0jy7-8GKgW8AgSzU9fJ60zPmOgCB_HLKihQoj3USuaqVUnufTe8AH3-uwHXeAPQ1GyBjcyl329fjFsO8ooMxkLmgPk3OkGMVM1ZwIX8Gj0W6VYHvQH8felzs9POsmk-c4vdGVJzI7urkHQYfW7f2kWbIFAev0gF/s4624/20231011_141804.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8Cd3a7Pw1WHUOSbOOHH8m2cHo65VA0jy7-8GKgW8AgSzU9fJ60zPmOgCB_HLKihQoj3USuaqVUnufTe8AH3-uwHXeAPQ1GyBjcyl329fjFsO8ooMxkLmgPk3OkGMVM1ZwIX8Gj0W6VYHvQH8felzs9POsmk-c4vdGVJzI7urkHQYfW7f2kWbIFAev0gF/s320/20231011_141804.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltRBqnE2mG-B-RshTTTPsjNk73dmTTJa898f2UGEZJ7_bz1_FSBQLqonES8AMzeDzwd24fXTALTNI64i7xdok4X7deSu8Yze1j30Q0rcoZZA_W2BmP4Dqb7xOVktr8Z2sbeDmQIy0nevMceZQz9zsoz48EBUW827XNn3_vJ-rWordJl6j_gKjlL6sISjm/s4624/20231011_143547.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltRBqnE2mG-B-RshTTTPsjNk73dmTTJa898f2UGEZJ7_bz1_FSBQLqonES8AMzeDzwd24fXTALTNI64i7xdok4X7deSu8Yze1j30Q0rcoZZA_W2BmP4Dqb7xOVktr8Z2sbeDmQIy0nevMceZQz9zsoz48EBUW827XNn3_vJ-rWordJl6j_gKjlL6sISjm/s320/20231011_143547.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the port city of La Spezia as seen from the AVG trail </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsXnXD707N5TS8QbxYpGCspDUpip9qODSBPrUvKc1Sn0lKkfkaQ10Gf6XiwgOICcF9L8ca9Lv_70RADvPMqarKICqzX7oGzLqzLvB_Ix6Gdm0anK98OaqwjBPJeUH603JDYunUOG0SlMYtK9nbjeVVUPI2s61UUbhvnHSl30-i1UJYsXmEbVeUVD8GC6r/s4624/20231011_143847.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsXnXD707N5TS8QbxYpGCspDUpip9qODSBPrUvKc1Sn0lKkfkaQ10Gf6XiwgOICcF9L8ca9Lv_70RADvPMqarKICqzX7oGzLqzLvB_Ix6Gdm0anK98OaqwjBPJeUH603JDYunUOG0SlMYtK9nbjeVVUPI2s61UUbhvnHSl30-i1UJYsXmEbVeUVD8GC6r/s320/20231011_143847.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Venerio glimpsed through the olive trees</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU-lflF6vWaLl2r5ovgVzxMcd0F7aJsYugsLUSN-9vZqdzCIXgZ5jWnZ59KSSDKlsVlAJjBfuSdi1UDJzhlcVjxaudUmOjMQ5zbNrI2YecT5D8E2926fBGWL9ejVL4byWBsv_c7xFYc2NlFeuxbLK9QnPEnJ5tv1kxrAcmy2T6Ady_pKmonk3qvgNIamXt/s4624/20231011_144557.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU-lflF6vWaLl2r5ovgVzxMcd0F7aJsYugsLUSN-9vZqdzCIXgZ5jWnZ59KSSDKlsVlAJjBfuSdi1UDJzhlcVjxaudUmOjMQ5zbNrI2YecT5D8E2926fBGWL9ejVL4byWBsv_c7xFYc2NlFeuxbLK9QnPEnJ5tv1kxrAcmy2T6Ady_pKmonk3qvgNIamXt/s320/20231011_144557.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In San Venerio</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">I came into the urban area of La Spezia by the Pieve di San Venerio, a little medieval church I had never seen before.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgByEKCZDyzmbPg1x_bAbYQlttCf2Blr3YxDFigo4IG0d11oUheYkpcRzAdY5IySnxx_NAf6ks6suaPIHc4ILtqjThyphenhyphenvOFrLI5esO7voR1ZHkiwyCWUNq9u2P5O7dkvA-OnsPzAVw3XW9NbJAz2PUGlHJ4f9ujm6Ny5rla0O7oqS_VL7ph_2VtwZlo90-6F/s4624/20231011_151425.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgByEKCZDyzmbPg1x_bAbYQlttCf2Blr3YxDFigo4IG0d11oUheYkpcRzAdY5IySnxx_NAf6ks6suaPIHc4ILtqjThyphenhyphenvOFrLI5esO7voR1ZHkiwyCWUNq9u2P5O7dkvA-OnsPzAVw3XW9NbJAz2PUGlHJ4f9ujm6Ny5rla0O7oqS_VL7ph_2VtwZlo90-6F/s320/20231011_151425.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxCw51qBfuxFOIFX1hk6Tw55szZsruCRXJjLOeoez-aTjj4hiO8BwoVoinzS79lwh16kKLZDc4jxXBGlPDYIJn6w7EIagpOSqPdFXGtwRk0m0PAJXb50clqnvyZTZQ6dvgcVH1sfZs0LG7dLOhvyJubaVtRekZgDoNxSX6bFNVaqzKy3JJTMkEyjwXT_h/s4624/20231011_151304.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxCw51qBfuxFOIFX1hk6Tw55szZsruCRXJjLOeoez-aTjj4hiO8BwoVoinzS79lwh16kKLZDc4jxXBGlPDYIJn6w7EIagpOSqPdFXGtwRk0m0PAJXb50clqnvyZTZQ6dvgcVH1sfZs0LG7dLOhvyJubaVtRekZgDoNxSX6bFNVaqzKy3JJTMkEyjwXT_h/s320/20231011_151304.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a bit of a shock to be in a big city after so much rural hiking.... but cities do have their advantages... such as ice cream!! </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWjPXzSjWWD71hlQpGduzeeTjXRkEOQGrb1JFoxFynRl8qYUu6KGcxm9daT7BcvJ3wL7J0Z6HbUIqfASXq7DZYM3V5ilyuFc8ysPe9U95eU0RFNB0zwdY84aEd4We2FQK3Z4n94DNCc_VjoU9lqgvpX_tmSwwpXtldniVeBnOnps6lSJD_r7Dm6SiGe1Z/s4624/20231011_154731.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWjPXzSjWWD71hlQpGduzeeTjXRkEOQGrb1JFoxFynRl8qYUu6KGcxm9daT7BcvJ3wL7J0Z6HbUIqfASXq7DZYM3V5ilyuFc8ysPe9U95eU0RFNB0zwdY84aEd4We2FQK3Z4n94DNCc_VjoU9lqgvpX_tmSwwpXtldniVeBnOnps6lSJD_r7Dm6SiGe1Z/s320/20231011_154731.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTGoB2MLNzt_xyT4-PIk2dR0tUddcZrEHaFgKxyEJnYMWlwQ8kBRqzy1ci4Qzy_hdoM359c6Ke9cNpQZVHsS4lr5o5EGrdO4SMRxTZWjimHwicc-2-ifLcLNFwcyybripjfoQ7iHfA806L6sAxr_0ir6wdRWFgD2oqTRN6j6e_l7xU9vRLZF0TZRoo5Ry/s4624/20231011_160718.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTGoB2MLNzt_xyT4-PIk2dR0tUddcZrEHaFgKxyEJnYMWlwQ8kBRqzy1ci4Qzy_hdoM359c6Ke9cNpQZVHsS4lr5o5EGrdO4SMRxTZWjimHwicc-2-ifLcLNFwcyybripjfoQ7iHfA806L6sAxr_0ir6wdRWFgD2oqTRN6j6e_l7xU9vRLZF0TZRoo5Ry/s320/20231011_160718.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirA9stHG-pJAO09V0RmRLMKXfOU2BjUm6kwSfcX7F4HRP4wr8NfL8nrSMAlFZxLrls_uPm8XOm8aUKcUu2eXdAmvvc5_xXyC2Frwk6Qv9_ILvdkLJSyX8-ERgjLrb_H4DBPS_p6a_plxxrgvyEPjko4MdomILwtwRJjim44sgZWMYXND6B73VL8DVP4XT_/s4624/20231011_161029.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYpIPqaPH9ZXIHPBQxAnPyMlYOhNdzfvQGOEQhZsMLBtKNq6xsKx6P8TPoJ-7z8d5fOZZvKzgPXOyErPy6-fQM_3Q2CrrOmY6sN9zCm4GNRQcZAySloV89LqjrLq7h73bhjS4HG8mEdVsKXDgyUTPHe9R_Z1TQNtJzu6BUOR4zF_fdw3ljDn0jM9eS7H2/s4624/20231011_161645.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYpIPqaPH9ZXIHPBQxAnPyMlYOhNdzfvQGOEQhZsMLBtKNq6xsKx6P8TPoJ-7z8d5fOZZvKzgPXOyErPy6-fQM_3Q2CrrOmY6sN9zCm4GNRQcZAySloV89LqjrLq7h73bhjS4HG8mEdVsKXDgyUTPHe9R_Z1TQNtJzu6BUOR4zF_fdw3ljDn0jM9eS7H2/s320/20231011_161645.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFD8CwROdk24otgSMUTnCSqF3NMZnEatcE_A1CjSD588HY2v_6lIEs0nP0rzdDuM7TXeqrt-AW4Y2B1ziJ529Yu76xNRd03fOziB9YuVb9FTJAlBGNVPh0Uct1qHo3cwyDRFR_OmYmRkRHx8oV2y3eQuRnPdvBtlWQZZF27PBTtSSWhyphenhyphenSkyDR6G3ry2ZWw/s2400/Screenshot_20231011_163218_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFD8CwROdk24otgSMUTnCSqF3NMZnEatcE_A1CjSD588HY2v_6lIEs0nP0rzdDuM7TXeqrt-AW4Y2B1ziJ529Yu76xNRd03fOziB9YuVb9FTJAlBGNVPh0Uct1qHo3cwyDRFR_OmYmRkRHx8oV2y3eQuRnPdvBtlWQZZF27PBTtSSWhyphenhyphenSkyDR6G3ry2ZWw/s320/Screenshot_20231011_163218_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Bibola - La Spezia 27 km </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-38179930143610662222023-10-10T18:11:00.011+02:002024-01-09T14:22:33.228+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 87: Filetto - Bibola<div style="text-align: justify;"><i><div>Si nasce non soltanto per morire, </div><div>ma per camminare a lungo, </div><div>con piedi che non conoscono dimora </div><div>e vanno oltre ogni montagna.</div></i></div><p style="text-align: justify;">- Alda Merini</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghalqHBGAvJ5ptvjNBKlu-wRO1K1McO5uNzKQgJVcCkBY5aYmr72Ud3QIU4NcP1GFYEb-jEzt1tqUbFVtwwsEfrdS892hZlYQ0lxKWhT5GgeomJ3YU21qTLVxz1aoniSYUcaLKWzAgwgkGjJ20LkhdcURotye_vNiGN_BQ2Lx8AWeRQyy1rbTm3nbx5vwP/s4624/20231010_105525.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghalqHBGAvJ5ptvjNBKlu-wRO1K1McO5uNzKQgJVcCkBY5aYmr72Ud3QIU4NcP1GFYEb-jEzt1tqUbFVtwwsEfrdS892hZlYQ0lxKWhT5GgeomJ3YU21qTLVxz1aoniSYUcaLKWzAgwgkGjJ20LkhdcURotye_vNiGN_BQ2Lx8AWeRQyy1rbTm3nbx5vwP/s320/20231010_105525.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Wi-Fi at Gredo Antiche Dimore B&B in Filetto was so good last night that I was able to participate in an online yoga lesson, using the bath mat and a towel as an improvised yoga mat, squeezed into the space between the bed and the bathroom door 🙃. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But the term B&B is used loosely in Italy, and this bed did not actually come with breakfast, so in the morning I put the kettle on and made instant coffee to wash down the extra croissant I had purchased at the bar yesterday specifically for the purpose. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I ventured outside, and found myself in the fog! An autumn mist had risen from the Magra river. For the first time since Saint Bernard's Pass I put on my jacket, just to keep the damp out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xT4LqhKfn7g6oknZLz8xHt3M8_dUUBRBB9Azp7Cy1XlflDDCfLODWGYOBxdP3AwfVmFcoQxKDaFbN77u0jxXAeX5_laL8GXGiMRBv2by5wn4EhCGE1vnzq18naBhYEOSaDbmjdMhio1eXFxQ9ot2yiZXDmuKRucjV3oX68iqQJyP_2B5U1crZiK8-SKS/s4624/20231010_073958.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xT4LqhKfn7g6oknZLz8xHt3M8_dUUBRBB9Azp7Cy1XlflDDCfLODWGYOBxdP3AwfVmFcoQxKDaFbN77u0jxXAeX5_laL8GXGiMRBv2by5wn4EhCGE1vnzq18naBhYEOSaDbmjdMhio1eXFxQ9ot2yiZXDmuKRucjV3oX68iqQJyP_2B5U1crZiK8-SKS/s320/20231010_073958.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3hEHjWaPwwXJeRqhQTiJQXbDpgbyvHpuQ9J5ymi2jxCmSoiixC8XUHHoL1rnKnItdAbNTmiZe5J8ZuBC6mwKBflQscAOEXJTnI2k9bHOsp6JqSbioK3myaS_DSjVmzF3TiQP8mbgAiYppZo8oEh8zPxwB_TJ-AkdVoa50HfM0JmYX4-IN0SvKt5idaXq/s4624/20231010_080606.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3hEHjWaPwwXJeRqhQTiJQXbDpgbyvHpuQ9J5ymi2jxCmSoiixC8XUHHoL1rnKnItdAbNTmiZe5J8ZuBC6mwKBflQscAOEXJTnI2k9bHOsp6JqSbioK3myaS_DSjVmzF3TiQP8mbgAiYppZo8oEh8zPxwB_TJ-AkdVoa50HfM0JmYX4-IN0SvKt5idaXq/s320/20231010_080606.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A short walk brought me to Virgoletta, one of the prettiest villages on the Via Francigena! The centre is slightly off the route, up a few steps, but it's well worth the detour, and it only takes ten minutes to see the village - unless you give in to the temptation to sit down and enjoy the view at one of the many picnic tables and benches in the village's squares.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWhRmy9DiBezDaKBlJNoYVt43UZI05YZGkkKlzp9-TwSgZRWGwildJxCYoRJvwFD2RU-zVrCudHA1bnTW1BUmbL65jUBZA_ILsIR9PEZlPukxkjSpl88lOXyOnUm35k13qdqrfXIzgAXMBwCox57T8nk9DMVQOzZQIuYHaq2XtSxYuGcmTP9rI3nR4cpc/s4624/20231010_081437.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWhRmy9DiBezDaKBlJNoYVt43UZI05YZGkkKlzp9-TwSgZRWGwildJxCYoRJvwFD2RU-zVrCudHA1bnTW1BUmbL65jUBZA_ILsIR9PEZlPukxkjSpl88lOXyOnUm35k13qdqrfXIzgAXMBwCox57T8nk9DMVQOzZQIuYHaq2XtSxYuGcmTP9rI3nR4cpc/s320/20231010_081437.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHE_VVmP4OBkhCteJE79-NO9MP0pHVCdzfXIoEcN_ymwVPF0JPtOCMhXiRVeyOmpzUHNghJRxJ-YCvzyVTMpKNoLmq8x7RZQ77Qpp2e9uSaPifbr2zdMoo-xdkWy45LDZtkKWKk4fcFTxmFJv6dsxWFbdsSC8vWWVW1pUrIMGguZE82zRhlQIMQBmckbM/s4624/20231010_082200.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHE_VVmP4OBkhCteJE79-NO9MP0pHVCdzfXIoEcN_ymwVPF0JPtOCMhXiRVeyOmpzUHNghJRxJ-YCvzyVTMpKNoLmq8x7RZQ77Qpp2e9uSaPifbr2zdMoo-xdkWy45LDZtkKWKk4fcFTxmFJv6dsxWFbdsSC8vWWVW1pUrIMGguZE82zRhlQIMQBmckbM/s320/20231010_082200.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMw5Djqm59jxUU4LFrdb3so90fbhyj2ID4AJKfpbprkD65AWp7mJidfMqyfoBrQvxEgsx6VlGB4Zrp5UDe9TSBu3Z6ZBm4A4iRqVfFeszgQCa8N11EfJMTNxcMVafAlxrq5Kmjfgr9wwLon0wNEQPExU1Q1ktkI5w6xhZA_mo-oRMmvHjQ8daQ1yDhHtu2/s3917/20231010_082433.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3917" data-original-width="2938" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMw5Djqm59jxUU4LFrdb3so90fbhyj2ID4AJKfpbprkD65AWp7mJidfMqyfoBrQvxEgsx6VlGB4Zrp5UDe9TSBu3Z6ZBm4A4iRqVfFeszgQCa8N11EfJMTNxcMVafAlxrq5Kmjfgr9wwLon0wNEQPExU1Q1ktkI5w6xhZA_mo-oRMmvHjQ8daQ1yDhHtu2/s320/20231010_082433.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM_aUNBsvSMS5ijyDrGiCKHhLAFjQ1b8b3_GwTYcxdImwYvT2GrBkLfHzPj_P7I5E7VKGZnWI8LxyvIziFuhejR9gln9HhHtdxG0D6fXiMNVaz1EOrUvQRdUb4MM8TGzZgqF8zldbWeEi0qUun4i_lX3J4ALYnqFZ6o_4EqsjmMZuw5ES7BlIonZxSybfS/s4624/20231010_082959.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM_aUNBsvSMS5ijyDrGiCKHhLAFjQ1b8b3_GwTYcxdImwYvT2GrBkLfHzPj_P7I5E7VKGZnWI8LxyvIziFuhejR9gln9HhHtdxG0D6fXiMNVaz1EOrUvQRdUb4MM8TGzZgqF8zldbWeEi0qUun4i_lX3J4ALYnqFZ6o_4EqsjmMZuw5ES7BlIonZxSybfS/s320/20231010_082959.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><div>Just after Virgoletta the Via Francigena passes another picnic area by a fountain, with an amazing view of the village perched above. Then the route follows a path through the forest, which becomes a narrow road paved with stones, of medieval origin, according to a signpost along the way. The uneven stone surface was hard on the feet, but not nearly as hard to walk on as the muddy ruts that followed, in an unpaved section of the same road. The reason for paving these roads with stones was in fact to prevent the soil from being washed away with the winter rains, making the road impracticable for man or beast. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJpCK2BuUZowivE0J4O8B-LL8NJpBKk6sX5AWDYYrkaRQ2MMZ2CbZJtF4gmDifgL941gORwoA2Ecn8tPfJTpWMHLyYlI_MiAu_NVoP00JnDO920voU8kBVDpYljwdM74Zo1clRSAxl1z3Nx_vfTOe-yu4hZhyphenhyphenaThfwqEiMrpswOm4cym2HdHhKM7l-K2p/s4624/20231010_101126.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJpCK2BuUZowivE0J4O8B-LL8NJpBKk6sX5AWDYYrkaRQ2MMZ2CbZJtF4gmDifgL941gORwoA2Ecn8tPfJTpWMHLyYlI_MiAu_NVoP00JnDO920voU8kBVDpYljwdM74Zo1clRSAxl1z3Nx_vfTOe-yu4hZhyphenhyphenaThfwqEiMrpswOm4cym2HdHhKM7l-K2p/s320/20231010_101126.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZY82Nq79lbQQZ7p9b1ipfNqQB0EGqPhoBNEHwt7rqTuh8dOV8JyujDs1psAcPbfoIatsP0dnbJQWsbyBWdp7_cmj9TEJDaUPuBAVTy6e2PPd_e9-IT6X2uh0FhGtOjVW9dmsM_jFdW58MzAxMnmWdvT3soHCfmqcG1L6PY0Gxh88cg_s138vjiC98ybBW/s4624/20231010_101149.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZY82Nq79lbQQZ7p9b1ipfNqQB0EGqPhoBNEHwt7rqTuh8dOV8JyujDs1psAcPbfoIatsP0dnbJQWsbyBWdp7_cmj9TEJDaUPuBAVTy6e2PPd_e9-IT6X2uh0FhGtOjVW9dmsM_jFdW58MzAxMnmWdvT3soHCfmqcG1L6PY0Gxh88cg_s138vjiC98ybBW/s320/20231010_101149.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8hlWiWHtSamtzn6RK1CkmX0XpSTmjme3GD0gNSym1c7k8bYH7duwHWwxJOl0RHDSxGdqEISzyDgoXK4XN6p7xiAv9Y_2saObgoDvGO96_lbGRJD49a0K_x2fZZj_I6F2whtPi5pOoiSCLOBS7ud9fUkb5nie3VqgdgJVXXGyEgvvaOsPvlCdhMHBMOZJC/s4624/20231010_104722.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8hlWiWHtSamtzn6RK1CkmX0XpSTmjme3GD0gNSym1c7k8bYH7duwHWwxJOl0RHDSxGdqEISzyDgoXK4XN6p7xiAv9Y_2saObgoDvGO96_lbGRJD49a0K_x2fZZj_I6F2whtPi5pOoiSCLOBS7ud9fUkb5nie3VqgdgJVXXGyEgvvaOsPvlCdhMHBMOZJC/s320/20231010_104722.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>At a rest area along the path I met up with Shaun and Ann - who had actually stayed at the same B&B as me in Filetto, though none of us realised that last night. Together we crossed a beautiful stone bridge I remembered crossing with Mariella when we walked this section in 2020 on our way to connect up with the <a href="https://www.viadelvoltosanto.info/" target="_blank">Via del Volto Santo</a>, the path connecting Pontremoli with Lucca on the inland side of the mountains, through the beautiful villages of the Lunigiana and Garfagnana. </div></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3RxbLpqnw6_-H72mbrzdZpnR2cdJz5qNKeQKwUrsH_NHNqPPZsqvEm2cGHtiLUwB4O9EMhul5VXCTmgKD6Gax8rRER2kr2leALLWhsrGpS4OYLEXelwsiTgWfM8irgcrDWv4XPLsbLO0y7zPlnf5Gq7vQPljM2aRcsZVppbci8THwi2UpQXQ3wPdoVjX/s1280/IMG_20231010_172753_355.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3RxbLpqnw6_-H72mbrzdZpnR2cdJz5qNKeQKwUrsH_NHNqPPZsqvEm2cGHtiLUwB4O9EMhul5VXCTmgKD6Gax8rRER2kr2leALLWhsrGpS4OYLEXelwsiTgWfM8irgcrDWv4XPLsbLO0y7zPlnf5Gq7vQPljM2aRcsZVppbci8THwi2UpQXQ3wPdoVjX/s320/IMG_20231010_172753_355.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going the opposite way on the same bridge in September 2020</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSrhsNEvx1fbY0it0vzvWR0ndEFs5NZ-979Ks2cRiez_K2Xln7dDB34dvx95XM5os3dxCTHV3qpu484CpjF5ViAJHbaFF6YaAaBY5Hj_LFtQN04vsGeqyNJai65YY8TCZU4Uz3ywKL2nZGbOLmqh78EO3cRyz1bCiE1g4RK-EpZovcqS97_EKy217xx8J/s4624/20231010_104810.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSrhsNEvx1fbY0it0vzvWR0ndEFs5NZ-979Ks2cRiez_K2Xln7dDB34dvx95XM5os3dxCTHV3qpu484CpjF5ViAJHbaFF6YaAaBY5Hj_LFtQN04vsGeqyNJai65YY8TCZU4Uz3ywKL2nZGbOLmqh78EO3cRyz1bCiE1g4RK-EpZovcqS97_EKy217xx8J/s320/20231010_104810.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stream under the bridge</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The enchanted woods with their ancient stone roads and fairy-tale bridges - you half expected a troll to emerge from underneath - finally ended with a cluster of houses that goes by the name of Fornoli.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsyUhcYMdyz6F_l8akc0AGYCwF64RF4i7BHXB_Lj1n_70Y5-KPB50OCU7W6fY7y5pKYlnDOvxMh68eJWVT_J8Hhfo2lGbWsIIOn8ozlEDC0kHg9NnXUvU1EsLEHGu3sywtoay5LYM9bti5SmPtUWXwck4ocAHZWDb9yuImepD-Ido_qwB7scOJAQN8CtcP/s4624/20231010_105046.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsyUhcYMdyz6F_l8akc0AGYCwF64RF4i7BHXB_Lj1n_70Y5-KPB50OCU7W6fY7y5pKYlnDOvxMh68eJWVT_J8Hhfo2lGbWsIIOn8ozlEDC0kHg9NnXUvU1EsLEHGu3sywtoay5LYM9bti5SmPtUWXwck4ocAHZWDb9yuImepD-Ido_qwB7scOJAQN8CtcP/s320/20231010_105046.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSvloWPB6kfcjFe6anOTpmir_mIOOKLQuRV30AMNH-3qjq2YMI7TNVyITLzv_Vs7WqMfAHk0qWJrAVta2bBt_f6N9UobbkNG0wQim-LCSi77wq8ldjJwtHvl8qhQUitp-rSYJrG_L1800yWzPwTc0La2hzI8Ux1xMeoaXyLTn4WfK_YehUd2PFMeV3eXV/s4624/20231010_113939.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSvloWPB6kfcjFe6anOTpmir_mIOOKLQuRV30AMNH-3qjq2YMI7TNVyITLzv_Vs7WqMfAHk0qWJrAVta2bBt_f6N9UobbkNG0wQim-LCSi77wq8ldjJwtHvl8qhQUitp-rSYJrG_L1800yWzPwTc0La2hzI8Ux1xMeoaXyLTn4WfK_YehUd2PFMeV3eXV/s320/20231010_113939.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><br /></div><div>We continued along a (modern) road to the castle at Terrarossa, and then into a busy shopping street, where we were so dazed by the modern world, after coming out of our enchanted forest, that we walked into a giant do-it-yourself store in search of groceries, thinking it was a supermarket! 😅</div><div><br /></div><div>From Terrarossa we followed a bicycle path into Aulla. It was now noon, and we found a small restaurant in the old town centre in which to rest our weary feet and fuel up for the coming hill. Shaun and Ann had booked a room at the bed and breakfast in Ponzano Superiore, and I also decided to go on a little further, as it was only lunch time and I didn't fancy spending the whole afternoon in Aulla. I have been there twice before and pretty much exhausted the town's possibilities; there isn't that much to see, as evinced by the fact that the only photograph I took in Aulla was of my lunch! 😆</div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlIUMfxqafX7PfBxOMrAiKpb4xKUHszJvlrmM1bUiA4zO-Z_f92VEcFbEvFiPg9AAO16rO6Ky8E4TmGEojgIMzJJF23rhwTr5qZvq4mfxZMO3zP3sh-NYTMqORyj_l6WquWf1Nk6ks9Hq_L3rzYXnpJ0_OwQl6miSuNleDufJmmilLhshUel0OU1s7dX7/s4624/20231010_125317.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlIUMfxqafX7PfBxOMrAiKpb4xKUHszJvlrmM1bUiA4zO-Z_f92VEcFbEvFiPg9AAO16rO6Ky8E4TmGEojgIMzJJF23rhwTr5qZvq4mfxZMO3zP3sh-NYTMqORyj_l6WquWf1Nk6ks9Hq_L3rzYXnpJ0_OwQl6miSuNleDufJmmilLhshUel0OU1s7dX7/s320/20231010_125317.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So I researched accommodations over lunch, made a couple of phone calls, and found a place to stay in Bibola, the first village at the top of the big climb after Aulla. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What to say about the big climb? It was steep, and hot... good preparation for walking in Liguria! 😄</div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWmaEBILgBVLvv3PTWuoWUE230KMJTYxTpMHRIqikp0CbuNzFTz5CyXpEPFJofwZd8l2SaJuxvn1Ea0riuOuoD8PFS1PLeSB-SBWXMcbJJ8TcJLetiCXnNFugfTe-NOeJKULorobttnPjAFnuTp-IrcR2HhReBX89g791Jy-aOrZK83nfHHiFsmaQAxgV8/s4624/20231010_144320.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWmaEBILgBVLvv3PTWuoWUE230KMJTYxTpMHRIqikp0CbuNzFTz5CyXpEPFJofwZd8l2SaJuxvn1Ea0riuOuoD8PFS1PLeSB-SBWXMcbJJ8TcJLetiCXnNFugfTe-NOeJKULorobttnPjAFnuTp-IrcR2HhReBX89g791Jy-aOrZK83nfHHiFsmaQAxgV8/s320/20231010_144320.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Climbing high above Aulla</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ykGgdSk2A69OdMf6hDebZJ3tOgzOLREmSMdLVphPIHxdcHSf7VZ-VEhqpsfFgrEa_K3H_piFy7BeP0eCrgy_wlOz8sXotL3uTRZWbaqDo-Yu5znvdrg2tk9pWXBICfEbn87ZXSkEgVfVeUSlr9I_PRZdEEtaotumasT9ic5IVJaG46SEIeFs-ore8HZy/s4624/20231010_141455.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ykGgdSk2A69OdMf6hDebZJ3tOgzOLREmSMdLVphPIHxdcHSf7VZ-VEhqpsfFgrEa_K3H_piFy7BeP0eCrgy_wlOz8sXotL3uTRZWbaqDo-Yu5znvdrg2tk9pWXBICfEbn87ZXSkEgVfVeUSlr9I_PRZdEEtaotumasT9ic5IVJaG46SEIeFs-ore8HZy/s320/20231010_141455.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild cyclamens in the woods on the way up</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFBQ9H4m8dc33H2VM4rluO3G1GJE-o06v-yQ_m0sHoTFDrHNp6p6gk8dfvNHU9GrU5LFvjBmtpbkbv8UjgB8_YZwrK3MyR8LN-KlGqwGZKraxGJtWMC7W6P5JpRH8zoocTeph4VIxNVUbIa4MP7h1azXrybbMtLJ3cy12dJwKdM-kLZriHoyRvqD3Y2M3/s4624/20231010_151124.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFBQ9H4m8dc33H2VM4rluO3G1GJE-o06v-yQ_m0sHoTFDrHNp6p6gk8dfvNHU9GrU5LFvjBmtpbkbv8UjgB8_YZwrK3MyR8LN-KlGqwGZKraxGJtWMC7W6P5JpRH8zoocTeph4VIxNVUbIa4MP7h1azXrybbMtLJ3cy12dJwKdM-kLZriHoyRvqD3Y2M3/s320/20231010_151124.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally... Bibola!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">At the top, I said goodbye to Shaun and Ann and turned off the path into the village of Bibola. Like Virgoletta, it is only a little way off the path, but well worth taking a few moments to explore! Another reason to take your time on these stages of the Via Francigena. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESyITMtvq7qyGeHoE9sq9SMGaLUoWIQ6AQOIMobrGmCZK59jX8mjiCZaH8uB-5F7RLGv4dAPt9LiKcN0sdygEjho49x-wF3CHdQq8q4nO4bfKomUeM2fm1ethD2mcOLtkjZHiQ4D-PzlPHpzCElG-0xkH4d-C8H-vnyfcwvPO1r9fUomVKomtE8Cp_IUc/s1280/IMG_20231010_164947_827.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESyITMtvq7qyGeHoE9sq9SMGaLUoWIQ6AQOIMobrGmCZK59jX8mjiCZaH8uB-5F7RLGv4dAPt9LiKcN0sdygEjho49x-wF3CHdQq8q4nO4bfKomUeM2fm1ethD2mcOLtkjZHiQ4D-PzlPHpzCElG-0xkH4d-C8H-vnyfcwvPO1r9fUomVKomtE8Cp_IUc/s320/IMG_20231010_164947_827.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRafkOTjQ7hjMGcI_GIIHozZ1FqifEUhWBHyRkkj_DXPlZLGYp07N0idyzxtH9NLUZc20pOMeA4HlrT63pTHKvl2nJaV6JeC2JyVCdFTpwvLw22np9y6fTleUqPhKhYH3pytR80DaCVItOkETIag6Wyg5cTA96nOTIk7h2VgM2CJ8QL0AvyvHvk3AHJ3W1/s4624/20231011_074730.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRafkOTjQ7hjMGcI_GIIHozZ1FqifEUhWBHyRkkj_DXPlZLGYp07N0idyzxtH9NLUZc20pOMeA4HlrT63pTHKvl2nJaV6JeC2JyVCdFTpwvLw22np9y6fTleUqPhKhYH3pytR80DaCVItOkETIag6Wyg5cTA96nOTIk7h2VgM2CJ8QL0AvyvHvk3AHJ3W1/s320/20231011_074730.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJVWsw51HwZj7ixUASSq6NaxbsIobNhScLElDaRaRyVXHstiv1Ys4cwCC7qaKpjMRRIR9L7YCey7rZBoBYx7qjnCMMmrrOVyuPj7fRpQoAjG4keyCjzwq1gJnyDv2m-FSqFJiKvC6DeUbkexOyAirlj7KdAmXvm7wDpehw8BaX6LPq5TLGhc0H-e8_Ium/s4000/20231011_074809.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJVWsw51HwZj7ixUASSq6NaxbsIobNhScLElDaRaRyVXHstiv1Ys4cwCC7qaKpjMRRIR9L7YCey7rZBoBYx7qjnCMMmrrOVyuPj7fRpQoAjG4keyCjzwq1gJnyDv2m-FSqFJiKvC6DeUbkexOyAirlj7KdAmXvm7wDpehw8BaX6LPq5TLGhc0H-e8_Ium/s320/20231011_074809.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxkXqPxIG-uXZ667PkO4ly-KroAyvqVQqJJNlQCY_W7tkn_FFtWcTLfEB0IHpcR-LZxibVMFBGFFQgkDEod3djCoRqvsP2AxbHrnETGEN-9xnUoZQBNgKh7VPf0YxuFLSwPDBQSK5x0azzNWodxY-JFsk9UP0ZzjUnpsDLq7P_mJ-IZYjS5pNIcL9jrF3/s4624/20231011_074846.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxkXqPxIG-uXZ667PkO4ly-KroAyvqVQqJJNlQCY_W7tkn_FFtWcTLfEB0IHpcR-LZxibVMFBGFFQgkDEod3djCoRqvsP2AxbHrnETGEN-9xnUoZQBNgKh7VPf0YxuFLSwPDBQSK5x0azzNWodxY-JFsk9UP0ZzjUnpsDLq7P_mJ-IZYjS5pNIcL9jrF3/s320/20231011_074846.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOE_ct3EAwpf1d2QaWr_37MEzJYuf6GNY7zql-Wlz2NVBfxLMq1WLmibaAUe32L6dlN_eTkHAHemn1zMUQXFGyacb5oTKlNieMXlHqyKr9-3jQC8n1sRjSiWniNq620HZMgQo9lwOXK9yS22-FCc29rY9azDn-C0tUZhrEYX86NuNlCo5gdoYGn2WNUF_t/s4000/20231010_152520.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOE_ct3EAwpf1d2QaWr_37MEzJYuf6GNY7zql-Wlz2NVBfxLMq1WLmibaAUe32L6dlN_eTkHAHemn1zMUQXFGyacb5oTKlNieMXlHqyKr9-3jQC8n1sRjSiWniNq620HZMgQo9lwOXK9yS22-FCc29rY9azDn-C0tUZhrEYX86NuNlCo5gdoYGn2WNUF_t/s320/20231010_152520.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCpYsg9KLfzbYRXeybNZkP3QbOen-vi9Z8E4aPvC6jBZWPlhpx3ZOi63eprxuCsK5Ppfwly2hTYkT07Yk7E3qAuPvid-0l-D3jwO2tNjIProwEzR93JOGPKeAnhxeYoHv6VUzIL1hoEzhdAMklKuNyNSdbuwt3rHjBoZBldP3MsOcmpc0OEkUDPQD6W4C/s4000/20231010_152418.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCpYsg9KLfzbYRXeybNZkP3QbOen-vi9Z8E4aPvC6jBZWPlhpx3ZOi63eprxuCsK5Ppfwly2hTYkT07Yk7E3qAuPvid-0l-D3jwO2tNjIProwEzR93JOGPKeAnhxeYoHv6VUzIL1hoEzhdAMklKuNyNSdbuwt3rHjBoZBldP3MsOcmpc0OEkUDPQD6W4C/s320/20231010_152418.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>My accommodation was right at the very top of the village, at the foot of the castle! I have a little house all to myself, a pretty good deal as it cost the same as my room at last night's B&B! The house has one bedroom and a sofa-bed in the living room, so walkers usually book it in groups of three, four or five; holidaymakers can also book it for several days as a base from which to explore the area, so it may not always be available. It's on airbnb, though I found it in the list of pilgrim accommodations on gronze.com and called the owner directly!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fovPnvXM9ihJLvhtUoTodIqy6PFbTb0KkHwqNrNQ8NQ7rh8_caqD2KoYg7QBEsiMKQbkmaZ49bAjsLopIc1NC2xHW-a-trY5b17GAh7-UYNKMsyAXrsQLITmRyWPrxLBki4A89mNYWwXkIsc_ca5ExrFvakE_1IVlUqiKR-M5wzujdRDRr5Es3OI3xXi/s4000/20231010_155524.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fovPnvXM9ihJLvhtUoTodIqy6PFbTb0KkHwqNrNQ8NQ7rh8_caqD2KoYg7QBEsiMKQbkmaZ49bAjsLopIc1NC2xHW-a-trY5b17GAh7-UYNKMsyAXrsQLITmRyWPrxLBki4A89mNYWwXkIsc_ca5ExrFvakE_1IVlUqiKR-M5wzujdRDRr5Es3OI3xXi/s320/20231010_155524.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VWv2d0NaKQcy2ioOA912MfNd-mCDpNHqrL_WRFvslAyTiaeII35-rZRJiVnk1XFB072JZbbj15PPFjtJuBmnT0k8FyylfeGv2sjqbi6GtM8feLl7gczeG7MT3LQYlHPp-b7swYC93JaGbSfiHuPS3ek2XML-LXdtKis0x-4A1_hP7YhBnLn1r16rPNCg/s4000/20231010_155512.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VWv2d0NaKQcy2ioOA912MfNd-mCDpNHqrL_WRFvslAyTiaeII35-rZRJiVnk1XFB072JZbbj15PPFjtJuBmnT0k8FyylfeGv2sjqbi6GtM8feLl7gczeG7MT3LQYlHPp-b7swYC93JaGbSfiHuPS3ek2XML-LXdtKis0x-4A1_hP7YhBnLn1r16rPNCg/s320/20231010_155512.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1CLrEIj4-puNPYN9bLFi80NBmfnHy_lajNvh_dOOgkRCWEMSqxhkY6mTfRejFlJFk-98MtpzAiYiMB_JbNNoNtPiEhpMcswVkuK-rb5gi-XLTY2zvzp6ii4jQOkaZhZmo0lLU4nd2yuovI5VhY725wpnTGc0X4prS2sQKc8egwv_-NIoP9jYkyL3iJwc/s4624/20231010_155553.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1CLrEIj4-puNPYN9bLFi80NBmfnHy_lajNvh_dOOgkRCWEMSqxhkY6mTfRejFlJFk-98MtpzAiYiMB_JbNNoNtPiEhpMcswVkuK-rb5gi-XLTY2zvzp6ii4jQOkaZhZmo0lLU4nd2yuovI5VhY725wpnTGc0X4prS2sQKc8egwv_-NIoP9jYkyL3iJwc/s320/20231010_155553.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Aulla from my window</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Now that I've climbed all the way up to the castle above the town, I believe I will stop here and enjoy the silence of my little house, interrupted only by the sounds of the birds that seem to be nesting under the roof tiles. I hope to post more pictures of Bibola in the morning!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7-spibDPBpFJ8TwU0Umg3TsRZkxwEy6gqNAVbKRTCpGgJ4kg0v_mtISmAzCeZJuKFhPe8yqjeSyfKq2kxxNUCbNwbC0jszp5Edf7xiv87MlF5DM-v2xYMeMryU74cpIelmKxaVK1p8I7RMfDPCkfaHnKSfuxTGsa__woOy7ZnljByznAt71xOAzOQOFe/s2400/Screenshot_20231010_173026_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7-spibDPBpFJ8TwU0Umg3TsRZkxwEy6gqNAVbKRTCpGgJ4kg0v_mtISmAzCeZJuKFhPe8yqjeSyfKq2kxxNUCbNwbC0jszp5Edf7xiv87MlF5DM-v2xYMeMryU74cpIelmKxaVK1p8I7RMfDPCkfaHnKSfuxTGsa__woOy7ZnljByznAt71xOAzOQOFe/s320/Screenshot_20231010_173026_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Filetto - Bibola 21 km</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Almost in Liguria!!</div><div><br /></div></div></div>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-58323280642864865192023-10-09T21:46:00.002+02:002024-01-09T14:22:53.640+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 86: Pontremoli - Filetto<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Dai a ogni giornata la possibilità di essere la più bella della tua vita</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>(Give each day a chance to be the best day of your life)</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">- written outside B&B Il Gredo, in Filetto </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOd_8CvBjDChsfwMGtSAHy-OJ7xrT3JY2q03J0fp7fig9yawwCe7EZTk59q0sXGWTtr5IT4QUTCuCNMiPmpvVmIeji9oAewGpYMlVYALX0brYSmaDuGMwL1TlUiM6bWbDF-eyaDwa3IBHDkHr3WKr3cexKwIe6iTQoQpVsAYqLKLQoUbDVY8Y6OPc9W8g6/s4624/20231009_173611.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOd_8CvBjDChsfwMGtSAHy-OJ7xrT3JY2q03J0fp7fig9yawwCe7EZTk59q0sXGWTtr5IT4QUTCuCNMiPmpvVmIeji9oAewGpYMlVYALX0brYSmaDuGMwL1TlUiM6bWbDF-eyaDwa3IBHDkHr3WKr3cexKwIe6iTQoQpVsAYqLKLQoUbDVY8Y6OPc9W8g6/s320/20231009_173611.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisCjiOC-oXZCwS1yMQLS2UMISCJuPDAMMGNoYllsyaB-HsO3B3jpQ-qHoANaj2FkHHFe7-HrMsL-6h72tWQIMDRvETjqTqj1g-zWlI0AcIgh_GoLGSk0-_3u1UkB3UB88d3MjJhMvZ3ALDSwCVTIOwnhivCXH0en0f5c1XL8PmcdRizvjJic3UdslHUpHq/s4000/20231009_082729.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisCjiOC-oXZCwS1yMQLS2UMISCJuPDAMMGNoYllsyaB-HsO3B3jpQ-qHoANaj2FkHHFe7-HrMsL-6h72tWQIMDRvETjqTqj1g-zWlI0AcIgh_GoLGSk0-_3u1UkB3UB88d3MjJhMvZ3ALDSwCVTIOwnhivCXH0en0f5c1XL8PmcdRizvjJic3UdslHUpHq/s320/20231009_082729.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT68EVAij0INNfsGYG2657tWMrUA9oAqaOQZHHBMEwbwymS5zu9cCpH1Y8ZsFaGbkuujBwgmdwxxvQMGFkjnz0JYKVurZK52AgUuvWPeUWQ9EtYH95jXGF23l1cV0_UNfLtItoPaDuhboamXtbsOqo2cEzXeJ7JqDB2P0xI2tT8wCR6n3LLfWvGFfXda3m/s4624/20231009_082923.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT68EVAij0INNfsGYG2657tWMrUA9oAqaOQZHHBMEwbwymS5zu9cCpH1Y8ZsFaGbkuujBwgmdwxxvQMGFkjnz0JYKVurZK52AgUuvWPeUWQ9EtYH95jXGF23l1cV0_UNfLtItoPaDuhboamXtbsOqo2cEzXeJ7JqDB2P0xI2tT8wCR6n3LLfWvGFfXda3m/s320/20231009_082923.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXcg0GG8ZOvcKQ3tdmrswzQjzFPrauzlaRUmsn6CSOqWvgxlw7XiZwwXsoNQ125EmJ0pkEDOWdx2spHgkoec6j5bSkoZz0YdwtYePzBfhKfyvwmDMqTwiAatNwGncttB9RcP40dFf2AUJqiw5UJ7KVpofIjTB5ZleEDFl9ogWsabTeoySIkXvVQAsLS1G/s4000/20231009_083019.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXcg0GG8ZOvcKQ3tdmrswzQjzFPrauzlaRUmsn6CSOqWvgxlw7XiZwwXsoNQ125EmJ0pkEDOWdx2spHgkoec6j5bSkoZz0YdwtYePzBfhKfyvwmDMqTwiAatNwGncttB9RcP40dFf2AUJqiw5UJ7KVpofIjTB5ZleEDFl9ogWsabTeoySIkXvVQAsLS1G/s320/20231009_083019.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLC0AkoNtUvTvPQPS3qczyuu-q7YKdlqB9UFlDbFGWu2oCnCnZtnI6bb_JcSOZDKN9qYpVIqgfGjTrRxKzewCA4tX_3XsZnVxUW9WTtfiApcixhN8ymWErYB2y4vGlm2_xHtB2moqkHCfrttWdZRL-1mCD7lhCXG1RIOMHrYodvSj5xOlNn1tLrzRVgDA/s4000/20231009_095743.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLC0AkoNtUvTvPQPS3qczyuu-q7YKdlqB9UFlDbFGWu2oCnCnZtnI6bb_JcSOZDKN9qYpVIqgfGjTrRxKzewCA4tX_3XsZnVxUW9WTtfiApcixhN8ymWErYB2y4vGlm2_xHtB2moqkHCfrttWdZRL-1mCD7lhCXG1RIOMHrYodvSj5xOlNn1tLrzRVgDA/s320/20231009_095743.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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! 😄 </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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 <i>stelae, </i>statue menhirs carved into human shapes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBALWiCN_o23Xt17u-cpr33Gcu-z1Dv9ZRnDyqciZlVtwlxtcmaMwo6VzJF_q2F8ayUMuTcfwR9NLfh_Trqa06cb3LDBNXwFcP1Pn7y8r2Y4Wa1nvz78ucuGhsjQFGzxoIzI9AhW9Cube52CgPZqZTlveMCdTQmPLtSaPyFtWbC80abM0N7VBjsi1ilcb/s4624/20231009_103415.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBALWiCN_o23Xt17u-cpr33Gcu-z1Dv9ZRnDyqciZlVtwlxtcmaMwo6VzJF_q2F8ayUMuTcfwR9NLfh_Trqa06cb3LDBNXwFcP1Pn7y8r2Y4Wa1nvz78ucuGhsjQFGzxoIzI9AhW9Cube52CgPZqZTlveMCdTQmPLtSaPyFtWbC80abM0N7VBjsi1ilcb/s320/20231009_103415.jpg" width="320" /></a>ù</div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC_zHe9srvUFge503FAyv_VIGz6ppZk2tTiYdz8N59pYaBtCjHEOGo_9fMgFua7_TTizr5Dih-eeHBZVsLxW7RxknhmapTXT9DBC-49IBRfaWkMbM0i6ziu9jOTRK9BrVeMqzTPbdd1ZgTr8qeAa5DPZnYQMQqC8KxbEKONiNlFDK666EpdALbtDcjlvDH/s4624/20231009_104717.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC_zHe9srvUFge503FAyv_VIGz6ppZk2tTiYdz8N59pYaBtCjHEOGo_9fMgFua7_TTizr5Dih-eeHBZVsLxW7RxknhmapTXT9DBC-49IBRfaWkMbM0i6ziu9jOTRK9BrVeMqzTPbdd1ZgTr8qeAa5DPZnYQMQqC8KxbEKONiNlFDK666EpdALbtDcjlvDH/s320/20231009_104717.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Stelae</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Stelae</i> 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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVwDgpXSSAS2XKRQC4mf8ODa1yHZF-HymYuD1ph9APnr9ks-unvG1hR_L1wxF4fv7WlW_Zf-DX6m8I5phSqJ1yTxac9IaaWivGNIbp_1onLa4II1cPGW5qPyrbRkvFj8hvpsqnErHGBMZR9fvFuMvkHXn78F3JcL4mBabtxmUy-lfg0HIipfvFKSv5QShG/s4624/20231009_113812.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVwDgpXSSAS2XKRQC4mf8ODa1yHZF-HymYuD1ph9APnr9ks-unvG1hR_L1wxF4fv7WlW_Zf-DX6m8I5phSqJ1yTxac9IaaWivGNIbp_1onLa4II1cPGW5qPyrbRkvFj8hvpsqnErHGBMZR9fvFuMvkHXn78F3JcL4mBabtxmUy-lfg0HIipfvFKSv5QShG/s320/20231009_113812.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Many of the <i>stelae</i> were broken up during the evangelisation of the area in the years prior to AD 752, as they were considered pagan idols.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>The recently discovered Warrior of Sorano is a <i>stele </i>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.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7H2_D5Jy3bo1th0v6GLCebDQwxqs3x0Olfc7r-x-ecWF8OQ2jcl78Vmzdj-Pzl3HGDsxEAeoOXNnv1X8HFwGV9EcE75NFGhidr5bmnPezkuNd_MpCrwMFJFrQxosp_pQv0CUC_dWYSbeFQVZFYmQuhaXsKveVr_zcpoqqIxsvsObVZ52ZgZzeOyqOCjv/s4624/20231009_105932.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7H2_D5Jy3bo1th0v6GLCebDQwxqs3x0Olfc7r-x-ecWF8OQ2jcl78Vmzdj-Pzl3HGDsxEAeoOXNnv1X8HFwGV9EcE75NFGhidr5bmnPezkuNd_MpCrwMFJFrQxosp_pQv0CUC_dWYSbeFQVZFYmQuhaXsKveVr_zcpoqqIxsvsObVZ52ZgZzeOyqOCjv/s320/20231009_105932.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Pieve di Santo Stefano di Sorano</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOPGgHOuKp73xl4GeCMEN0edPlXlJtPbqRpc33-3eSMml6EwjJnGcozX9No2TiA_2RoBBDnF5lohAR4TSARZbskD1kzfPdXyfih0HmtMwJ6bA5gpwuuTkmWLnaNPFSRn08_zgF7RSaVMkrbdamRey5H35NkXP2l7Soo2BjSCkM6yHQxdNvRT48tgpqbkr/s4000/20231009_105412.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOPGgHOuKp73xl4GeCMEN0edPlXlJtPbqRpc33-3eSMml6EwjJnGcozX9No2TiA_2RoBBDnF5lohAR4TSARZbskD1kzfPdXyfih0HmtMwJ6bA5gpwuuTkmWLnaNPFSRn08_zgF7RSaVMkrbdamRey5H35NkXP2l7Soo2BjSCkM6yHQxdNvRT48tgpqbkr/s320/20231009_105412.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">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!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0gSDLoGNDTFbzTgg2_md7kp90HmzGoZT9h7nhqpnOWVD9fFQP2O1G3z4tDSIxNjmG559d-hi-rSDx1KCyQFpwoqhhH2bk99YD78wErFlLZmlntrEs1l1A24VTRZYMk3Hvg5cGKxjt8cPl5e7cVdZvIzQfnGf-aIo9CvdjOIgk9WlqFESIalaX28Tw5y4/s4000/20231009_112311.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0gSDLoGNDTFbzTgg2_md7kp90HmzGoZT9h7nhqpnOWVD9fFQP2O1G3z4tDSIxNjmG559d-hi-rSDx1KCyQFpwoqhhH2bk99YD78wErFlLZmlntrEs1l1A24VTRZYMk3Hvg5cGKxjt8cPl5e7cVdZvIzQfnGf-aIo9CvdjOIgk9WlqFESIalaX28Tw5y4/s320/20231009_112311.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The entire construction is made of stones polished smooth and round by the river, joined with mortar and topped with a slate roof. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNj81MWKxvedbamX25xi7wDYZOp9rS3IWOmUlpk4UxpBWupoFvDHtVt0gWv-2M5ZOZ0rriy3nFSnqIpzIROYWaLz7OMIfWp5Ouv5x9Zc74N79VcSBtcS7x753ovAeTOCk0-n8hwd_NN-KJLzYhzBUZVsx-hKASzJRJ9JUtbKE2W2j38PSpZAhNoPM6I3lS/s4000/20231009_112241.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNj81MWKxvedbamX25xi7wDYZOp9rS3IWOmUlpk4UxpBWupoFvDHtVt0gWv-2M5ZOZ0rriy3nFSnqIpzIROYWaLz7OMIfWp5Ouv5x9Zc74N79VcSBtcS7x753ovAeTOCk0-n8hwd_NN-KJLzYhzBUZVsx-hKASzJRJ9JUtbKE2W2j38PSpZAhNoPM6I3lS/s320/20231009_112241.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKaXzTJ10PTwDl6b_dr62J8L_DvdYFhyphenhyphenjFO2SZ2UOWR0UhtUytRCIH-K0PcpaJ6EHDM7nwVLETLomSThAE07Nx_mNqwYQ7LsDV5VqoXMLE4W-DaSXSqQvi_2-jPz0iAEHZIU2DvkPBlxRiLSHhHiBQcbxh7m79DKdjK2cUzaL6Qzs4qlkGIslavr0cs0mt/s4624/20231009_105530.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKaXzTJ10PTwDl6b_dr62J8L_DvdYFhyphenhyphenjFO2SZ2UOWR0UhtUytRCIH-K0PcpaJ6EHDM7nwVLETLomSThAE07Nx_mNqwYQ7LsDV5VqoXMLE4W-DaSXSqQvi_2-jPz0iAEHZIU2DvkPBlxRiLSHhHiBQcbxh7m79DKdjK2cUzaL6Qzs4qlkGIslavr0cs0mt/s320/20231009_105530.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPjj8x-55AhEeiqFj2_4I8fwavRGNLxqDre9tVUd6QhhtDn7Mpc3QaSmc7Vko0bVU40RMPVneLoR5dBccoSRTgROCxdcboT9orjCMOLnVGqp9qyI-MrcfHh4wPP70sInB-ONHD0JvASCJxqfwNyi1ojI_5yz57bjWZcGbPiPWsaHQbzvWzw51hV2TfeKZ/s4624/20231009_105556.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPjj8x-55AhEeiqFj2_4I8fwavRGNLxqDre9tVUd6QhhtDn7Mpc3QaSmc7Vko0bVU40RMPVneLoR5dBccoSRTgROCxdcboT9orjCMOLnVGqp9qyI-MrcfHh4wPP70sInB-ONHD0JvASCJxqfwNyi1ojI_5yz57bjWZcGbPiPWsaHQbzvWzw51hV2TfeKZ/s320/20231009_105556.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqLcU0jUwOICxKSxWyelpk7K_4GYVIYeErpy8UKfyYQVbgQAd2HuTRFVOzxlCjZuBV0Y14BWE7OFK2QfDHeoumIFlOlz1uZPu6sEYr9lGF5iGr_KmqgCBcK9NX2c1V0rADHSk_E21-9Y3k54Wtq-5Nazcng8gGAakPFXjtu8gb_81p8RC3U6FsHER8D6E/s4624/20231009_105751.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqLcU0jUwOICxKSxWyelpk7K_4GYVIYeErpy8UKfyYQVbgQAd2HuTRFVOzxlCjZuBV0Y14BWE7OFK2QfDHeoumIFlOlz1uZPu6sEYr9lGF5iGr_KmqgCBcK9NX2c1V0rADHSk_E21-9Y3k54Wtq-5Nazcng8gGAakPFXjtu8gb_81p8RC3U6FsHER8D6E/s320/20231009_105751.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">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 <i>mansio </i>or roadhouse that was in use until the fall of the Roman Empire. Around it stand a number of stelae found in the area.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQvwHZ7cY5tsx-_QVQgs4yMJXvlxrbXUdYTX76BxzWDkxvjruA0MfXKc3LBe4BElc71xfq9tXdzlaITnK5552p8Pu6lkBBIYERRb15-At-o3jzQBMVgz0unLDwxrVGSSlMC1MXVBGKLCMGgTlCanwnbmvxxBSO3_6UU2cPvUXvbDg_nWmeHfj5HTo_FveH/s4624/20231009_113743.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQvwHZ7cY5tsx-_QVQgs4yMJXvlxrbXUdYTX76BxzWDkxvjruA0MfXKc3LBe4BElc71xfq9tXdzlaITnK5552p8Pu6lkBBIYERRb15-At-o3jzQBMVgz0unLDwxrVGSSlMC1MXVBGKLCMGgTlCanwnbmvxxBSO3_6UU2cPvUXvbDg_nWmeHfj5HTo_FveH/s320/20231009_113743.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmpk7c7Bfnd9s6LRiNqlknC-7coh9vV0bjfm5VMXzLAKQRpF3lQdprxX-A43lOpQZbraiVgOEU7v0wd-4RSfAMN806Pma2ff6UW34l-F4W24CxL_-pkBdwCKfiaLKbaW65O4XEBSBVoTEpj9lfA2X_zVGvljHCOe8QPygw1X7xbkELPZNQfMZq-HoMDblT/s4624/20231009_112146.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmpk7c7Bfnd9s6LRiNqlknC-7coh9vV0bjfm5VMXzLAKQRpF3lQdprxX-A43lOpQZbraiVgOEU7v0wd-4RSfAMN806Pma2ff6UW34l-F4W24CxL_-pkBdwCKfiaLKbaW65O4XEBSBVoTEpj9lfA2X_zVGvljHCOe8QPygw1X7xbkELPZNQfMZq-HoMDblT/s320/20231009_112146.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Filattiera </b> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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 😆.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPSwyIwbXd6Gu6xOzRvZa_0vT3IuCVJY4RxhI6z0Jyp7fo0Xe-v6Sx5PrU3hFE8634WQ6fNKD7IYKwRbQ8EZ0Ti_jGhEdeiHY9mDWyfJNX4OQRsIF3GMs-JCUzdj2UxsWF5lvxm6BtBLwDLv1Jhfr-PHdsjDQLhZVgxYV8g8-blgYm7lOs2A1iq_wtjRb/s4624/20231009_115709.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPSwyIwbXd6Gu6xOzRvZa_0vT3IuCVJY4RxhI6z0Jyp7fo0Xe-v6Sx5PrU3hFE8634WQ6fNKD7IYKwRbQ8EZ0Ti_jGhEdeiHY9mDWyfJNX4OQRsIF3GMs-JCUzdj2UxsWF5lvxm6BtBLwDLv1Jhfr-PHdsjDQLhZVgxYV8g8-blgYm7lOs2A1iq_wtjRb/s320/20231009_115709.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyiUUzSoHQyRl5fJcXpo5lQkRN1ElKinOLd4m6ViZn11brnGTyFXu4rnsD6KhtFQ0nM1cr2Fdt3Gey1ocKf971O7xScYpwgHf00_voyWVwN8V7c95D-ClNkGdMIA4Z2eYqb7H3WNPx2qeJmHqJVvhdXjerCgRg_T2EZDGK1UIswFZITEH_RtlP3qKWlw1/s4624/20231009_115749.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyiUUzSoHQyRl5fJcXpo5lQkRN1ElKinOLd4m6ViZn11brnGTyFXu4rnsD6KhtFQ0nM1cr2Fdt3Gey1ocKf971O7xScYpwgHf00_voyWVwN8V7c95D-ClNkGdMIA4Z2eYqb7H3WNPx2qeJmHqJVvhdXjerCgRg_T2EZDGK1UIswFZITEH_RtlP3qKWlw1/s320/20231009_115749.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNSq9rhj8CU7zdEgfer7SK_qeatII5jsaiyvn_aLjtsuow43A2hcARaNrudEH-7iy7PX7ykPa3qNqerjH7eqDjmX5zGFaeWzcbdhMKZlILBKU6phXBhyaOl920G_dQ-dPcuPUmuWTkLpq_pHRR4V03daTeI49eFl_IRjerILU5L7h5wvGb-xF7qiQsahtj/s4624/20231009_115443.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNSq9rhj8CU7zdEgfer7SK_qeatII5jsaiyvn_aLjtsuow43A2hcARaNrudEH-7iy7PX7ykPa3qNqerjH7eqDjmX5zGFaeWzcbdhMKZlILBKU6phXBhyaOl920G_dQ-dPcuPUmuWTkLpq_pHRR4V03daTeI49eFl_IRjerILU5L7h5wvGb-xF7qiQsahtj/s320/20231009_115443.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The name Filattiera comes from the Greek <i>filakterion,</i><i> </i>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.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinimB6eF-2rr2Wzb8qjzHHry8nvvNVe6W1rz3zEZsQt_h4ysKRYe729SawPwTpqzpG7xY99WOGkkCpPV9BaA8801v7c8nNk29_-lw-i0nkgclMnLskY4mho-GoG8ESWQ5R-3rVF_nzCU5lB-qyIDVCMalwoQBXQAuZio3N2uce6MNOYa6Q3E7gmLTQtTUn/s4624/20231009_120011.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinimB6eF-2rr2Wzb8qjzHHry8nvvNVe6W1rz3zEZsQt_h4ysKRYe729SawPwTpqzpG7xY99WOGkkCpPV9BaA8801v7c8nNk29_-lw-i0nkgclMnLskY4mho-GoG8ESWQ5R-3rVF_nzCU5lB-qyIDVCMalwoQBXQAuZio3N2uce6MNOYa6Q3E7gmLTQtTUn/s320/20231009_120011.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">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. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV01fUS-6yQnzOvy5ltzJY5_0ren6rafxRwMHvFo3wd5STJDlLR8hMp46ENHF7WV4Z4YHYe1VZtdVDy9s4yIrd1pJF_enhDKQfIRrqT8j1wJnuuUouyS5FMD7KnV6diWGU_0kvZZTZ67OUc7-ye4WigdTpUrv_STvjjIu41JS52-q-0jd85C6WEd2J7ReC/s4624/20231009_123339.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV01fUS-6yQnzOvy5ltzJY5_0ren6rafxRwMHvFo3wd5STJDlLR8hMp46ENHF7WV4Z4YHYe1VZtdVDy9s4yIrd1pJF_enhDKQfIRrqT8j1wJnuuUouyS5FMD7KnV6diWGU_0kvZZTZ67OUc7-ye4WigdTpUrv_STvjjIu41JS52-q-0jd85C6WEd2J7ReC/s320/20231009_123339.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3BFIpfTGBVVlGVycn_hoyQ1v5GhOL9mfVOvrIbB1BWxiN_Z-gMJAYay6M_XSbNCQmOTHvXsYuX1kPB1OfKA8Zh9Vc6vYv8CimTLMecW4IUK1d0QxXtftDxeDIic0ZqlXEfkso7ZPi0AsdsCLizZbEZML0ByNC7rbugI6AqhID_0ELR4Q_7mwMN89SrIP/s4624/20231009_123627.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3BFIpfTGBVVlGVycn_hoyQ1v5GhOL9mfVOvrIbB1BWxiN_Z-gMJAYay6M_XSbNCQmOTHvXsYuX1kPB1OfKA8Zh9Vc6vYv8CimTLMecW4IUK1d0QxXtftDxeDIic0ZqlXEfkso7ZPi0AsdsCLizZbEZML0ByNC7rbugI6AqhID_0ELR4Q_7mwMN89SrIP/s320/20231009_123627.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD8N8ksw6aDUCoDv3Od6H0exnJs1nIUx5sWQfjNqX9DqD-DGqh4k7L_9x2wV5tziWTIGTmwQB4R1Mjczp4Lxn4D8_IfRBt_aXy5G-NAYA2tlQsasa4pHK_fP1uy8c3wiLnayE_DdaiuKX1zB3xzEWZNxTmKkrdqwaJZQtosHhn7UnS_RMbh1ZeAjskm5q3/s4624/20231009_130317.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD8N8ksw6aDUCoDv3Od6H0exnJs1nIUx5sWQfjNqX9DqD-DGqh4k7L_9x2wV5tziWTIGTmwQB4R1Mjczp4Lxn4D8_IfRBt_aXy5G-NAYA2tlQsasa4pHK_fP1uy8c3wiLnayE_DdaiuKX1zB3xzEWZNxTmKkrdqwaJZQtosHhn7UnS_RMbh1ZeAjskm5q3/s320/20231009_130317.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYzQZz6fxHYGWOOh2UQJ0-jrJgK0Tlmz2m_n8PtCdf_Kfuc69aSGvz-z_udcB-4QEic_QTWjLsf14QrqfjZRVJ6XcirCzZayC5iFwgJOUrBjSzCitcsJVlKRscJmL-u2ditCUKLNuQn5m5IzFbRKVYPKdaECGAEG6z0cojiPP2w-3Q80gdWFCK2-meyMc/s4624/20231009_130338.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYzQZz6fxHYGWOOh2UQJ0-jrJgK0Tlmz2m_n8PtCdf_Kfuc69aSGvz-z_udcB-4QEic_QTWjLsf14QrqfjZRVJ6XcirCzZayC5iFwgJOUrBjSzCitcsJVlKRscJmL-u2ditCUKLNuQn5m5IzFbRKVYPKdaECGAEG6z0cojiPP2w-3Q80gdWFCK2-meyMc/s320/20231009_130338.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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! 😄</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQxAncXldwBJRysuzYJHsY0jYlGVjjjpeQS0mmb55UjHczNjON7P0vOFPEzz_yg-sj2W9CCRTZw-iW23Rp9C_7GbAbyEnGIgBfWrSDA-0UXGGipEgdVZlE6PT1CoA5zEF30iskLNt2h8GKvU2hf7SOOgPapBbDA_WFMXFpzZA_8PGad058-LfXF-z2g5F/s4624/20231009_132314.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQxAncXldwBJRysuzYJHsY0jYlGVjjjpeQS0mmb55UjHczNjON7P0vOFPEzz_yg-sj2W9CCRTZw-iW23Rp9C_7GbAbyEnGIgBfWrSDA-0UXGGipEgdVZlE6PT1CoA5zEF30iskLNt2h8GKvU2hf7SOOgPapBbDA_WFMXFpzZA_8PGad058-LfXF-z2g5F/s320/20231009_132314.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqrDdOa6IxNrxliW9iwXzpPeCSWwaW5Y4wcxgwWt_yll-MMSfp4tGYJFOV3hSedsb-l8J7VtSe_Q18EZ_6fu6v8a48cRSr9C8J9aJfQ0sehwbMvdjmi_VqvkI0DN3FEh8Ibr_acclkvLvlhBUzK2mPA5qRWJLBSmpYYikgS3EdP-APPg5HyFcsOQeP5ic/s4624/20231009_133908.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqrDdOa6IxNrxliW9iwXzpPeCSWwaW5Y4wcxgwWt_yll-MMSfp4tGYJFOV3hSedsb-l8J7VtSe_Q18EZ_6fu6v8a48cRSr9C8J9aJfQ0sehwbMvdjmi_VqvkI0DN3FEh8Ibr_acclkvLvlhBUzK2mPA5qRWJLBSmpYYikgS3EdP-APPg5HyFcsOQeP5ic/s320/20231009_133908.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The vegetarian options on the menu were <i>testaroli al pesto </i>followed by vegetable and rice pies with salad. <i>Testaroli</i> 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!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.greatitalianchefs.com/recipes/testaroli-al-pesto-recipe" target="_blank">Click here for a modern-day recipe in English!</a><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Filetto</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The name Filetto also comes from the Greek <i>filakterion,</i><i> </i>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 <i>Selva Donica. </i>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!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3vszAyk6SN4PW89prWZAJbNiZfsb3H1E_4V1kqoeBswsIfM-fDF-Yu_n_S-WEIPX0thyphenhyphenS915zrjs2G9pWJ82a0wmw4PWywbPipeuqXOTkOpIYadGFj2F1Idj746WkAfOv7bNoDid3Ne6rUZX572JokcoVf1BnjwvM9X1FZ0HEUHxnyglrtLleA6U_any/s4624/20231009_142626.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3vszAyk6SN4PW89prWZAJbNiZfsb3H1E_4V1kqoeBswsIfM-fDF-Yu_n_S-WEIPX0thyphenhyphenS915zrjs2G9pWJ82a0wmw4PWywbPipeuqXOTkOpIYadGFj2F1Idj746WkAfOv7bNoDid3Ne6rUZX572JokcoVf1BnjwvM9X1FZ0HEUHxnyglrtLleA6U_any/s320/20231009_142626.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-P2feYSe0tiJJ54JmSPJKFjDF5m2r2IfUrQ-c-_uLUGyJOUaOt_FgGsZytJvmHXzmxp5dqOW5RblHL44nBtJM9qbchukHyZ9dza7WZdB791ECf9-rofD6b-3oP-tIanNFGfZeEyPUlUe259F10hZIa70eQaPe8E6Y220t4F5IlNR48jiEwnXVKpSUatGI/s4624/20231009_180834.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-P2feYSe0tiJJ54JmSPJKFjDF5m2r2IfUrQ-c-_uLUGyJOUaOt_FgGsZytJvmHXzmxp5dqOW5RblHL44nBtJM9qbchukHyZ9dza7WZdB791ECf9-rofD6b-3oP-tIanNFGfZeEyPUlUe259F10hZIa70eQaPe8E6Y220t4F5IlNR48jiEwnXVKpSUatGI/s320/20231009_180834.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5ArcHjSV8mzwgCdQ-7WJ-La0PyyymngqNKtmT0ZUneBGAE-FBIzYajiDEU6cB3P8npH1H3DnrB-4rS66JS3-IBUD5OfN5wVfssbasoFSgaXcs4DRJSerOQ5TC2ojnzFiGmb_ds5-NIaIvVq9E7dySFv7RKJ4WoPHmot11PF-8Dpqw-kmdZlh07_1K5H1/s2400/Screenshot_20231009_143203_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5ArcHjSV8mzwgCdQ-7WJ-La0PyyymngqNKtmT0ZUneBGAE-FBIzYajiDEU6cB3P8npH1H3DnrB-4rS66JS3-IBUD5OfN5wVfssbasoFSgaXcs4DRJSerOQ5TC2ojnzFiGmb_ds5-NIaIvVq9E7dySFv7RKJ4WoPHmot11PF-8Dpqw-kmdZlh07_1K5H1/s320/Screenshot_20231009_143203_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only half of the Pontremoli - Aulla stage today!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUhRA0U57doJaUbmtKqpN8czwTQu5CPhtO3rb6VIJsDcOdALpM0alarg3FefvHUDcjvsBoDW659ytnCDk9YM8JCVJJFbN9E7EWgLhHb3SqhZE70uIR5UE6vFPGH9KVuhM-S0xyBWu6Vmv8miQuL-NaYuEZTGa_7Wivuq7vgCgN0y4HgpVXMf0WjzxY4vP/s2400/Screenshot_20231009_143221_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUhRA0U57doJaUbmtKqpN8czwTQu5CPhtO3rb6VIJsDcOdALpM0alarg3FefvHUDcjvsBoDW659ytnCDk9YM8JCVJJFbN9E7EWgLhHb3SqhZE70uIR5UE6vFPGH9KVuhM-S0xyBWu6Vmv8miQuL-NaYuEZTGa_7Wivuq7vgCgN0y4HgpVXMf0WjzxY4vP/s320/Screenshot_20231009_143221_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Pontremoli - Filetto 19 km</div><div><br /></div>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-73303089215218623862023-10-08T20:54:00.011+02:002024-01-09T14:23:00.739+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 85: Passo della Cisa - Pontremoli <p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Ya no camino; el camino me lleva</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>— </i>Alejandro Jodorowsky, <i>Piedras del camino</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieYIUgpUOx97mUjn7hBulMWGbu8jHRDdukKbxm79Wzmq0_5HduvJUlv5PHYT08Wcgyugm_Ov3USpHn4VIXPACO4qWT8OR0hSew0A6g7uE12Ugj89In6GAAvrwBw6PVuewMMWjrWKs2QSHNrFhlAm1t1w9eXduDwXeD-fBDR01OyCQpSuVRk3eOKblMCWqu/s4624/20231008_140709.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieYIUgpUOx97mUjn7hBulMWGbu8jHRDdukKbxm79Wzmq0_5HduvJUlv5PHYT08Wcgyugm_Ov3USpHn4VIXPACO4qWT8OR0hSew0A6g7uE12Ugj89In6GAAvrwBw6PVuewMMWjrWKs2QSHNrFhlAm1t1w9eXduDwXeD-fBDR01OyCQpSuVRk3eOKblMCWqu/s320/20231008_140709.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">There were ten of us at the Ostello della Cisa last night: in addition to Mariella and myself, Michelle and Peter, there was a couple from Montreal, Michel and Lynn, and an English couple we had not yet met, Sean and Ann - all walkers - as well as a Swiss cyclist on his way to Rome and a motorcyclist, also Swiss, who lives a nomadic life working on the road as a professional photographer. The ten of us emptied a few bottles of wine over dinner together in the hostel dining room (there not being any other options up here at the pass!) and spent a very pleasant evening. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGglynTesF3j16YH8JFeR61MYwBLiuBfigDCpFz7syUq0KF5rTD6egtf7l5DFdLhyphenhyphenu750mPYgfKgqtQzwGrAM7o1z3KeyFkcScvgHUh0QyuWVh8NWq_NgBL66rQCPmA6gqZp1WuDgyYRct5UR1Jj8NOD4ZlUK1Njve4boUp3cuWL_3MQQk561UkyJyHNqD/s3468/20231007_174531.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2601" data-original-width="3468" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGglynTesF3j16YH8JFeR61MYwBLiuBfigDCpFz7syUq0KF5rTD6egtf7l5DFdLhyphenhyphenu750mPYgfKgqtQzwGrAM7o1z3KeyFkcScvgHUh0QyuWVh8NWq_NgBL66rQCPmA6gqZp1WuDgyYRct5UR1Jj8NOD4ZlUK1Njve4boUp3cuWL_3MQQk561UkyJyHNqD/s320/20231007_174531.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We breakfasted at 7 on croissants, cappuccino and the remains of last night's bread, and then set off to walk the remaining two and a half kilometres from the hostel along the road to the top of the Cisa Pass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidylEn2hJhQBvHpYPYwCwMk6IMelTZqxZeab4DwNh2jrFW5yxg3bm3EAg-VVikXD0EZjzWjqQkAWrzNFtIwulgaPMov3fSzG69fScXwc8f4DXdL_pOYuru3wjQ-IExpCipLdjIixW0HGHtH1nETcZjGVK_wA1AcUfFVyGVfGeUC5-h7oOS4-ijEsh5Y_KC/s4624/20231008_082812.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidylEn2hJhQBvHpYPYwCwMk6IMelTZqxZeab4DwNh2jrFW5yxg3bm3EAg-VVikXD0EZjzWjqQkAWrzNFtIwulgaPMov3fSzG69fScXwc8f4DXdL_pOYuru3wjQ-IExpCipLdjIixW0HGHtH1nETcZjGVK_wA1AcUfFVyGVfGeUC5-h7oOS4-ijEsh5Y_KC/s320/20231008_082812.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A surprise awaited me: my husband Silvio had cycled up to the pass to meet me!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo24xGhgzzQTvo_mFKmaNjO61JDqIBFDfaDOshkASk8ONeTfOBdnog4VaqlxXWbsXWqVvWQJVNPcAV1AAsu9qHBI29RVIMwsesLbs2_ZXwJ-5McYw5LooaCa7T8bMihOuO29bakVn-YogcSaTP9DcCw7hnElL6ZKloDdBbZM6rGrMdfuCMmIUu8wnGx0e/s4624/20231008_083516.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo24xGhgzzQTvo_mFKmaNjO61JDqIBFDfaDOshkASk8ONeTfOBdnog4VaqlxXWbsXWqVvWQJVNPcAV1AAsu9qHBI29RVIMwsesLbs2_ZXwJ-5McYw5LooaCa7T8bMihOuO29bakVn-YogcSaTP9DcCw7hnElL6ZKloDdBbZM6rGrMdfuCMmIUu8wnGx0e/s320/20231008_083516.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGersbnrDRa_DufD0O-eWuXI48oX33hEOnjWKS4Qq3eQLtOmZVVCqXcbR4FJGos32hLR67LehdHjQH1pFCNQwC6GRYXtKYsN59TkZgbwEc-Yifu_c5x40WSIXmBSNjFv6cFz9871oKdISGLQCfMcxEnXL4mMGi-nWjHFC-10ppLrAMwEIyxci2OOHHVLsj/s4000/20231008_085046.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGersbnrDRa_DufD0O-eWuXI48oX33hEOnjWKS4Qq3eQLtOmZVVCqXcbR4FJGos32hLR67LehdHjQH1pFCNQwC6GRYXtKYsN59TkZgbwEc-Yifu_c5x40WSIXmBSNjFv6cFz9871oKdISGLQCfMcxEnXL4mMGi-nWjHFC-10ppLrAMwEIyxci2OOHHVLsj/s320/20231008_085046.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We walked up the steps to the chapel of the Madonna della Guardia, and then I stepped through a magic portal that instantly transported me from the region of Emilia Romagna into Tuscany! 😄</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipZ7ZbghsqJexD8uaRtzeXuVWprXgQM7BRywED8-vkPyC_9tFTvyQODHASEQIaqq0DY0dkxUL_JteRdQNuP1KvB89r8oKJnjKa3ekBcOOIiCnU71EfX7_XSDstko_EdTAUqgcWOxhuCFOA8_8jPUDkIrVW9OcyWRzVqbE7GJlPkILPOJN7bpVq2vPGTbV/s4624/20231008_085005.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipZ7ZbghsqJexD8uaRtzeXuVWprXgQM7BRywED8-vkPyC_9tFTvyQODHASEQIaqq0DY0dkxUL_JteRdQNuP1KvB89r8oKJnjKa3ekBcOOIiCnU71EfX7_XSDstko_EdTAUqgcWOxhuCFOA8_8jPUDkIrVW9OcyWRzVqbE7GJlPkILPOJN7bpVq2vPGTbV/s320/20231008_085005.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpGigvZ-Nt1eDfEnZf4_YirJWzruBalZdQhx1gkhaQ6m9mSd6J7iMR1Dy9kK63MO997nfXHoLs06AxQiv-8-GMSQdY4ukPD7cqlJ3cmIieG3gajImnynDxcZRq61BJKodLfqS6NQP0YXo_cEY_8Ony2_m6GTsnYkvxe4_WpHt_rT6ArOGko0_kXkdJeYb/s4624/20231008_085330.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpGigvZ-Nt1eDfEnZf4_YirJWzruBalZdQhx1gkhaQ6m9mSd6J7iMR1Dy9kK63MO997nfXHoLs06AxQiv-8-GMSQdY4ukPD7cqlJ3cmIieG3gajImnynDxcZRq61BJKodLfqS6NQP0YXo_cEY_8Ony2_m6GTsnYkvxe4_WpHt_rT6ArOGko0_kXkdJeYb/s320/20231008_085330.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7w00Qd8aTDvuiGKHfIUBidP3615D8zQnI0YHeCtxxmdBg7X-JJQtNPffzL_rJ6vMyQPbGMUrTYt1IaxN4kNvEfDPaBUnuMjt8JMD8TFbL7Xljr14vSUmRWNstCffXT-yq93RCTIyQth1K_tihp4h2BSwtSgc7VtOcaReChEQBTfcdTX6EL-OahfzjcHi/s4624/20231008_085340.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7w00Qd8aTDvuiGKHfIUBidP3615D8zQnI0YHeCtxxmdBg7X-JJQtNPffzL_rJ6vMyQPbGMUrTYt1IaxN4kNvEfDPaBUnuMjt8JMD8TFbL7Xljr14vSUmRWNstCffXT-yq93RCTIyQth1K_tihp4h2BSwtSgc7VtOcaReChEQBTfcdTX6EL-OahfzjcHi/s320/20231008_085340.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silvio then continued on the cycling route while Mariella and I followed the trail through a beautiful wood of beech trees and a dark, cool coniferous forest.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Svq4YZ-OfLgUc0hNKee1XRfzHBNhJWUSj587JYQaa5BpBkBw6bb-HsdMfroGTTHXPlAVVrQFNls5p8SFj8kJoaQMAqo7MtNiliMKX_HClHyPzKR3EnObc0abMUn3ITqGkJx1LgBHEdkP5qklrFQsuoGfV7y8itJwrP8k1JjXADxzDwfd1N2V3tLjsFnH/s4624/20231008_091256.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Svq4YZ-OfLgUc0hNKee1XRfzHBNhJWUSj587JYQaa5BpBkBw6bb-HsdMfroGTTHXPlAVVrQFNls5p8SFj8kJoaQMAqo7MtNiliMKX_HClHyPzKR3EnObc0abMUn3ITqGkJx1LgBHEdkP5qklrFQsuoGfV7y8itJwrP8k1JjXADxzDwfd1N2V3tLjsFnH/s320/20231008_091256.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-spOg8cp3ug_P-lXbINlY0gEnOiYsZPkz40vbb1oheVZPwq628xdaTrHiwABv36tb8jst3QqdiRD2q9K_jHqF0ZOXkwgUxHBjMIco7FHxRTiMixTKgKkoZ5YBbUZj04ob3FQ9RdWN-JDmJEfRo4pNsLvfdHVPDqN-jp0p3mOPESLwDB07Gq-XiW7ggmd/s4624/20231008_092853.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-spOg8cp3ug_P-lXbINlY0gEnOiYsZPkz40vbb1oheVZPwq628xdaTrHiwABv36tb8jst3QqdiRD2q9K_jHqF0ZOXkwgUxHBjMIco7FHxRTiMixTKgKkoZ5YBbUZj04ob3FQ9RdWN-JDmJEfRo4pNsLvfdHVPDqN-jp0p3mOPESLwDB07Gq-XiW7ggmd/s320/20231008_092853.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BmHVcQFvmCn88NvyFiupko9-MHkXyZPHYgrCH7YIu1pnhyphenhyphenEBoaRCD1qri_cO8S7VE2uN_17Cn3Uf8OkCwqLJxdLZPVxF3MW5VkFk4306bChkxa8cpuFS6W-SUek_yrdvn4JAVJ0LfZZp04T6eiBxU-ILmC6El5uoJbBWDvsI0F9q1zRpPA-aR_8e1g5i/s4624/20231008_091617.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BmHVcQFvmCn88NvyFiupko9-MHkXyZPHYgrCH7YIu1pnhyphenhyphenEBoaRCD1qri_cO8S7VE2uN_17Cn3Uf8OkCwqLJxdLZPVxF3MW5VkFk4306bChkxa8cpuFS6W-SUek_yrdvn4JAVJ0LfZZp04T6eiBxU-ILmC6El5uoJbBWDvsI0F9q1zRpPA-aR_8e1g5i/s320/20231008_091617.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSl8ogfbCezaIXIbtnFyEfd-i3XBHh4Sw1ssWvWR2NrWPwXd4_miapkrkFM6dI-gaS14zjToB4P0Kmfz3fn9VWAgr1Fn8UeS677qvD1TI2hIDUcaRLMdMeXLJ0WOMauGNC1JqN01a8Bp-t0sHzp2vCCh09xnhobHwarX9Kfhsos5N3W40dEroUKprb2lS/s4624/20231008_094746.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSl8ogfbCezaIXIbtnFyEfd-i3XBHh4Sw1ssWvWR2NrWPwXd4_miapkrkFM6dI-gaS14zjToB4P0Kmfz3fn9VWAgr1Fn8UeS677qvD1TI2hIDUcaRLMdMeXLJ0WOMauGNC1JqN01a8Bp-t0sHzp2vCCh09xnhobHwarX9Kfhsos5N3W40dEroUKprb2lS/s320/20231008_094746.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfx1DS0fpoGBxIlqAKfhW8ofbP7pQUOyKBfKrl6WiS4kRyLbz7o9WMMDye0B1aWKN866w2XxXHjUFJEXAm8WfOJv8Yl0RR4VUHNpCRiVqi8rNZlKzaZ5j31TaolJ0697ju6itPU5fomnvBlXCKaGlPOwXGvVKeSbStCvEzCwPO1HlXpU7cju_kSRvDVywd/s4624/20231008_093555.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfx1DS0fpoGBxIlqAKfhW8ofbP7pQUOyKBfKrl6WiS4kRyLbz7o9WMMDye0B1aWKN866w2XxXHjUFJEXAm8WfOJv8Yl0RR4VUHNpCRiVqi8rNZlKzaZ5j31TaolJ0697ju6itPU5fomnvBlXCKaGlPOwXGvVKeSbStCvEzCwPO1HlXpU7cju_kSRvDVywd/s320/20231008_093555.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our paths met again at Righetto Pass, where the walking trail crossed the road. Here I caught up with Sean and Ann, and we walked together on the most scenic section of today's stage, traversing mountain meadows with sweeping views of the valleys and the surrounding peaks. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNAW2jutRdxhCPWyAWM8kYti1ldyc_CpQt-wS2qFaODU973gbyqUrClEDp8egqCg8QsLdHOKmJUpd50obFvgqoflD1gAMnFhAwOw4gGa4Hu0vFDV-Dp0rpZMAPZMvkBEmsF_2vKIDZJtMvOJmM3EtqiCy_GzMJCwRB2zQ4-rUnNriy030mzMTFDY661YR/s3700/20231008_095928.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2777" data-original-width="3700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNAW2jutRdxhCPWyAWM8kYti1ldyc_CpQt-wS2qFaODU973gbyqUrClEDp8egqCg8QsLdHOKmJUpd50obFvgqoflD1gAMnFhAwOw4gGa4Hu0vFDV-Dp0rpZMAPZMvkBEmsF_2vKIDZJtMvOJmM3EtqiCy_GzMJCwRB2zQ4-rUnNriy030mzMTFDY661YR/s320/20231008_095928.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJ0g5h31L5kP6PFTnhysthIwZ1eS6m-Virkr_cy5m9APnEuA8CvMBNJSL3GYJvnvnSMKBtsrY2sLPE-f6SPmL3cYV4fAcq9qFRQaJ8A5OR3LNHA9_p-B5-Oo77KsX9Mw2RZvSLrMhYGrBp_MAtgbLnaAcnfXg1beitZXLYDPuI6s8esB2VcwxQx64yr7P/s4624/20231008_101526.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJ0g5h31L5kP6PFTnhysthIwZ1eS6m-Virkr_cy5m9APnEuA8CvMBNJSL3GYJvnvnSMKBtsrY2sLPE-f6SPmL3cYV4fAcq9qFRQaJ8A5OR3LNHA9_p-B5-Oo77KsX9Mw2RZvSLrMhYGrBp_MAtgbLnaAcnfXg1beitZXLYDPuI6s8esB2VcwxQx64yr7P/s320/20231008_101526.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBas41nUVRnfx6ir1JXjfsB6bY3g7ZO5FFSlYo8bLhOH0HbrP2Sw0w5bYR3X1UCAxtD6zOa7YFkUZqm9G-I0mj99eu3qfR5Y1sStySzsQ6RGmJxC6OeRStcy-DgreNSa2A-eEuGrRVvyVPPg33syNv1-TuhprudCZVynmnE5w1s1mWbtJAg5Zak796SxKH/s4624/20231008_102541.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBas41nUVRnfx6ir1JXjfsB6bY3g7ZO5FFSlYo8bLhOH0HbrP2Sw0w5bYR3X1UCAxtD6zOa7YFkUZqm9G-I0mj99eu3qfR5Y1sStySzsQ6RGmJxC6OeRStcy-DgreNSa2A-eEuGrRVvyVPPg33syNv1-TuhprudCZVynmnE5w1s1mWbtJAg5Zak796SxKH/s320/20231008_102541.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">After this we began a long, steep, rocky descent. I was too busy watching my footing to take many photographs! 😄</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyu-uY71IR_hfL3LoeLerxcRF7mmaom4e1lUZAy97ZiQnYlfG-0yCCfknqiQimLr99_LZxEp8VwXbZ0i8CoGUk6wDTxnpU5xBOvIRtR1mKjOOiEfxcIVCIivCPo-XjF5W-3OEVgmhd8zm9WL8CwiyYy104-4n3ILK_T1JsUU2XUxycK2YmkKUloCJhGD-v/s4624/20231008_113236.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyu-uY71IR_hfL3LoeLerxcRF7mmaom4e1lUZAy97ZiQnYlfG-0yCCfknqiQimLr99_LZxEp8VwXbZ0i8CoGUk6wDTxnpU5xBOvIRtR1mKjOOiEfxcIVCIivCPo-XjF5W-3OEVgmhd8zm9WL8CwiyYy104-4n3ILK_T1JsUU2XUxycK2YmkKUloCJhGD-v/s320/20231008_113236.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I caught up with Peter and Michelle by the fountain in Groppoli, and descended with them to a wobbly suspension bridge over the Torrente Civasola stream.</div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSY_EekZMFxpjwm5mcBYbkYLi9IvnYvjCFlYL0pJTWA18Vy6IVJJf4TfJFb4u4gtD4OyLn4mgjNFfAaq81iML1QGdRruGvfeZlm_ryFjuN9CfafgVAUiuUreMyjwdKZPLT0xW1WvxDNF9mBMoW7ZDuXtzAbP6YgmacYom3On4RtzUontCOfo8pxwiQL3TG/s4624/20231008_114324.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSY_EekZMFxpjwm5mcBYbkYLi9IvnYvjCFlYL0pJTWA18Vy6IVJJf4TfJFb4u4gtD4OyLn4mgjNFfAaq81iML1QGdRruGvfeZlm_ryFjuN9CfafgVAUiuUreMyjwdKZPLT0xW1WvxDNF9mBMoW7ZDuXtzAbP6YgmacYom3On4RtzUontCOfo8pxwiQL3TG/s320/20231008_114324.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9MXjRG5Rktm25j6eCN6cMbhfg5YhcAsDxCTiALKj-7LFx9OvaAyA7mWkAV_Cls-uycbQxdurVtx_VMYdAXg2jYnR-6ECADM9LUdPej4DXjYkEHGXq-DdmS_tGWWkZfPuMcTN6aYrB0yNLjNOTz0t7pIfjfji2SCZQHdjDx-HldMU9xLxWrdMJBpr0jT5/s4624/20231008_114510.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9MXjRG5Rktm25j6eCN6cMbhfg5YhcAsDxCTiALKj-7LFx9OvaAyA7mWkAV_Cls-uycbQxdurVtx_VMYdAXg2jYnR-6ECADM9LUdPej4DXjYkEHGXq-DdmS_tGWWkZfPuMcTN6aYrB0yNLjNOTz0t7pIfjfji2SCZQHdjDx-HldMU9xLxWrdMJBpr0jT5/s320/20231008_114510.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-X_Bm3zjA4cJhyhHtqe6gyLt_-aze1uiduuK1ymLF8rbYz3CPekD6EczvQJkiB0T3G2NVvmJQFUjHZLKdcrqxEQQdkBNZsXiAvVtEE531GEeLIiGOSn0G-iIXmSdnRR3wsrgdFjbZtICFrKRFUscCsCGLvTA5nwfztLZTlUnm63E_F0avBxtJmcKpf2cJ/s4624/20231008_115657.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-X_Bm3zjA4cJhyhHtqe6gyLt_-aze1uiduuK1ymLF8rbYz3CPekD6EczvQJkiB0T3G2NVvmJQFUjHZLKdcrqxEQQdkBNZsXiAvVtEE531GEeLIiGOSn0G-iIXmSdnRR3wsrgdFjbZtICFrKRFUscCsCGLvTA5nwfztLZTlUnm63E_F0avBxtJmcKpf2cJ/s320/20231008_115657.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKhv9tuWdLOpe3TN3GV-v-syrF1coFFHc2qPnGY7u9p-eHaw8qqinOZ46NeVgcKdFB3KW1MAfzJSNljc0nhoAedc2ONiSwmh2NpCVMs3NepoOEZPZUGg13XHSpxRdNqEk3czjnrs0Qktaq2qcg4F9RB1QAWkpIH5Scc7ma93T29cgiNRdW0cFL-zV3RlS/s320/20231008_121835.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHL_ptdBRlwCWiYGkr7PrxDgJHKDJCuLWP72Xs4rxygUgkcqdHx_G66zys7vdX1Uy6H-Khgyu7X4b5aJd6Va0W2JVf5plF6YeKxpqqWv0xZsqqJ8j1_rJmpHiKUWXwG0rHYYO03RN4XfYxBo4c-wGYKCapt9TWVMY8Vi3l_o0JwGuMmC7DYSoIVSP02g2D/s4624/20231008_121925.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHL_ptdBRlwCWiYGkr7PrxDgJHKDJCuLWP72Xs4rxygUgkcqdHx_G66zys7vdX1Uy6H-Khgyu7X4b5aJd6Va0W2JVf5plF6YeKxpqqWv0xZsqqJ8j1_rJmpHiKUWXwG0rHYYO03RN4XfYxBo4c-wGYKCapt9TWVMY8Vi3l_o0JwGuMmC7DYSoIVSP02g2D/s320/20231008_121925.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7kUrATOBEOjMNjOFYsEK7lG8yLTZYbRTMSDbG_hqowvwVctTE1Xr2UelLhuhyClHB9OpigHcXVjdgy4fqOgXUUxBjhsyBTZvzKOXy0dH09EAE_lCWT_wsjPD9lcmBPg6fdD685kjdH6uesojja2CYGeVxIiK38CBl2eIc76cRBDEOjA0uOpDSTvKOglI/s4624/20231008_123701.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7kUrATOBEOjMNjOFYsEK7lG8yLTZYbRTMSDbG_hqowvwVctTE1Xr2UelLhuhyClHB9OpigHcXVjdgy4fqOgXUUxBjhsyBTZvzKOXy0dH09EAE_lCWT_wsjPD9lcmBPg6fdD685kjdH6uesojja2CYGeVxIiK38CBl2eIc76cRBDEOjA0uOpDSTvKOglI/s320/20231008_123701.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNnmBdmOg3po7hJUkmXeAQsolfsNimAjTFKGt3U3PdeGa83qYLoXl_IFNGIcONPCFFN57lcJuMcZCNFqFySHFnAoq4mltM0WXohlnwHwRImKavcbxnyDNgQaK2WH13q0rdRV__RE2iSIDKvXSAEVF2kroK85sAREb7wM3y7p-un_17sWu-PC9JYOwQQtdP/s2576/20231008_123854.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2576" data-original-width="1932" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNnmBdmOg3po7hJUkmXeAQsolfsNimAjTFKGt3U3PdeGa83qYLoXl_IFNGIcONPCFFN57lcJuMcZCNFqFySHFnAoq4mltM0WXohlnwHwRImKavcbxnyDNgQaK2WH13q0rdRV__RE2iSIDKvXSAEVF2kroK85sAREb7wM3y7p-un_17sWu-PC9JYOwQQtdP/s320/20231008_123854.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5568kquY8TGqS-2K-7m86UosASy6CA3PeBQAIDzOAuY84rA55K01FVBIFMiVz9oDRSXkNlyNNCYNbMJ52t2I7V8DCBLqEe3JYQz4TtRy1If86Qhjd_kqxvs2vcGFhwwejsk7eNntxjUW4GkAU2oMOkjjf-EWhNmA-nln1CDVnf0zDH6pebb5DZRJE8_UD/s4624/20231008_124531.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5568kquY8TGqS-2K-7m86UosASy6CA3PeBQAIDzOAuY84rA55K01FVBIFMiVz9oDRSXkNlyNNCYNbMJ52t2I7V8DCBLqEe3JYQz4TtRy1If86Qhjd_kqxvs2vcGFhwwejsk7eNntxjUW4GkAU2oMOkjjf-EWhNmA-nln1CDVnf0zDH6pebb5DZRJE8_UD/s320/20231008_124531.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After coming through the hamlet of Groppodalosio we crossed a beautiful stone bridge, built in 1574. We sat down for a leisurely lunch break on the other side as we were quite tired from the steep descents and uncertain footing of the path.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXUYtR-A2ZrMwJWDkYQnNSgdoZ2bvwdDRdbArYJlK9qX4psGulqm9FSsvMTYKKldcNeim7G55k6iCuAyMAfCNw0rM3zDFV1dFEGaSj7P5Qvir3-RQ3JZcs0h3gVxRgSTEtnXS6jzXqEmCQDpwrH2_qgQxMx2MVXsUvlKu2uj0hHdVUW-8xzHj2fHa3kwFa/s4624/20231008_124614.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXUYtR-A2ZrMwJWDkYQnNSgdoZ2bvwdDRdbArYJlK9qX4psGulqm9FSsvMTYKKldcNeim7G55k6iCuAyMAfCNw0rM3zDFV1dFEGaSj7P5Qvir3-RQ3JZcs0h3gVxRgSTEtnXS6jzXqEmCQDpwrH2_qgQxMx2MVXsUvlKu2uj0hHdVUW-8xzHj2fHa3kwFa/s320/20231008_124614.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqd2dnvj9rlPiQyQONwK-Rf9lQCrXne1Zl47-xJtIXlvlkM8_Ib3Z380cXiIOGo7dWtIU0IiycR5FA-4O3U4lis-UJg3oltXCVkmVf35QC4u6WTJxfCZNS0gxdnE4w2urwWip6k6NJNYfdwQfH_8A84TTFFz5_caXx1sO-O3NgT5Pz0JzTqnJivH-jpm8G/s4624/20231008_124454.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqd2dnvj9rlPiQyQONwK-Rf9lQCrXne1Zl47-xJtIXlvlkM8_Ib3Z380cXiIOGo7dWtIU0IiycR5FA-4O3U4lis-UJg3oltXCVkmVf35QC4u6WTJxfCZNS0gxdnE4w2urwWip6k6NJNYfdwQfH_8A84TTFFz5_caXx1sO-O3NgT5Pz0JzTqnJivH-jpm8G/s320/20231008_124454.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxpsmufnKLgxvx9D5CSH2wW-9Glh-pI4_oFAlvEbUhVpEYMqCiCrTg8pRiVvDn1xk8NAdK1a44a1zb18iPOtAHQqdG1HZ81EdzMn37Jmsko_A9Hq3NcRCwxw1RYmiVWbAA_tlD5vrhm4cC1vPEOkOoAPeF8jKxPjut-0QU-6WORooNHty0saWKCTXLHo6J/s4624/20231008_124932.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxpsmufnKLgxvx9D5CSH2wW-9Glh-pI4_oFAlvEbUhVpEYMqCiCrTg8pRiVvDn1xk8NAdK1a44a1zb18iPOtAHQqdG1HZ81EdzMn37Jmsko_A9Hq3NcRCwxw1RYmiVWbAA_tlD5vrhm4cC1vPEOkOoAPeF8jKxPjut-0QU-6WORooNHty0saWKCTXLHo6J/s320/20231008_124932.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sean and Ann joined us, but I had not seen Mariella for a while, and there was no cell phone service where we were sitting; that and the sight of a tick walking across my hand convinced me to get up and moving again! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I sprayed on some insect repellent in case there were any more ticks in the woods and moved to a place with cell service, where I learned that Mariella had got onto the cycling route instead and was following that the rest of the way to Pontremoli. It must have been a lot shorter, because by the time I reached Pontremoli she had already met up with my husband there, and he had given her a lift - they were already both back home! 😄 </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mariella's walk ends in Pontremoli, our starting point for the Via del Volto Santo together in September 2020. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I continued wakking with Sean and Ann on an ancient cobblestone road through the woods, crossing several more stone bridges.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtMQyJF7XeAG0OmwC1M4P0P9N3Xz4x1KmqyH4OdR7MceksUqzb6k6_OJDgmY0iO90qExcG4dQns5_PcLiK-rBzO84eCQQzel4Ha_NTqJKJ2h0qRTPIB5lL7XxrO8MJJjlc1w764lDzuhRkPsUQ0VAzSNcXxy9gvmCH8TdokcgjgmRF7ir4Vc2-ASkPxFQ/s4624/20231008_141151.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtMQyJF7XeAG0OmwC1M4P0P9N3Xz4x1KmqyH4OdR7MceksUqzb6k6_OJDgmY0iO90qExcG4dQns5_PcLiK-rBzO84eCQQzel4Ha_NTqJKJ2h0qRTPIB5lL7XxrO8MJJjlc1w764lDzuhRkPsUQ0VAzSNcXxy9gvmCH8TdokcgjgmRF7ir4Vc2-ASkPxFQ/s320/20231008_141151.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLL9iSYZ9wqvvBFIzJJlO5g2aCixbNKMT2zMoZXV6sSnva8qOaasVIo9-jjCvaHd0ozn30_UG5EFa1GyjGFfR5V_jm3e2i5XtVJ2Sxqr-c4USaVKQOzJ3L0B17Dv8vbjBbEDXUvYeAFxnmq-Xo6TeY6sL8Wcmu1-oIaX8ePBVCgvtwEOVdj7eZNBm7UwSf/s4624/20231008_140709.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLL9iSYZ9wqvvBFIzJJlO5g2aCixbNKMT2zMoZXV6sSnva8qOaasVIo9-jjCvaHd0ozn30_UG5EFa1GyjGFfR5V_jm3e2i5XtVJ2Sxqr-c4USaVKQOzJ3L0B17Dv8vbjBbEDXUvYeAFxnmq-Xo6TeY6sL8Wcmu1-oIaX8ePBVCgvtwEOVdj7eZNBm7UwSf/s320/20231008_140709.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5Rio75qzkP_SQk4ert5kBVpq8ROwkBZp6G0XF_4VnliloOWUU6LTT_0y9Zvrg1V0EnpFRU00NfIcFBt7-pXbUoKm3Tx-JK0G3gX5TGTmSmHYqzebaXAObx3B_w6bELi1KP3PXTIX-nF4zj4NCC2jhmYaHllFfQsYgj0PlREaCsGgrCWnoTJ9hlCIg7Wf/s3700/20231008_140958.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2774" data-original-width="3700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5Rio75qzkP_SQk4ert5kBVpq8ROwkBZp6G0XF_4VnliloOWUU6LTT_0y9Zvrg1V0EnpFRU00NfIcFBt7-pXbUoKm3Tx-JK0G3gX5TGTmSmHYqzebaXAObx3B_w6bELi1KP3PXTIX-nF4zj4NCC2jhmYaHllFfQsYgj0PlREaCsGgrCWnoTJ9hlCIg7Wf/s320/20231008_140958.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6Z7PlGjJkQHOL8eDBUUVDDoDo14rq1DKf7lj8wAhfsmTTjsCSPVWK641i-Euh8DtNandA_ihdeJem898V2tFEMc6fgaMXsaAkE1zae5aF-q7SuB3fMe2DrjipErCRFVEQ-AeB_CUWagu4bGkt12ZNdgkVvHll-vGjpSTVIFdFBDuTJZFLu6S8EzScSBW/s4624/20231008_141254.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6Z7PlGjJkQHOL8eDBUUVDDoDo14rq1DKf7lj8wAhfsmTTjsCSPVWK641i-Euh8DtNandA_ihdeJem898V2tFEMc6fgaMXsaAkE1zae5aF-q7SuB3fMe2DrjipErCRFVEQ-AeB_CUWagu4bGkt12ZNdgkVvHll-vGjpSTVIFdFBDuTJZFLu6S8EzScSBW/s320/20231008_141254.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last of these - to make a long story short - was the 16th-century Ponte del Carmine, the bridge over the Magra river leading into the city of Pontremoli. The name comes from the Latin <i>pons tremulus </i>- wobbly bridge - so the original bridge over the Magra must have been much less solid!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0wIkYVwWngPcGph9WEMlsbkl3LhXK-LstsJcGhmjw0NQZ56MMefeGCjGIIJyvP34HH0mPA6gXuy30sx4gPaoa0yJW_Krl9d8rYmrJzuhhT6mF8GD7i-UP_H86_0hQGK_0ozHv6WiVUnVDcevWwu94GwMjYBdx5sZtLw3UfNlQLDJ69TgLPHWpt1huBLQ/s4624/20231008_163201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0wIkYVwWngPcGph9WEMlsbkl3LhXK-LstsJcGhmjw0NQZ56MMefeGCjGIIJyvP34HH0mPA6gXuy30sx4gPaoa0yJW_Krl9d8rYmrJzuhhT6mF8GD7i-UP_H86_0hQGK_0ozHv6WiVUnVDcevWwu94GwMjYBdx5sZtLw3UfNlQLDJ69TgLPHWpt1huBLQ/s320/20231008_163201.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The bridge was hard to photograph because of all the trees! After crossing it I passed a couple of derelict buildings and then the lift to the castle housing the Museum of Stele, which I would have liked to see, but it was getting late, I was tired, and the town's pilgrim hostel is no longer located in the castle, as it used to be. I walked along Via Garibaldi through the old town, stopping in at the 17th-century cathedral in Rococò style and then crossing another bridge back to the left bank of the river, where the pilgrim hostel is now located in the Capuchin monastery. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpH0OTZPhRJ52NmSYgxc_u9VXWunUA8MamBCi7nUB2xvT_LIuLHW2qQNkrIt8axbgCK0vMvujYN0G1lKVUp0ETY8-YYYRR1n-iFE891-CISZPAdBQCmAAYZhDG47DY3zi6pakIv016KuZnGaKzdz2_pAdJytwMnJIaUZK_j-Mo6XBe3f62Si8gBJW59sBP/s4624/20231008_164102.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpH0OTZPhRJ52NmSYgxc_u9VXWunUA8MamBCi7nUB2xvT_LIuLHW2qQNkrIt8axbgCK0vMvujYN0G1lKVUp0ETY8-YYYRR1n-iFE891-CISZPAdBQCmAAYZhDG47DY3zi6pakIv016KuZnGaKzdz2_pAdJytwMnJIaUZK_j-Mo6XBe3f62Si8gBJW59sBP/s320/20231008_164102.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9srwHj1bkRPjly5ssNMV1YDPhTJ_wvhVmymRvg6w6Tkl6GaHM186zdnEukSjooUPtSel8DLQY8IGpYdf7BbtP67Mg763UgZhnCAlEwPHQnYXmQJ1darQVWJsjUwBywYldqB9U7kYidp-IE652BAIc4kn4wTmWiIJ90y1cmkBEYr1CO48dxEUCH0E57Zyk/s4624/20231008_164124.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9srwHj1bkRPjly5ssNMV1YDPhTJ_wvhVmymRvg6w6Tkl6GaHM186zdnEukSjooUPtSel8DLQY8IGpYdf7BbtP67Mg763UgZhnCAlEwPHQnYXmQJ1darQVWJsjUwBywYldqB9U7kYidp-IE652BAIc4kn4wTmWiIJ90y1cmkBEYr1CO48dxEUCH0E57Zyk/s320/20231008_164124.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrOCfW7Dn2YJzCR8FA3istagJ2IPnXYkrXQalbII7d4dfrj61_Qd3V3gswFZcYBdj-3hEd6rKW0ip1X9BRnmdkYrbot8iN4UGtOB1QHIeBqvwgXDnBT6UyETSuHBB4szLxtEs_fAyddZdbA2HjL1KxrN4VaVqz3iC93m4MV_Yp9PAY-qiav_lx7LkBgahg/s4624/20231008_164506.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrOCfW7Dn2YJzCR8FA3istagJ2IPnXYkrXQalbII7d4dfrj61_Qd3V3gswFZcYBdj-3hEd6rKW0ip1X9BRnmdkYrbot8iN4UGtOB1QHIeBqvwgXDnBT6UyETSuHBB4szLxtEs_fAyddZdbA2HjL1KxrN4VaVqz3iC93m4MV_Yp9PAY-qiav_lx7LkBgahg/s320/20231008_164506.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL6ge217VU_AoXWFa0ehsOc0CPkqjgJsGfXDIvNJJUWDSIDxwviUjBwH1jcy0sHxISJk6lhNBuM5IasSbBh-H6-6U6GNnhn_gAa1X6HqY8Gc_r5lAtMytfokO_LhABQZ4dEujktQ-LJN8k9aWcZPB49RLP3c0yiwH2CaobTYiWcWfX8O8kkdaPbgcvvuc/s4624/20231008_164542.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL6ge217VU_AoXWFa0ehsOc0CPkqjgJsGfXDIvNJJUWDSIDxwviUjBwH1jcy0sHxISJk6lhNBuM5IasSbBh-H6-6U6GNnhn_gAa1X6HqY8Gc_r5lAtMytfokO_LhABQZ4dEujktQ-LJN8k9aWcZPB49RLP3c0yiwH2CaobTYiWcWfX8O8kkdaPbgcvvuc/s320/20231008_164542.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDNUBmPuPbbZKGHHV280ZaCMK2tlqK7DHgGJrSKc54IWf_T61qT1YCPyHqdHYDYFoLXR5pWocISgwoWK4Yk22_zDaN2pXAP38uHyWhv6WMNVc4VKau2-xTYJdG3QjUT84BdDATqNqM_263OPQpVhYNhpoNZqYmL65lwAHR67PV0x7QE6UFUvZkVDzgmdY/s4624/20231008_164939.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDNUBmPuPbbZKGHHV280ZaCMK2tlqK7DHgGJrSKc54IWf_T61qT1YCPyHqdHYDYFoLXR5pWocISgwoWK4Yk22_zDaN2pXAP38uHyWhv6WMNVc4VKau2-xTYJdG3QjUT84BdDATqNqM_263OPQpVhYNhpoNZqYmL65lwAHR67PV0x7QE6UFUvZkVDzgmdY/s320/20231008_164939.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsKXeLSoM8YXuAOjov5TUMEERojqJQ8JQDIqABJJGNHjh1x4v2pb_Gg6XPcpaGEDGclWww0O1B-fIy7GDfbf0XaD4ueGKraiGrefIFRoQlBQ5sxPZom9DFqpJr8eWEtPWL79U_lU1hcyhKnp9r1dfJWtEbu9HqKTSb40j5-6Tt4Mkqk7NfSlr3f6SlyOt0/s4624/20231008_165349.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsKXeLSoM8YXuAOjov5TUMEERojqJQ8JQDIqABJJGNHjh1x4v2pb_Gg6XPcpaGEDGclWww0O1B-fIy7GDfbf0XaD4ueGKraiGrefIFRoQlBQ5sxPZom9DFqpJr8eWEtPWL79U_lU1hcyhKnp9r1dfJWtEbu9HqKTSb40j5-6Tt4Mkqk7NfSlr3f6SlyOt0/s320/20231008_165349.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And where there was a chestnut festival taking place in the park across from the monastery! I knew the monks would be at Mass until a quarter to six and so I stopped there for a beer and a delicious snack, which turned out to be dinner: roast chestnuts and <i>castagnaccio, </i>a very simple flat cake made from chestnut flour, olive oil and water, raisins and pine nuts, served here with fresh ricotta cheese. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAnscLax51AQsF2_R7muTz3LrF59czfThMeiHxzNCWDFftYlGCXl_EosKSZxY_U8Brwb9cYil1rnEcQRxXAX3DeIjoNBuq5cV4VEZzBYC8EmYF8CxOrVWY7aeVE4TcxzZme4THTcoKSe5e7a7ES3m6yjDhwhoLeYDcCTN3kFqUzzkJhaDXBSJQeGQ_CESH/s4624/20231008_165502.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAnscLax51AQsF2_R7muTz3LrF59czfThMeiHxzNCWDFftYlGCXl_EosKSZxY_U8Brwb9cYil1rnEcQRxXAX3DeIjoNBuq5cV4VEZzBYC8EmYF8CxOrVWY7aeVE4TcxzZme4THTcoKSe5e7a7ES3m6yjDhwhoLeYDcCTN3kFqUzzkJhaDXBSJQeGQ_CESH/s320/20231008_165502.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br style="text-align: left;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEVizAL979zw5MOR4rBGPvlxYOniTAKlyz6K4B7mYDxQKhNslQVEMnfjI2tED2QA4m0WFedVLJ_wDhjT_dvf2Q-S5rr-ac0c_W5tjhcUJleV7CqSe-kapUnH6jI4did6u8GK53EGAjPHBjMwc-U2yn2QgJpGmk_P3TM2dYmzunigZRXPYP663ViRyne99/s4624/20231008_171710.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEVizAL979zw5MOR4rBGPvlxYOniTAKlyz6K4B7mYDxQKhNslQVEMnfjI2tED2QA4m0WFedVLJ_wDhjT_dvf2Q-S5rr-ac0c_W5tjhcUJleV7CqSe-kapUnH6jI4did6u8GK53EGAjPHBjMwc-U2yn2QgJpGmk_P3TM2dYmzunigZRXPYP663ViRyne99/s320/20231008_171710.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxq2miKgs5oLDek1AnjcWWNl6EA6WVfV7a4IemMoAMp7-4_Q6JcYWzK099KGCU4WED6n2w3j-z0kv_dgwZcbF1gPt6rRlm-bmwJw-grbnqSBxJobMGQ2RJQAoJj437cmaimXTItJOG54Ywc1-HOJP_euOCaHGgPIURKmKvBarHDPJDURRlFwR8BTHhbBmI/s4624/20231008_170156.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxq2miKgs5oLDek1AnjcWWNl6EA6WVfV7a4IemMoAMp7-4_Q6JcYWzK099KGCU4WED6n2w3j-z0kv_dgwZcbF1gPt6rRlm-bmwJw-grbnqSBxJobMGQ2RJQAoJj437cmaimXTItJOG54Ywc1-HOJP_euOCaHGgPIURKmKvBarHDPJDURRlFwR8BTHhbBmI/s320/20231008_170156.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZPJdZizy95oys93EXjftR1zJYexVoZkjZe3zjBlwUp3K0Ut6NL3Z2thJPGG9sSaBgLH0PguanD1zL08savXZyhv3zUVB5rRgLhbIQp4d-63T3Te21LsjojRPuvDfmUGOaK5uGCgrYMUuCNSjWML1AIq7nKXnBYZuCY_P7DSygVD1aVC6YjvbZjpH9v2T/s4624/20231008_174048.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZPJdZizy95oys93EXjftR1zJYexVoZkjZe3zjBlwUp3K0Ut6NL3Z2thJPGG9sSaBgLH0PguanD1zL08savXZyhv3zUVB5rRgLhbIQp4d-63T3Te21LsjojRPuvDfmUGOaK5uGCgrYMUuCNSjWML1AIq7nKXnBYZuCY_P7DSygVD1aVC6YjvbZjpH9v2T/s320/20231008_174048.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At a quarter to six I crossed over to the monastery, where I found four of the others sitting on the steps waiting - they hadn't received the information that the monks would all be in church for an hour, and not answering the doorbell or the phone! Within a few minutes we saw the congregation leaving the church and the doors to the monastery finally opened. We were duly checked in, credentials stamped, paid our fifteen euros and were shown to our rooms - lovely private cells for one or two people, on the top floor overlooking the cloister!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJwUI4qvGAyZxjauMk1af5cdAej1RHuIEbfcn2E2IojC9lbDtMu9eNK4Ze9dSPpRJqhqZZGjidiSQPVcqolocJ6Lh2Y8mmaQ27zMHR6NpsRKFl7Ps0OBuT3_DGvYRAThEKIQTwKdDOdeLVRsTdv0t_tIRGDm0i8lhNKyHPI3Jzz2wsOZtiFesrwBpG47A/s4000/20231008_174113.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJwUI4qvGAyZxjauMk1af5cdAej1RHuIEbfcn2E2IojC9lbDtMu9eNK4Ze9dSPpRJqhqZZGjidiSQPVcqolocJ6Lh2Y8mmaQ27zMHR6NpsRKFl7Ps0OBuT3_DGvYRAThEKIQTwKdDOdeLVRsTdv0t_tIRGDm0i8lhNKyHPI3Jzz2wsOZtiFesrwBpG47A/s320/20231008_174113.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrhISWd6mrN5EqKFvNf-GO-lOMT_5LUokP2w9wI2lpoZovbq-sDwMLjZ3C57wTseCEh0W6SFBLBsmFZ1_lq8v0TuunMZaARTTQXkofUTd8TnvOankbqvlbbj5uLx5v41Xw2kMTQRjpumIZLLrXxgkYZqCTpdnHkRvVGfvZYKqZCz7VaQ6GVeyugK_xHAH/s4000/20231008_174718.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrhISWd6mrN5EqKFvNf-GO-lOMT_5LUokP2w9wI2lpoZovbq-sDwMLjZ3C57wTseCEh0W6SFBLBsmFZ1_lq8v0TuunMZaARTTQXkofUTd8TnvOankbqvlbbj5uLx5v41Xw2kMTQRjpumIZLLrXxgkYZqCTpdnHkRvVGfvZYKqZCz7VaQ6GVeyugK_xHAH/s320/20231008_174718.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijuMTPfrtNt9PfWRpxBIAN6PpKVzHN_asJFS9IcxafmRHW3kuBuWqAjCn2y9kdzDhwP3XsKTwvBYll0QpSXmSVAhn4JUVUtcCjADZV91F1Y3kxO5QkdgHEMCYlG3o5aGr2ySWlQ-DWJ7ruryUPgu47uiZd0nEZsNCN18jimUipl_Zikm8xnNcIdbTFZ6VI/s4000/20231008_180246.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijuMTPfrtNt9PfWRpxBIAN6PpKVzHN_asJFS9IcxafmRHW3kuBuWqAjCn2y9kdzDhwP3XsKTwvBYll0QpSXmSVAhn4JUVUtcCjADZV91F1Y3kxO5QkdgHEMCYlG3o5aGr2ySWlQ-DWJ7ruryUPgu47uiZd0nEZsNCN18jimUipl_Zikm8xnNcIdbTFZ6VI/s320/20231008_180246.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2WCLl8wMCU6EDf7wHxSineKG8gylUDkGbTDzJ0kh3x68OOJEtkHxhbMg-UG9nBM5LLWlZSZFYowbR6xGtz8T_ntWAPCxQe8emtfV_h_3zjgPb0tNAgSE1MnY2N0o9WMM65i-fs5t_s6p-9WxXPOHEBEEsq3o0iESZSs2PtUYAftzd5BnS0ue0uR3bsL0S/s2400/Screenshot_20231008_204720_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2WCLl8wMCU6EDf7wHxSineKG8gylUDkGbTDzJ0kh3x68OOJEtkHxhbMg-UG9nBM5LLWlZSZFYowbR6xGtz8T_ntWAPCxQe8emtfV_h_3zjgPb0tNAgSE1MnY2N0o9WMM65i-fs5t_s6p-9WxXPOHEBEEsq3o0iESZSs2PtUYAftzd5BnS0ue0uR3bsL0S/s320/Screenshot_20231008_204720_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Passo della Cisa - Pontremoli 25 km</div>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-82138583651375415042023-10-07T16:59:00.010+02:002024-01-09T14:23:14.473+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 84: Cassio - Passo della Cisa<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Never measure the height of a mountain until you reach the top. Then you will see how low it was.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">- Dag Hammerskjold, <i>Markings </i>(1963)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlj4t6ZT6pVgsAas7ZyBhajhWNKIuRvwPyRKNsHZC9L2uWXV-UKLwsc_x10UAtbWVqxvNF7LAYci3tRCJKVN6NA6v57xmleCWykbx3MM3fYjbkpQW4nA0grMkACXr3zF73qpVh2zB6cjVLjIcEBLoWRs_bq81hJ5qTrGvC879vXBR_UDMBwvdTcsqORwG/s4624/20231007_075306.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlj4t6ZT6pVgsAas7ZyBhajhWNKIuRvwPyRKNsHZC9L2uWXV-UKLwsc_x10UAtbWVqxvNF7LAYci3tRCJKVN6NA6v57xmleCWykbx3MM3fYjbkpQW4nA0grMkACXr3zF73qpVh2zB6cjVLjIcEBLoWRs_bq81hJ5qTrGvC879vXBR_UDMBwvdTcsqORwG/s320/20231007_075306.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">I was looking forward to a hike through the woods on the way up to the Cisa Pass today, as peaceful and pleasant as the last part of yesterday's walk. But the bar in Cassio, where we returned for our morning cappuccino and croissant, was teeming with hunters in camouflage gear and bright orange reflective vests (paradoxically), and in Cavazzola, a couple of kilometres beyond Cassio, a woman out walking her dog advised us it would be safer to walk on the road rather than through the forest. There was very little traffic, consisting primarily of aforesaid hunters in jeeps, on their way to the best places to kill animals. But it's not nice to walk on the road, a hard, unforgiving surface created to suit the machine rather than the human foot. And machines are not only noisy and polluting but unable to climb steep slopes, and so the road makes several bends as it climbs toward the pass, making it quite a bit longer, in this section!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzKIf6LfDSuqNg9Pm2w8NXiZhq2RRDhzKFR3rXJGCse9RZnN1e5_7m5eD_PybgnNOuWsUAnOdrSDdIdmV5ackfHCHSDNM-56WEJWFlZNFfyt8U7ITcDFlxe7A2Y8pIeHCK4U-oo5QopfYMssdsEtntMBZ37o78jELZ0SL75hhxnusCxKgAJ5BTlZKtB5_/s4624/20231007_080241.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzKIf6LfDSuqNg9Pm2w8NXiZhq2RRDhzKFR3rXJGCse9RZnN1e5_7m5eD_PybgnNOuWsUAnOdrSDdIdmV5ackfHCHSDNM-56WEJWFlZNFfyt8U7ITcDFlxe7A2Y8pIeHCK4U-oo5QopfYMssdsEtntMBZ37o78jELZ0SL75hhxnusCxKgAJ5BTlZKtB5_/s320/20231007_080241.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3bJFFeVxjOGcMkTyI3_01Ko1kasg3uukMeBy8JkWrzRXrv2qix7MeHB2RmHWcnLBptWj_fH_3FJrqBbn-4teI7tkMDSxAX7fdu_deCvB5vqE6VX1CE9WrLo32OV9jU_7uRAW1ltNzDBBtYOTZkq3sUpt2NnaLlTEQkUObMvK10FM1vJKuw2DUqTCifJo8/s4624/20231007_084301.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3bJFFeVxjOGcMkTyI3_01Ko1kasg3uukMeBy8JkWrzRXrv2qix7MeHB2RmHWcnLBptWj_fH_3FJrqBbn-4teI7tkMDSxAX7fdu_deCvB5vqE6VX1CE9WrLo32OV9jU_7uRAW1ltNzDBBtYOTZkq3sUpt2NnaLlTEQkUObMvK10FM1vJKuw2DUqTCifJo8/s320/20231007_084301.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">At least the views were rewarding! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">At a rest stop with benches by the road in Castellonchio I waited for the others to catch up. Peter and Michelle had been told, by the same lady as warned me about the hunters, that from here on we could safely take the trail, so that is what we did!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The footpath played hide-and-seek with the road, touching upon it here and there, veering off into the fields or the woods and back, all the way to Berceto. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBz5I44Gw9Zru6iyYmcE6rd-PjBM53SVcF3g4bY6N0lPT4-TESGUmP8xD6nPeyCKZxTCXTIuptnLnN6uKczBdljV20P1la7RidZ3wggcSHBg1o5MSXlZww4QWJmYHTw2iqfFz2n8xZXdESTbcIwXL7ysTceBF5ivVot5_eSMx0qaZpHGU8OmFYBRPW6MzW/s4624/20231007_094334.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBz5I44Gw9Zru6iyYmcE6rd-PjBM53SVcF3g4bY6N0lPT4-TESGUmP8xD6nPeyCKZxTCXTIuptnLnN6uKczBdljV20P1la7RidZ3wggcSHBg1o5MSXlZww4QWJmYHTw2iqfFz2n8xZXdESTbcIwXL7ysTceBF5ivVot5_eSMx0qaZpHGU8OmFYBRPW6MzW/s320/20231007_094334.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Castellonchio </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrsYrVrC2p3bnJpWzxLeLC_SNYfcrDWT0OrunNIWQP8Be0bk1YJAcjYVlU6my2MXd6fvYc42dQUaqENDfW1ZZaRxodX7xNeTBrmlu1LlTNLcWe6fdUmK5JU4VUksWs2fRyMOW8B6wHNREYz-rlGp09_eWcC-ZcjTsXJkV3Ebapzji7eMZUerrABSogVAe/s4624/20231007_100613.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrsYrVrC2p3bnJpWzxLeLC_SNYfcrDWT0OrunNIWQP8Be0bk1YJAcjYVlU6my2MXd6fvYc42dQUaqENDfW1ZZaRxodX7xNeTBrmlu1LlTNLcWe6fdUmK5JU4VUksWs2fRyMOW8B6wHNREYz-rlGp09_eWcC-ZcjTsXJkV3Ebapzji7eMZUerrABSogVAe/s320/20231007_100613.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing higher</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJ0OmXdDBYDgyXQoHkpABz470Yl81hIzTlA60a7pdCDxBtLuc3gYcd05IBKwr3u11oj529nlY4rXSqy4u3UcHWmBf00v-YeXmXI-pwuDbs9h3QmsN8Z1i72RRtxhFOH6lSIlJBEUaOgTrXwbzzPX29OPYBb_981Y8GVph9m9U0Ifn-WLYwPXvQ8Ilu5F3/s4624/20231007_102708.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJ0OmXdDBYDgyXQoHkpABz470Yl81hIzTlA60a7pdCDxBtLuc3gYcd05IBKwr3u11oj529nlY4rXSqy4u3UcHWmBf00v-YeXmXI-pwuDbs9h3QmsN8Z1i72RRtxhFOH6lSIlJBEUaOgTrXwbzzPX29OPYBb_981Y8GVph9m9U0Ifn-WLYwPXvQ8Ilu5F3/s320/20231007_102708.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8IgoVda0Ix0UyyU96yTtwxbVLFE_PnP2k-G5Wrnlc6NBDaz2AA9HAjiealtFRF6NbtbDO1gOR5po8deFDUnZZTo76Ko9gMzlGxVD8e3-WixTeyoz0XIzxOp70tlZP4e1opnuR_IxQi5Qmn3vjtiboCk4cMZfcdmE9-3so_jbDlNiSBcVU3Kjfjrk9ZJ0/s4624/20231007_105206.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8IgoVda0Ix0UyyU96yTtwxbVLFE_PnP2k-G5Wrnlc6NBDaz2AA9HAjiealtFRF6NbtbDO1gOR5po8deFDUnZZTo76Ko9gMzlGxVD8e3-WixTeyoz0XIzxOp70tlZP4e1opnuR_IxQi5Qmn3vjtiboCk4cMZfcdmE9-3so_jbDlNiSBcVU3Kjfjrk9ZJ0/s320/20231007_105206.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgPlqlI5-smzvqIqFYadQ0oPBYjtcCxecq6wfk2OtfYSMz1acs4S60oyhbb2AKEDsUMigO4cixHZtccNW-3fBbvcv64hEm7I7hAaSQgrbLhoCpUOdRSrd8b1v3FftpPv_bUKKGx2uYre2-OGMi9jfmxs8jcoGqgED860U-kbxMiKELeaWG1uzbBHwEmD9/s4624/20231007_105644.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgPlqlI5-smzvqIqFYadQ0oPBYjtcCxecq6wfk2OtfYSMz1acs4S60oyhbb2AKEDsUMigO4cixHZtccNW-3fBbvcv64hEm7I7hAaSQgrbLhoCpUOdRSrd8b1v3FftpPv_bUKKGx2uYre2-OGMi9jfmxs8jcoGqgED860U-kbxMiKELeaWG1uzbBHwEmD9/s320/20231007_105644.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the sign shown above, just before Berceto, I would suggest ignoring the arrow and continuing straight ahead; the new route signposted to the left takes you high above the town to enjoy the view, but then you come down again, to a picnic area by small shrine. My gpx track suggested ypu could get to the same place by going straight ahead, and that is definitely the best thing to do, ignoring the arrow! 😄</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From the picnic area at the shrine there is an amazing view over Berceto!</div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZDIiLS0IkXP9qmN0TKvCq1Nceolzij3hYjcDya6egqQCBWlZKU5kbOLUPUQOX2XMAmjrOGNJ3rqbshxR196adv8x_rx6kbRC4MCzdRcF6M1YvE10HV2oJp3LzWNvieoG3Ozord3N2muLeKuvvVc1mZyNsaE288o4tkaCdalB2_IhaMRBraF3y3sbYAl9i/s4624/20231007_115017.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZDIiLS0IkXP9qmN0TKvCq1Nceolzij3hYjcDya6egqQCBWlZKU5kbOLUPUQOX2XMAmjrOGNJ3rqbshxR196adv8x_rx6kbRC4MCzdRcF6M1YvE10HV2oJp3LzWNvieoG3Ozord3N2muLeKuvvVc1mZyNsaE288o4tkaCdalB2_IhaMRBraF3y3sbYAl9i/s320/20231007_115017.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">After our picnic we followed an old cobblestone road past the castle and into the centre of Berceto, where went into the 9th-century cathedral of San Moderanno and had our pilgrim credentials stamped. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6l1KqFmfXc_skG70o63NC8YTSNUx8Bbcgi0Mv9J-g2a83oZUZs8_QDqDWjhGdJL2hcQ3558Jl_fFfIZ2MDL8UYwCq3pWrXNFKigrNM_7nCehiazZ5o7xos8UqwUREAgdtcebhyIToncvcVCWy9MqTZtd9XVFR31yfR1QPVEJi8EJuCdoY-Owsy0fljL6/s4000/20231007_122010.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6l1KqFmfXc_skG70o63NC8YTSNUx8Bbcgi0Mv9J-g2a83oZUZs8_QDqDWjhGdJL2hcQ3558Jl_fFfIZ2MDL8UYwCq3pWrXNFKigrNM_7nCehiazZ5o7xos8UqwUREAgdtcebhyIToncvcVCWy9MqTZtd9XVFR31yfR1QPVEJi8EJuCdoY-Owsy0fljL6/s320/20231007_122010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-XbLVpDRIOw6j7MPznB7pDrfTw0R2W7Nmt5Us87fa_QwcRq-9JgVIZ3N_KwXTawD-jnb5cdPDMr88gfV2TbE9PjrdYVhjw6oux3cpCFbHTXrpL9yqpIIpq1AnWgCnz4A9CPe4ZBYKGzS1n4p7uoihh3ziFgHZbzgeQEDx__eZ_eYw_EAHy1GixVTRA6Y/s4624/20231007_121953.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-XbLVpDRIOw6j7MPznB7pDrfTw0R2W7Nmt5Us87fa_QwcRq-9JgVIZ3N_KwXTawD-jnb5cdPDMr88gfV2TbE9PjrdYVhjw6oux3cpCFbHTXrpL9yqpIIpq1AnWgCnz4A9CPe4ZBYKGzS1n4p7uoihh3ziFgHZbzgeQEDx__eZ_eYw_EAHy1GixVTRA6Y/s320/20231007_121953.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLb6cVBxmJIr7eqZMhWW8N6D2wWbazPbNdZQ1F1oXhv2Rsp69lZDfyFK9Xf2Ky6cg4B8WzIEGbi5rZhC36nyCYJk-YogoSe1F-_T8tO8b-5Dke7__oIWfqIr1xzlWOmHsuhOSF5U33GxDEjs_KZqgRfWwLdNujADphPQCNn2HUt6ZR5O1Aj8LdFRu0jQ2/s4624/20231007_121248.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLb6cVBxmJIr7eqZMhWW8N6D2wWbazPbNdZQ1F1oXhv2Rsp69lZDfyFK9Xf2Ky6cg4B8WzIEGbi5rZhC36nyCYJk-YogoSe1F-_T8tO8b-5Dke7__oIWfqIr1xzlWOmHsuhOSF5U33GxDEjs_KZqgRfWwLdNujADphPQCNn2HUt6ZR5O1Aj8LdFRu0jQ2/s320/20231007_121248.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VB5kGNO7E2aHRwR3oPVmIyOfua56_e1c7DJqyYKVoeAKmSTSHkMHfVVcVf7rvruzQw2m8xLW-EOcSnqriKziTo18d7qYLy2VZbIQ7VqZ5Bv7ayoAjletxv6hISOTRtl9GVGo4Vmr4GPDq3miN5cgi9GI9HYyHqgu-dCPp1I0kmBtzursTME45eHOD6QC/s4624/20231007_121302.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VB5kGNO7E2aHRwR3oPVmIyOfua56_e1c7DJqyYKVoeAKmSTSHkMHfVVcVf7rvruzQw2m8xLW-EOcSnqriKziTo18d7qYLy2VZbIQ7VqZ5Bv7ayoAjletxv6hISOTRtl9GVGo4Vmr4GPDq3miN5cgi9GI9HYyHqgu-dCPp1I0kmBtzursTME45eHOD6QC/s320/20231007_121302.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0K_Qnvgl1OxHITnThzLsl4h8G5usnCt3F5B3UgjIM5VJHCbRzcSquT2NNOZm6er7YLFdtv4yFeZ92iIeoycp-Y3_kIhrGtdRzWupD7DPwNfsAqE8JYgYpyW2R5sE5A_qM9fiEOFz9AocVSN_ps4uJzvmiZiXQ8A74mLvxJDKE_7RnE4ffcHTnVQF5979J/s4624/20231007_121338.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKSb7ziWSK3wOrPmkNjpahyK23JPLJnhLjNRLitvpILS4yCv7LckUD04709CkvKPp6meeDY060CB2TvGE52OGlZFX8c24OxMTgUJUmRZTcFwccGJX-KAQsQqglbzFa1nJ8H2dw8R6NIQp0GIN9ADdrbPhyBVRQVrQzFJqI1LuVjJKsUXZrvw0xbEymyLE/s4624/20231007_121451.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKSb7ziWSK3wOrPmkNjpahyK23JPLJnhLjNRLitvpILS4yCv7LckUD04709CkvKPp6meeDY060CB2TvGE52OGlZFX8c24OxMTgUJUmRZTcFwccGJX-KAQsQqglbzFa1nJ8H2dw8R6NIQp0GIN9ADdrbPhyBVRQVrQzFJqI1LuVjJKsUXZrvw0xbEymyLE/s320/20231007_121451.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-5PE_1_YiKJRO7JdplcIoCFtfnnQ7t3hYIhh45b3-FHf1ArMeLHfCKHmeldQ5tU-rCGN3cOYgeXOB8HlQDYndyDG2pYORXaub38HGZ5cI09aQVj_SCtV9XWr4uEXpEu_cxZnZa8QnpUDY9XKGoetiOCKbzXnD87Tsjj12e5aEcWVk_Q8XXN0JpECvbQC/s4624/20231007_122049.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-5PE_1_YiKJRO7JdplcIoCFtfnnQ7t3hYIhh45b3-FHf1ArMeLHfCKHmeldQ5tU-rCGN3cOYgeXOB8HlQDYndyDG2pYORXaub38HGZ5cI09aQVj_SCtV9XWr4uEXpEu_cxZnZa8QnpUDY9XKGoetiOCKbzXnD87Tsjj12e5aEcWVk_Q8XXN0JpECvbQC/s320/20231007_122049.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid47LmELWdSciNq5FUmX6tZEUYLQRSLd0njLVU06jnqDIBMbs9G8FaezBDv6et4Yhyphenhyphenx_t2wpqNh6-2ym97S6xMIfeyFQBkJHQ-29z2un8xZJumrOym1ZewQXay4SOFwpDUqJ-KWKvsSb5OcX-NE4KDg201pG0zCTBY4_rtUHe7Dl7IXhWdlC_g3zbPIFrg/s4624/20231007_122149.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid47LmELWdSciNq5FUmX6tZEUYLQRSLd0njLVU06jnqDIBMbs9G8FaezBDv6et4Yhyphenhyphenx_t2wpqNh6-2ym97S6xMIfeyFQBkJHQ-29z2un8xZJumrOym1ZewQXay4SOFwpDUqJ-KWKvsSb5OcX-NE4KDg201pG0zCTBY4_rtUHe7Dl7IXhWdlC_g3zbPIFrg/s320/20231007_122149.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">QR codes posted along the Via Francigena through Berceto link to a series of <a href="https://berceto.localspirit.it/videoQR/wall.php" target="_blank">informative videos</a> on the history of the town. One of these directed us up a small alley to the remains of one of the towers of the city's medieval walls, lovingly restored and protected with a roof by the owner of the land on which it stands, local antiquarian Aldo Torricelli.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDgRG1hG4kCS1e6znMbPnp0BBNlVZ3E99uVzgcllZ34As3cPyDPSorSmPQmZW_N7EmemcICUF2HjgfLL2FVHjMtaBjn3vdO5JK2Y1qou7MV3UvYqq8t1Al6PDvPm5s-VIMgUKatshnlBfe4Td0ssAnKk6eICnlOsKxTSf5kPW4ka-EpMfM80e68Hjlrin/s4624/20231007_122739.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDgRG1hG4kCS1e6znMbPnp0BBNlVZ3E99uVzgcllZ34As3cPyDPSorSmPQmZW_N7EmemcICUF2HjgfLL2FVHjMtaBjn3vdO5JK2Y1qou7MV3UvYqq8t1Al6PDvPm5s-VIMgUKatshnlBfe4Td0ssAnKk6eICnlOsKxTSf5kPW4ka-EpMfM80e68Hjlrin/s320/20231007_122739.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RaHOeOb5VCQS68tstDdsgCznVu27SJoQ-LBKG5SiamtYwfzYhwUkW6VUawv8ggxhs9-e14qgBAO8T5aOihdtQGZe2XmyCX35P8rYfxYBKkUMmNRY8wBWu3H-XgpBwyiTXPLLy4_igjtOcWLlecq6hA3NXPlVwI0vIuAQgMTXptmsl7RER2Y4YTWDMaQE/s4624/20231007_123923.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RaHOeOb5VCQS68tstDdsgCznVu27SJoQ-LBKG5SiamtYwfzYhwUkW6VUawv8ggxhs9-e14qgBAO8T5aOihdtQGZe2XmyCX35P8rYfxYBKkUMmNRY8wBWu3H-XgpBwyiTXPLLy4_igjtOcWLlecq6hA3NXPlVwI0vIuAQgMTXptmsl7RER2Y4YTWDMaQE/s320/20231007_123923.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scouts at the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie coming out of Berceto </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We left the town of Berceto behind and followed the Via Francigena trail markings into the woods. For the next few kilometres we climbed gradually on a rocky road through the woods, the silence interrupted only by the sound of the occasional chestnut falling. Chestnut trees were traditionally a very important resource for the people of the Appennines, yielding wood for making houses and furniture as well as fruit that can be eaten fresh, either roasted or boiled, or dried and ground into a protein-rich flour that lasts all winter and into the next summer, providing a reliable food source even in the event of famine, crop failure, or war. And the best thing about chestnuts is that they are free for the taking! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMsHIlQ2zptUD7gKyS1Kr1PO916yG4Uk1cNonHFD5gcme4i1tMcvg0orHgtsl1EOtd9aCsLhHTdgTR4PeoCJo9lX4paVMx_Kg9txNaXpr43dX80mDNkndLuZDjcYsJsWA7Ke00zXsiQIL58KgBmrk_W1o_pmOql0_K5Mzzz36v66kwTLnRdDJIrHLEa9SI/s4624/20231007_141340.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMsHIlQ2zptUD7gKyS1Kr1PO916yG4Uk1cNonHFD5gcme4i1tMcvg0orHgtsl1EOtd9aCsLhHTdgTR4PeoCJo9lX4paVMx_Kg9txNaXpr43dX80mDNkndLuZDjcYsJsWA7Ke00zXsiQIL58KgBmrk_W1o_pmOql0_K5Mzzz36v66kwTLnRdDJIrHLEa9SI/s320/20231007_141340.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygsk8MPHl-V-R73mpPIaNo8pOtmvGUCspB3zbay6wcSvYeiJPTQM6PJsSv3o8nK2XOwoJH1GAs5-iBUbvz9V-INKUrm5aAIDH4SwsUFfogF9WfYz33F5TawsIElBc5mSYVMt3mHrRDL5TwnvhxZ8CfCKuIuvFYmf1kxroyLk-4BXsh_Et1qt52_ensbl8/s4624/20231007_141436.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygsk8MPHl-V-R73mpPIaNo8pOtmvGUCspB3zbay6wcSvYeiJPTQM6PJsSv3o8nK2XOwoJH1GAs5-iBUbvz9V-INKUrm5aAIDH4SwsUFfogF9WfYz33F5TawsIElBc5mSYVMt3mHrRDL5TwnvhxZ8CfCKuIuvFYmf1kxroyLk-4BXsh_Et1qt52_ensbl8/s320/20231007_141436.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YfZiQH1bglRbs8BGEnbu-kMP6xBEVs3vMh1yrFGCWK9XJQ_2wxiXZW-dqfrs_Y8A9_vAWXwdAw5yZsLvG2AhyphenhyphenJQuOL5ueKAnCO7uU6UTSUg95wKgOK_QZyqmhT-xnJYyXKjM_OfWuU9ZGL-BWR2vKeoJ_Io9sJK0tz15udd6yeGXnLrdcxw817AK1tdH/s4624/20231007_130133.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YfZiQH1bglRbs8BGEnbu-kMP6xBEVs3vMh1yrFGCWK9XJQ_2wxiXZW-dqfrs_Y8A9_vAWXwdAw5yZsLvG2AhyphenhyphenJQuOL5ueKAnCO7uU6UTSUg95wKgOK_QZyqmhT-xnJYyXKjM_OfWuU9ZGL-BWR2vKeoJ_Io9sJK0tz15udd6yeGXnLrdcxw817AK1tdH/s320/20231007_130133.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhr6KgKCXzvZUYEoV9sknrQEZ1iSetBUgBgGPNvM2A4VCfDBDHtps4FapQq-GI4mUl5OxtFPWkNOVSRmk4404Ewc1acrBSqeV13KPlXXl4WXawsXiGfxb-Lo7UNbGedJjmSETh_KY9L4aKq1_bScaRpM5dq6Q5XsxGeshT2TxsnwKT0q0LSaVLMcv6ipu/s4624/20231007_130329.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhr6KgKCXzvZUYEoV9sknrQEZ1iSetBUgBgGPNvM2A4VCfDBDHtps4FapQq-GI4mUl5OxtFPWkNOVSRmk4404Ewc1acrBSqeV13KPlXXl4WXawsXiGfxb-Lo7UNbGedJjmSETh_KY9L4aKq1_bScaRpM5dq6Q5XsxGeshT2TxsnwKT0q0LSaVLMcv6ipu/s320/20231007_130329.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWS0JmXsPy_oALhGdCj9dxgpQDRjUP1kDCuNiO8E6InY5svOU0XBIQ4nHJuiue-o-gk1_lyg7cigalJk4scYdbKBLslf94f-7gIr-JOP68XlVGrKXXM7gsd_mhHzSnaGrxlXfDeAXNq09SeTfNWHFf_Tc6npsLqBnMT35fr7AicAmWyQ-dwoZ9A5fRMYJ/s2040/IMG-20231007-WA0007.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="1530" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWS0JmXsPy_oALhGdCj9dxgpQDRjUP1kDCuNiO8E6InY5svOU0XBIQ4nHJuiue-o-gk1_lyg7cigalJk4scYdbKBLslf94f-7gIr-JOP68XlVGrKXXM7gsd_mhHzSnaGrxlXfDeAXNq09SeTfNWHFf_Tc6npsLqBnMT35fr7AicAmWyQ-dwoZ9A5fRMYJ/s320/IMG-20231007-WA0007.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbY_4ojhZLXSGY7GeQ93VekduV2dCepTLRGMP_yXNtMPl2d3yeSYTu-ueFjf4ckozqYlJv-EvhfenjmBO3m42B0iOqicl3I_9E7uJffZdb70VjH6ijYUjLjD1i83KNmz94mbTIgyKroxA7NzeTSJeCmkvc35w1UKEcvnnxKO3ipdMmyo8FdCWntsY2snah/s2576/20231007_145719.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2576" data-original-width="1932" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbY_4ojhZLXSGY7GeQ93VekduV2dCepTLRGMP_yXNtMPl2d3yeSYTu-ueFjf4ckozqYlJv-EvhfenjmBO3m42B0iOqicl3I_9E7uJffZdb70VjH6ijYUjLjD1i83KNmz94mbTIgyKroxA7NzeTSJeCmkvc35w1UKEcvnnxKO3ipdMmyo8FdCWntsY2snah/s320/20231007_145719.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We came to the junction between the Via Francigena path leading up to the peak of Monte Valoria and then down to the Cisa Pass, and a grass/dirt track leading down to the hostel, which is located beside the road. I imagine this road would be muddy after rain, but it was perfectly dry today. Back down at the highway, we backtracked for 200 metres to the Ostello della Cisa, which, like last night's hostel in Cassio, is located in a former <i>casa cantoniera </i>or home for road maintenance workers, characteristically bright pink in colour with green shutters. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0kyElfwt205sI35Z56QRJ_tJ0m7oxfT_wR8Y9v9SJ2xxx06-JiV48nl4iBu30JtQJujaoXzF54laTl8NngUTRbexsWPWCMpD2il_QJ7q9x5Fr5wyvKY58bWSX9UhF4FmOC6QZP8H8R70FUBV7C6J5If91XK9YytZYF0vZb5TSALUOC0k_AzP61MuHIOw/s2040/IMG-20231007-WA0008.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="1530" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0kyElfwt205sI35Z56QRJ_tJ0m7oxfT_wR8Y9v9SJ2xxx06-JiV48nl4iBu30JtQJujaoXzF54laTl8NngUTRbexsWPWCMpD2il_QJ7q9x5Fr5wyvKY58bWSX9UhF4FmOC6QZP8H8R70FUBV7C6J5If91XK9YytZYF0vZb5TSALUOC0k_AzP61MuHIOw/s320/IMG-20231007-WA0008.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_zsL732S4zrdYfJSJrsDSHZNgKvfV9kFSaHf6vbkstcW3kSsldsqhUi26uDcmselgsDkWOTkCow2DVVnfhDCqwCtpXe96_Mm0ge9JeD9kYG50UV5yra3BhyphenhyphenlPb0KdW7zBeAF7rxf4yfbclT5hA1oVilWP-wgWos_fOEzi312Adj0U1ClrNjkZPnzaght/s4000/20231007_155603.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_zsL732S4zrdYfJSJrsDSHZNgKvfV9kFSaHf6vbkstcW3kSsldsqhUi26uDcmselgsDkWOTkCow2DVVnfhDCqwCtpXe96_Mm0ge9JeD9kYG50UV5yra3BhyphenhyphenlPb0KdW7zBeAF7rxf4yfbclT5hA1oVilWP-wgWos_fOEzi312Adj0U1ClrNjkZPnzaght/s320/20231007_155603.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinO3StWlwtrPy0GZobFBuBRi-208OQpnVvfzwbIeygrAmekZpUltEZI-rCpJrKKUXtdrG-s5l9vzx9S0GCBvxoWHHQA6AUB6jw7A9ILDzwP3MdA_nT64VoF8f_y6ugEX0xEK1r0XchQIA3qJhbFTT_Vush1IwgzgoaGjerQVMid5ZASgiAEkwhP-7m3tPZ/s2400/Screenshot_20231007_153715_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinO3StWlwtrPy0GZobFBuBRi-208OQpnVvfzwbIeygrAmekZpUltEZI-rCpJrKKUXtdrG-s5l9vzx9S0GCBvxoWHHQA6AUB6jw7A9ILDzwP3MdA_nT64VoF8f_y6ugEX0xEK1r0XchQIA3qJhbFTT_Vush1IwgzgoaGjerQVMid5ZASgiAEkwhP-7m3tPZ/s320/Screenshot_20231007_153715_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Cassio - Ostello della Cisa 21 km </p><p style="text-align: center;">1100 metres elevation gain</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-78092023248822015252023-10-06T18:47:00.002+02:002024-01-09T14:23:05.858+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 83: Sivizzano - Cassio<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">- Greg Child, mountaineer</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcH5AKgL6lWfIdpS3wH2cUrEKvL6i1K7QcOHbsgoEJVFxdnGBZFCNy9SBUDXdt9VXz2fEO6NX8bRSQCGrzWSFw6Dudvbz-J3CfK1n08bs_UGCKRYHKwKExxhWB-98nKR_AUf-BppRfHIRwYv9bN8eZQ3KNkW8RXjswT7aQNCRx43r-7-DVY8UQfCfwrBiX/s4624/20231006_083602.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcH5AKgL6lWfIdpS3wH2cUrEKvL6i1K7QcOHbsgoEJVFxdnGBZFCNy9SBUDXdt9VXz2fEO6NX8bRSQCGrzWSFw6Dudvbz-J3CfK1n08bs_UGCKRYHKwKExxhWB-98nKR_AUf-BppRfHIRwYv9bN8eZQ3KNkW8RXjswT7aQNCRx43r-7-DVY8UQfCfwrBiX/s320/20231006_083602.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">We left Agriturismo Casa delle Viole and resumed walking along the side of the provincial highway for another two kilometres into Sivizzano, passing the foundations of a first-century AD Roman villa along the way!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksOdjN9N7VJ1g8t5TaoItan-ANFMp_blifXdNbjiIORUwZ__KXBf9kMUKp4r2B3wxak2NNlgu5OrecZTuLCkJKO2dEaUVbgrZPlvzynEJAiN_xhhyI7UYipEGidEYWTP1yx3tcgHkhYhtLj4u-OqCyiuF5OdV4iflbghbdVIpX5E4R_Cl2JNyC2M6ucZU/s4624/20231006_074406.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksOdjN9N7VJ1g8t5TaoItan-ANFMp_blifXdNbjiIORUwZ__KXBf9kMUKp4r2B3wxak2NNlgu5OrecZTuLCkJKO2dEaUVbgrZPlvzynEJAiN_xhhyI7UYipEGidEYWTP1yx3tcgHkhYhtLj4u-OqCyiuF5OdV4iflbghbdVIpX5E4R_Cl2JNyC2M6ucZU/s320/20231006_074406.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Soon aftr Sivizzano - deserted at 8 am - the Via Francigena leaves the road for a path across a field and through the trees. This path involves fording the stream three times, but as the stream bed was bone-dry this was not a problem at all! 😄</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4CMaLB86wUfIolZC5MwCounRULZB7pk4mwmmh8A5_K4rH9I0lcHypmR2mQL0BWiIzbPONQz5n5s_UQBi-hYq6KkBFm5WBamNz8_1rfybo-EYlSVqw5821R9gsNlNcfapfk98Wv7RLRb6vBLLQ9WW0fiRJx_JtlQYe1YbcJoWEiyuuuqkBAufr3CX-v9z/s4624/20231006_082020.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4CMaLB86wUfIolZC5MwCounRULZB7pk4mwmmh8A5_K4rH9I0lcHypmR2mQL0BWiIzbPONQz5n5s_UQBi-hYq6KkBFm5WBamNz8_1rfybo-EYlSVqw5821R9gsNlNcfapfk98Wv7RLRb6vBLLQ9WW0fiRJx_JtlQYe1YbcJoWEiyuuuqkBAufr3CX-v9z/s320/20231006_082020.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The path actually continues beyond Villanova, where my guidebook and gpx track suggested we had to return to the road; it is well-marked with Via Francigena signs. A few hundred metres further on we did return to the provincial highway for a short stretch before turning off onto a smaller road, the historic Via di Monte Bardone, to Bardone and Terenzo. A sign warned of road works and a complete road closure between October 5th and 18th, but we had been forewarned, asked the lady at the tourist office in Fornovo, and were told that there was no problem for pedestrians to walk through.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglO2gCmbhcTdrRjdr32qo8hHDYt92ZTHYytZkEgLP1XS5pJOsSkedgwQWeD8qXv-2FxeuhuJ59fdWY9pezbeZ_BWZoCTPzHYXGsIWy9BUNhhVXp53_7e0mcgIl417PqkC-4mDjQI50QyOveEaQ9foV0xodLdvQvzJSVMsJBJ-VblZvGeTl3O1H4CI5CE0/s4624/20231006_084329.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglO2gCmbhcTdrRjdr32qo8hHDYt92ZTHYytZkEgLP1XS5pJOsSkedgwQWeD8qXv-2FxeuhuJ59fdWY9pezbeZ_BWZoCTPzHYXGsIWy9BUNhhVXp53_7e0mcgIl417PqkC-4mDjQI50QyOveEaQ9foV0xodLdvQvzJSVMsJBJ-VblZvGeTl3O1H4CI5CE0/s320/20231006_084329.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No worries</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">On this road we climbed steeply to the tiny village of Bardone, with its fountains and church of 9th-century origin, the Pieve di Santa Maria Assunta. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhA2X2RP4mzKOPZN7TuvAmpeVJYAYwWUoZTKjhVBXjVPiHY4OGnkQygYQmcv8V7QnIg3dxKjGVqAqNDsQNES7KCQyLftevV8rit__1sAHjS_pBlfYTK6opiLJ-wH14hlYAKbs9xSeHb2PFEIvdTKeP_cKLfzHju_iB1LjaXObJs6XloL6Gzhr-Qf7wpQzT/s4624/20231006_085600.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhA2X2RP4mzKOPZN7TuvAmpeVJYAYwWUoZTKjhVBXjVPiHY4OGnkQygYQmcv8V7QnIg3dxKjGVqAqNDsQNES7KCQyLftevV8rit__1sAHjS_pBlfYTK6opiLJ-wH14hlYAKbs9xSeHb2PFEIvdTKeP_cKLfzHju_iB1LjaXObJs6XloL6Gzhr-Qf7wpQzT/s320/20231006_085600.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnwApTP4KQe8mw0sZ3PhJduEE8xYcDSFbx1BKgb-OgTKlSmRHAuXXSpN7tKzc4prl3pv4aqhcVh1h1IDgVSb_cnDZ3F6SFp7f-2Zw_P9ch2tEVWfNOtrPdE_x4oP4U6hNP8Sr8ArtuAoH4ZDXxmAAVR2dAcqfDVU10ByDlQv4DesoSBrETY3jQFZAsArS/s4624/20231006_090022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnwApTP4KQe8mw0sZ3PhJduEE8xYcDSFbx1BKgb-OgTKlSmRHAuXXSpN7tKzc4prl3pv4aqhcVh1h1IDgVSb_cnDZ3F6SFp7f-2Zw_P9ch2tEVWfNOtrPdE_x4oP4U6hNP8Sr8ArtuAoH4ZDXxmAAVR2dAcqfDVU10ByDlQv4DesoSBrETY3jQFZAsArS/s320/20231006_090022.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYddOPIuvifDt_Dth9TwHGpkApE4JRlxvbGw9JFNFjzJMVw928dnaZH6pkIvCqLow6m7yvFMVCM-RbqChDDYv8TwKVxALed69P9dT9WdzbW8epTLmWryF7QxNWEaSzvw8dw7FxyUWsgusi74wKwE2btX0RtX2SgMWSlBlIUdtzsEv7VKgNfFLdtMZwheJQ/s4624/20231006_090125.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYddOPIuvifDt_Dth9TwHGpkApE4JRlxvbGw9JFNFjzJMVw928dnaZH6pkIvCqLow6m7yvFMVCM-RbqChDDYv8TwKVxALed69P9dT9WdzbW8epTLmWryF7QxNWEaSzvw8dw7FxyUWsgusi74wKwE2btX0RtX2SgMWSlBlIUdtzsEv7VKgNfFLdtMZwheJQ/s320/20231006_090125.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pulgrim sculpture by the fountain (modern)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3s5BFWnjE5Pc2vKMbwOoQtSb6ZHOxP8X-t7V4A0uXtVgX364DJpuIsZG6fE_2TS7pt1j5ZulcHrj562Z808H6cMUpKUfhXNcr30efBWLLko3wbrZCyQXEcn6Bu8vSdg2yyQIzGvR70RqJfk11rekFuhazBFnQhxBinWzVzxFxlQpjUjKKSM1bRnRZbDQ/s4624/20231006_090222.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3s5BFWnjE5Pc2vKMbwOoQtSb6ZHOxP8X-t7V4A0uXtVgX364DJpuIsZG6fE_2TS7pt1j5ZulcHrj562Z808H6cMUpKUfhXNcr30efBWLLko3wbrZCyQXEcn6Bu8vSdg2yyQIzGvR70RqJfk11rekFuhazBFnQhxBinWzVzxFxlQpjUjKKSM1bRnRZbDQ/s320/20231006_090222.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old communal oven in Bardone</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0BL354w2uDp_Hf8x29CcILuYfLAzcmtauT-HH1ghmLbihG3B_aW6eZxptOnKgqYQnJbfxLFFcvG85AXd_UkIKSQWVs32tbWZz47jGHosgGqLvFEQG-KcdSEqMSdimsarYTumcLZJ7CUp85o8yp4zwyK0TvpLqhfDZiNDEVIz95agftMD8z-3T0yN68Z-/s4000/20231006_090448.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0BL354w2uDp_Hf8x29CcILuYfLAzcmtauT-HH1ghmLbihG3B_aW6eZxptOnKgqYQnJbfxLFFcvG85AXd_UkIKSQWVs32tbWZz47jGHosgGqLvFEQG-KcdSEqMSdimsarYTumcLZJ7CUp85o8yp4zwyK0TvpLqhfDZiNDEVIz95agftMD8z-3T0yN68Z-/s320/20231006_090448.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back of the church</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnsN_BCGt-NnZH8oLrI084HJFnglofzTks6olnnCWx7Xvvpb1JVodRVdVOc7cT1Z6rIfhrbLDaUYfiHzMZuYEhE2waR6EIxNeTm3KU-5QJHsXDdqFgtVAaXh9QRTDEt2SdsyP4u2CVBDW1H1uz1x-6279K6aJQXFKWRrbJQ8mqtChyIjMQ3DBq_iiyfuT/s1569/IMG-20231006-WA0002.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1569" data-original-width="1176" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnsN_BCGt-NnZH8oLrI084HJFnglofzTks6olnnCWx7Xvvpb1JVodRVdVOc7cT1Z6rIfhrbLDaUYfiHzMZuYEhE2waR6EIxNeTm3KU-5QJHsXDdqFgtVAaXh9QRTDEt2SdsyP4u2CVBDW1H1uz1x-6279K6aJQXFKWRrbJQ8mqtChyIjMQ3DBq_iiyfuT/s320/IMG-20231006-WA0002.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy knows the people who have the key!</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVkIKoTm6LYee1q6FHJ43NzazpzA3z7TOIGlTfxeCqWF3gwydRjUg7_pwaou3-cuoy5qQSzi9ik7LZ91941Ks6H4UT9UiWs_qz2_VBUAQ5i8AA18d9RMxX0ZOfZh0BwCBMx_lWnNp0cRn-d11CnIEWCwF6mCbwzAQTPFIHDM_sBFca1hE9Q0Onnl20dLz/s4624/20231006_090400.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVkIKoTm6LYee1q6FHJ43NzazpzA3z7TOIGlTfxeCqWF3gwydRjUg7_pwaou3-cuoy5qQSzi9ik7LZ91941Ks6H4UT9UiWs_qz2_VBUAQ5i8AA18d9RMxX0ZOfZh0BwCBMx_lWnNp0cRn-d11CnIEWCwF6mCbwzAQTPFIHDM_sBFca1hE9Q0Onnl20dLz/s320/20231006_090400.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bas-relief over the side door of the pieve</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBHZPbvHVaVi7Zpqe9rQOJ9ESWr8lGyX7Ofkkky4gO1OeJNPjA2J-Ftc_KIMbOLtbVp5GREAmrfd9VEQjPKqIP9HEu25PDd9jjmT43jgeejiNymf6vX3F7LzIIJPYfofAJ2GOsNfKiBPDbtIaE-VelYYGD1lhpOvOXDssV7_4FY5AJ-eq5sBnOxJHWCnA/s4624/20231006_090647.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBHZPbvHVaVi7Zpqe9rQOJ9ESWr8lGyX7Ofkkky4gO1OeJNPjA2J-Ftc_KIMbOLtbVp5GREAmrfd9VEQjPKqIP9HEu25PDd9jjmT43jgeejiNymf6vX3F7LzIIJPYfofAJ2GOsNfKiBPDbtIaE-VelYYGD1lhpOvOXDssV7_4FY5AJ-eq5sBnOxJHWCnA/s320/20231006_090647.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hunting scene carved over the main entrance </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The couple next door to the church have the key! The husband showed us around the interior of the church, where bas-reliefs from the altar of the old church in Fornovo are kept. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCX5C57ujkmIBkjbSX3VFtnCs9iRZtu16O1Rt8RsVI2FO1ycuSK7908TNGxCBYMqYhfowwVHgBsz7mqmQYUC6wPKt5C05fBj01W8FBQeLpDuDgeU5oobZ0NDDX6sirj6ymJpTnAXBM2srw_i0eEBUSRzAP-OKuIWU3wNIDuVhuYeqh15-3oCTlovDlYVzV/s4624/20231006_094639.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCX5C57ujkmIBkjbSX3VFtnCs9iRZtu16O1Rt8RsVI2FO1ycuSK7908TNGxCBYMqYhfowwVHgBsz7mqmQYUC6wPKt5C05fBj01W8FBQeLpDuDgeU5oobZ0NDDX6sirj6ymJpTnAXBM2srw_i0eEBUSRzAP-OKuIWU3wNIDuVhuYeqh15-3oCTlovDlYVzV/s320/20231006_094639.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNEbJrz_HVo-OJPKWJ4laD7bpYYYH2t7c0PjZE_FbSm3t8O7QNhqpgE9B_5lVBY2-pjgVQItagLdH_mneASUOfsxzcvdVjpsHZ37XmpgVO3jOikoB6NUIvgn93n5kRn5UnFmaTpQioVnzObKjmjZRraCGVgzXJxSfFlOG3F0VNqI0cVRMzfMz9tNG4pevx/s4624/20231006_095234.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNEbJrz_HVo-OJPKWJ4laD7bpYYYH2t7c0PjZE_FbSm3t8O7QNhqpgE9B_5lVBY2-pjgVQItagLdH_mneASUOfsxzcvdVjpsHZ37XmpgVO3jOikoB6NUIvgn93n5kRn5UnFmaTpQioVnzObKjmjZRraCGVgzXJxSfFlOG3F0VNqI0cVRMzfMz9tNG4pevx/s320/20231006_095234.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkiP8rBa2oEr-mSzqXXbsXy8iDtv7eTgpyxQP9-fLQdwRJaHLPMrgTO-DKYtYSC09nx9zjQL6cPJoqrZSKVsNIXcszewaMsHf-4h82MPqdUoCNdWkEUw_wm68XmD1t9Pmgzy8THmOy56vpjmnYHDNumPEwGsR6UcmEoqUK1mkMdbho757u4mUdrL6qtLT5/s4624/20231006_095923.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkiP8rBa2oEr-mSzqXXbsXy8iDtv7eTgpyxQP9-fLQdwRJaHLPMrgTO-DKYtYSC09nx9zjQL6cPJoqrZSKVsNIXcszewaMsHf-4h82MPqdUoCNdWkEUw_wm68XmD1t9Pmgzy8THmOy56vpjmnYHDNumPEwGsR6UcmEoqUK1mkMdbho757u4mUdrL6qtLT5/s320/20231006_095923.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tomb of a priest (1802) in the church floor</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Our guide stamped our pilgrim credentials and asked us to make a small donation toward the upkeep of the church. We thanked him, said goodbye and continued along the road toward Terenzo. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A kilometre or so after Bardone we came up against the section of the road that is closed until October 18th for roadworks. We ducked under the tape around the barrier and confidently strode through, as the lady at the tourist office in Fornovo had called the people in charge of the roadworks to check with them that it was ok to do so. But the man operating the digger was of a different opinion and yelled at us 😄 - further clarification on this point required! In the meantime, I would suggest walking across the fields to avoid confrontation!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-NNABGfivaWzRZ_WSAhN2TL5md9FHeEp1WgAASQ2-AybzV12qeWfXyldlnARhhLaIoQDXW4DdytIvlhHj7uuIWQ1Yhh4XONW_R-xrC4VIfSdLe2k7kYGx5FumcK8X0JFbiTBc5sXeQ8dZD1ZDct8iN5gJNmV7T9H0fej_-0cZMKmQLTcrCj3_SVVi99sF/s4624/20231006_102528.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-NNABGfivaWzRZ_WSAhN2TL5md9FHeEp1WgAASQ2-AybzV12qeWfXyldlnARhhLaIoQDXW4DdytIvlhHj7uuIWQ1Yhh4XONW_R-xrC4VIfSdLe2k7kYGx5FumcK8X0JFbiTBc5sXeQ8dZD1ZDct8iN5gJNmV7T9H0fej_-0cZMKmQLTcrCj3_SVVi99sF/s320/20231006_102528.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDcSg8WxtiEB0Pf1M4-m7mZ3HuQneMZBnpIdZiiCI0T181ScrNplBa9k0w22O6XYr34QTjIibvgVbVFcK8EZAipgyin-LIe7Vol9NFR8ZCPY2iNguUgXVc0cOihCTWKwRnARBnPMx7vzTTbbVJ5d7pUp0D1ZkW82SAzNrDk79idnKtCHdClDrJzIEwOadk/s4624/20231006_105500.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDcSg8WxtiEB0Pf1M4-m7mZ3HuQneMZBnpIdZiiCI0T181ScrNplBa9k0w22O6XYr34QTjIibvgVbVFcK8EZAipgyin-LIe7Vol9NFR8ZCPY2iNguUgXVc0cOihCTWKwRnARBnPMx7vzTTbbVJ5d7pUp0D1ZkW82SAzNrDk79idnKtCHdClDrJzIEwOadk/s320/20231006_105500.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another communal oven, in Terenzo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdmF1D10gSy7n9A54bAATuSNfMQVsb6VpSMC47DdLg821GT1kYq9VIexpMhm86DMV84XtPisoGaEKESV9NlsseJzrGUG00Skt9qzbTZZgoEpwIxwGJ-aZ6x97Q4g4D1iGhfsNAPpUgT0ATzBBzuFMsSWXDjQkztRbiuHPm13ewjrT62CeUci7ddzrxk-z/s4624/20231006_112656.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdmF1D10gSy7n9A54bAATuSNfMQVsb6VpSMC47DdLg821GT1kYq9VIexpMhm86DMV84XtPisoGaEKESV9NlsseJzrGUG00Skt9qzbTZZgoEpwIxwGJ-aZ6x97Q4g4D1iGhfsNAPpUgT0ATzBBzuFMsSWXDjQkztRbiuHPm13ewjrT62CeUci7ddzrxk-z/s320/20231006_112656.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The church in Terenzo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBs2EfNYWvAdV8aWnb35bNkXe0cGiJMVXBFeq0WSW5E9hdIE39HutBiE5jWSUFRIpyz7xHefWHxnOrHsyp83qigcP4pezpAae3LHCSX8bflP0qxrH-4oMG5MdG9R0E50tNRhGlPi4KBjDp_y6xO1hT0k09wipbqHdNNg1dgsX27rl1FXicljEEgaqP89h/s4624/20231006_112758.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBs2EfNYWvAdV8aWnb35bNkXe0cGiJMVXBFeq0WSW5E9hdIE39HutBiE5jWSUFRIpyz7xHefWHxnOrHsyp83qigcP4pezpAae3LHCSX8bflP0qxrH-4oMG5MdG9R0E50tNRhGlPi4KBjDp_y6xO1hT0k09wipbqHdNNg1dgsX27rl1FXicljEEgaqP89h/s320/20231006_112758.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">After Terenzo the Via Francigena climbs steeply on a rocky track, and then descends to the mountain village of Castello di Casola.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zwIk2855FcHxA0Tgxq4LXEbq2NlbKRz23oRtazv71IZXT_AtQAIdR52IHQrSbVEUePuVvvKYL3bfFpcoH68xF3TSScsuQsDcZxu67OqQeiXbJ7YFjk06w3CvYKixMEEgg_E26-7JySuQXKQ3Rj_nPUWkb07Axk2rGT_7y8rxET86h87entnejvEF-btg/s4624/20231006_122806.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zwIk2855FcHxA0Tgxq4LXEbq2NlbKRz23oRtazv71IZXT_AtQAIdR52IHQrSbVEUePuVvvKYL3bfFpcoH68xF3TSScsuQsDcZxu67OqQeiXbJ7YFjk06w3CvYKixMEEgg_E26-7JySuQXKQ3Rj_nPUWkb07Axk2rGT_7y8rxET86h87entnejvEF-btg/s320/20231006_122806.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguyEAWAAdsBqW0viG1TaZ5wn3ZlmDam7scLS5_CXIDbkKMPdNXvb-5lL5OYSd3iw4OIG4wu0i3BcvKNVwHOPQVgA56BtMyCUSW0eaXg3NX1llNG_VTnID8mjASAzbaFnCeWgU7cCB3hupDuAwrv5bxls4eM3tKl-zAJw8Wt-jIOaf0i4GvOx5GL0buZRlZ/s4624/20231006_122819.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguyEAWAAdsBqW0viG1TaZ5wn3ZlmDam7scLS5_CXIDbkKMPdNXvb-5lL5OYSd3iw4OIG4wu0i3BcvKNVwHOPQVgA56BtMyCUSW0eaXg3NX1llNG_VTnID8mjASAzbaFnCeWgU7cCB3hupDuAwrv5bxls4eM3tKl-zAJw8Wt-jIOaf0i4GvOx5GL0buZRlZ/s320/20231006_122819.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For garden gnome fans</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJOWk2i72d90EwO_VCd99_VCkIr93Q7Znujc3atybu4iskGYpVhnouoAaqByVy2t49-6-RGgSa_X2IdnOWQ5xt1c-J0OP5KfT50vMxNwszfdcPFdhkg7kLmDlW_MOkwkgmAJQRkiU-KMFC5OnhNV1X8CI6zIrpaMrlv5GZKsvc9uoKGSq5WazzZezhTg8e/s4624/20231006_124425.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJOWk2i72d90EwO_VCd99_VCkIr93Q7Znujc3atybu4iskGYpVhnouoAaqByVy2t49-6-RGgSa_X2IdnOWQ5xt1c-J0OP5KfT50vMxNwszfdcPFdhkg7kLmDlW_MOkwkgmAJQRkiU-KMFC5OnhNV1X8CI6zIrpaMrlv5GZKsvc9uoKGSq5WazzZezhTg8e/s320/20231006_124425.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The communal oven in Castello di Casola</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7MRTg0LRAx340kweP0fGbK4PbT0q5qiTPq1WyzdFLuIhygQRJl9gCJfTMnCwKnZOgpWuyHpl6ZWr_DxONSck0tCjhb1-_amQjyYH5ctQ0D-V4oOQab9PV7t8-PuGHyjxtqi7XgvBg7icrn2n1cAmKrufc1hh_G2kOXlwU7cACG3k6CNYNjFJe_9Qnuusa/s4624/20231006_124555.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7MRTg0LRAx340kweP0fGbK4PbT0q5qiTPq1WyzdFLuIhygQRJl9gCJfTMnCwKnZOgpWuyHpl6ZWr_DxONSck0tCjhb1-_amQjyYH5ctQ0D-V4oOQab9PV7t8-PuGHyjxtqi7XgvBg7icrn2n1cAmKrufc1hh_G2kOXlwU7cACG3k6CNYNjFJe_9Qnuusa/s320/20231006_124555.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The church in Castello di Casola</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ulo6ygoeCExQPBog4BF27nn5jJ5BRDDLNc5FOmlZEce4myFmNEPJYG6lqHnPaMnYWWEvzl19xQJAgsO7OGtCL_gMs0mEdxH_i2TAaoRhbPjezNIaqNLKSSU_H0M3V4zZxj21RT0a-O_si1O0pQDS0i2uB4JOSzmG8zF2Dx_z_I9l6WGGmWKNVVH4Jb81/s4624/20231006_124713.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ulo6ygoeCExQPBog4BF27nn5jJ5BRDDLNc5FOmlZEce4myFmNEPJYG6lqHnPaMnYWWEvzl19xQJAgsO7OGtCL_gMs0mEdxH_i2TAaoRhbPjezNIaqNLKSSU_H0M3V4zZxj21RT0a-O_si1O0pQDS0i2uB4JOSzmG8zF2Dx_z_I9l6WGGmWKNVVH4Jb81/s320/20231006_124713.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House in Castello di Casola</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">A steep descent on a dirt path followed. We were debating which way to go at a fork in the path when Peter and Michelle, whom we met a couple of days ago but hadn't seen since, came up the path and joined us. Peter discovered a sign that had fallen over in the bushes and righted it - but it was not particularly helpful! 😄</div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJTO_fYYaeXSPWuenulONxX4aRUrH2HIYGvv0rNkxka-6sMHnYcpT33tQ2vsVfAfAV0R5c5ZRacnUUt91n7Db5bDDdQdZxql9ZrONUDunmftnlgKdEGDJeM0Y7UryCybpMcaWuf1I41lHESBe5KCWLMooWdqkZPZXxChYKFl4XwixR65yCrc2b2CYWzSB1/s4624/20231006_130725.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJTO_fYYaeXSPWuenulONxX4aRUrH2HIYGvv0rNkxka-6sMHnYcpT33tQ2vsVfAfAV0R5c5ZRacnUUt91n7Db5bDDdQdZxql9ZrONUDunmftnlgKdEGDJeM0Y7UryCybpMcaWuf1I41lHESBe5KCWLMooWdqkZPZXxChYKFl4XwixR65yCrc2b2CYWzSB1/s320/20231006_130725.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the end we decided that both trails probably led to the same place, and carefully made our way down the less treacherous of the two descents. We walked together to Villa di Casola, where we passed another communal oven, and then along a path through the woods to a rest area by a natural spring. There was a big old house nearby with an outdoor oven - ovens seem to be emerging as the theme of the day! 😆</div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7mXcNDVRIRhT1g0kBbRzct0f7eEnlYdOf-wsvItOgJ4hc4OVHrAypihDDSGO5HZ7UOvlDpXYFmL3XwAh1gRWgwX6NMs4UsRvaCiw3zZgHpRGAz_YiBFOfHTs2JJ6aFcTm3Hkzl1OrYSxvsBAOhHQty2WVdEerAq-Af9GXNq9Gdp2RaL9_C6JSJ_oQTv6/s4624/20231006_131404.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7mXcNDVRIRhT1g0kBbRzct0f7eEnlYdOf-wsvItOgJ4hc4OVHrAypihDDSGO5HZ7UOvlDpXYFmL3XwAh1gRWgwX6NMs4UsRvaCiw3zZgHpRGAz_YiBFOfHTs2JJ6aFcTm3Hkzl1OrYSxvsBAOhHQty2WVdEerAq-Af9GXNq9Gdp2RaL9_C6JSJ_oQTv6/s320/20231006_131404.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Communal oven of Villa di Casola</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHM7HfhliSNt-SHRwdZpepym7aMKkonOPtyJHBlOYl6jNRVqb4JW1OONCA_0S_vfobt4cG3D4h_hz1v-FzBAn3jv5QiAxzUYx27aHqbhyOz51pECVUCZsQg97VLpMb9zT4ZQVYs9NqhJiRogZaGO265dW1KHFJ42Dgxy7jHUlrrVQcTv_9vIuC88RdNUW/s4624/20231006_131557.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHM7HfhliSNt-SHRwdZpepym7aMKkonOPtyJHBlOYl6jNRVqb4JW1OONCA_0S_vfobt4cG3D4h_hz1v-FzBAn3jv5QiAxzUYx27aHqbhyOz51pECVUCZsQg97VLpMb9zT4ZQVYs9NqhJiRogZaGO265dW1KHFJ42Dgxy7jHUlrrVQcTv_9vIuC88RdNUW/s320/20231006_131557.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08nYaHRnRRUlL_1CFIdf3ZJ7RR_sW4p8lRbGKz7iDkoDLPMOZmHYLFUZEqqvJMkEfz5po7GXzA9HkpQLiWffItVZ9kURlAKlz0WGFTVa5x9AWEj-C7sbMAUiex2IPdBy6_bgvV1NCBPHnIuNECW_F3cC_i8EB9ww7zpnUdoj86_wjDEH8QlBGkFhR9YKq/s4624/20231006_131717.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08nYaHRnRRUlL_1CFIdf3ZJ7RR_sW4p8lRbGKz7iDkoDLPMOZmHYLFUZEqqvJMkEfz5po7GXzA9HkpQLiWffItVZ9kURlAKlz0WGFTVa5x9AWEj-C7sbMAUiex2IPdBy6_bgvV1NCBPHnIuNECW_F3cC_i8EB9ww7zpnUdoj86_wjDEH8QlBGkFhR9YKq/s320/20231006_131717.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj7uhDx0dAHbPm1YGD9USNW7H2xz62yjKcDNMVSK3BaOTqPyvr6QcL8ilgUPlzdMHX6jlNTN6EjC-aZuRX6tBz96R6B8VPnLp3Ywg4JbV_bwG9EqhW2WDaTou14WNHYIcOkZBGM4zEqCQ0YYO1dZn92zCDQRdnVGS4FfjTQ_jH8eBwLnqk4JOIQ6Vqwdn2/s4624/20231006_131906.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj7uhDx0dAHbPm1YGD9USNW7H2xz62yjKcDNMVSK3BaOTqPyvr6QcL8ilgUPlzdMHX6jlNTN6EjC-aZuRX6tBz96R6B8VPnLp3Ywg4JbV_bwG9EqhW2WDaTou14WNHYIcOkZBGM4zEqCQ0YYO1dZn92zCDQRdnVGS4FfjTQ_jH8eBwLnqk4JOIQ6Vqwdn2/s320/20231006_131906.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rest area at the spring</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mHJL-a9cSQ3zZBq8lh2H6VKXytMr-2TVeCaE4YXeR2LT1bDK3piSzgUjXznTQx3bbNG4TX-3PD8lh0fvKG7fgQ2uBoAtuMjOrGWZAzFtldPm2cwc7qL71PhURWv6aIbAnBOR5iRfiFzoN7gc4JA4jsYyHVMtcAyQJ49IZ6UAXyiD3tFCjwxtRcQO9PvU/s1242/IMG-20231006-WA0006.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1242" data-original-width="931" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mHJL-a9cSQ3zZBq8lh2H6VKXytMr-2TVeCaE4YXeR2LT1bDK3piSzgUjXznTQx3bbNG4TX-3PD8lh0fvKG7fgQ2uBoAtuMjOrGWZAzFtldPm2cwc7qL71PhURWv6aIbAnBOR5iRfiFzoN7gc4JA4jsYyHVMtcAyQJ49IZ6UAXyiD3tFCjwxtRcQO9PvU/s320/IMG-20231006-WA0006.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We were now walking though a pine forest, stepping silently on a carpet of pine needles with the scent of resin and the sound of the wind blowing through the pine branches. The contrast with the highways, shopping malls and asphalt around Piacenza could not be greater! I can see why most walkers prefer to go hiking in the mountains rather than walk across whole countries on historic pilgrimage routes. 😄</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-iTMIuqDvT89R10ZNXxhKfCyXOYZPROvytocBd5uFW42xGsdeQ9W7ebaepcZglib474XI39l_CxLk7Uhnsdy3jEQ3gTwCTejUa0KNgEXYlEc_QVAVE53undBwcUA99hI_X-ocXKQbKguYbnARnDPgxnlTPw7lQv0IgQfJlSIleMx4b4HnbFBn_ULOBwdI/s4624/20231006_140627.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-iTMIuqDvT89R10ZNXxhKfCyXOYZPROvytocBd5uFW42xGsdeQ9W7ebaepcZglib474XI39l_CxLk7Uhnsdy3jEQ3gTwCTejUa0KNgEXYlEc_QVAVE53undBwcUA99hI_X-ocXKQbKguYbnARnDPgxnlTPw7lQv0IgQfJlSIleMx4b4HnbFBn_ULOBwdI/s320/20231006_140627.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImScCqjg88yIpbQdtBlendFyLlySjYM2JRJ0f_mFvmopeuTlVMJ0xRJdRZYGCAE8sroKIED5yalhtsXtdJ8m2kBJ97A1FiUg1hJBty-cYscV6LOVvhfYmrBBI4Qk94gNsAMG2CB4Ha8G_N0uD3bG0qlK6AAgAmDI19NGaqCpj-FwtnzoKTYDuP8X2sz9_/s4000/20231006_140658.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImScCqjg88yIpbQdtBlendFyLlySjYM2JRJ0f_mFvmopeuTlVMJ0xRJdRZYGCAE8sroKIED5yalhtsXtdJ8m2kBJ97A1FiUg1hJBty-cYscV6LOVvhfYmrBBI4Qk94gNsAMG2CB4Ha8G_N0uD3bG0qlK6AAgAmDI19NGaqCpj-FwtnzoKTYDuP8X2sz9_/s320/20231006_140658.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Qv0_WkBnHzQXH3YghGyUZR7PS6KDh4Z5Qvco7OMEG9d1_4_ki8x6PcnxN-ed1cmiXkGCc3XSGx7yh8Fd9p0DX4S2lsPi4XWEG7oDEqXEzHQHotAgdz8LHz0MXP-hvrIxFeZgBsBpIfxPuCxXWLuzdSV1YPCHAkNl1Lk-Qab_LB_TyOEWnreZvcGl1reN/s4624/20231006_143530.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Qv0_WkBnHzQXH3YghGyUZR7PS6KDh4Z5Qvco7OMEG9d1_4_ki8x6PcnxN-ed1cmiXkGCc3XSGx7yh8Fd9p0DX4S2lsPi4XWEG7oDEqXEzHQHotAgdz8LHz0MXP-hvrIxFeZgBsBpIfxPuCxXWLuzdSV1YPCHAkNl1Lk-Qab_LB_TyOEWnreZvcGl1reN/s320/20231006_143530.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ejA5b5hWf63qX3tZoL0sTBH5zvZsh1ozO0DvIg27_2PDVcjHuIZQ7Dd88cPp3NF6v9GvH1D64MPdX1d9c-iyIaz88AJmL7DFOubSGYLr3vclKpJZdNAX4wc7KHeZCxDlpCLashW5t1LkmOsku9PVNXdR9ZbEcwGV0rL8qYgXRXc-PqI2CXqtMnxKi-B8/s4624/20231006_144039.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ejA5b5hWf63qX3tZoL0sTBH5zvZsh1ozO0DvIg27_2PDVcjHuIZQ7Dd88cPp3NF6v9GvH1D64MPdX1d9c-iyIaz88AJmL7DFOubSGYLr3vclKpJZdNAX4wc7KHeZCxDlpCLashW5t1LkmOsku9PVNXdR9ZbEcwGV0rL8qYgXRXc-PqI2CXqtMnxKi-B8/s320/20231006_144039.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The forest path came out onto the paved road, and here there are two possible routes: a trail descending steeply into the gorges of the "Salto del Diavolo" and then back up again to the town of Cassio, or a kilometre straight along the road into the village. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">No contest! We left the Devil's Leap to the devil and walked along the road into town. 😆</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3xbfzQM5IPRf-2HaeDAHZtln-ZV6mkZNDKqdGDi1mIn8jw1xMapG-H3u8upDkrtwxVt1vPbnuQ2tZQKfcqBfcAYRYAlwtKVlSXpFAZnxybZ2YPJhoL_7vaBc-E1BPU0zzTkz-0VKSEu3LAUFNiJ2g8r0WKtBR0x9-8AOmYOUWfKXTpnxSTZNzS8ta98A/s4624/20231006_144451.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3xbfzQM5IPRf-2HaeDAHZtln-ZV6mkZNDKqdGDi1mIn8jw1xMapG-H3u8upDkrtwxVt1vPbnuQ2tZQKfcqBfcAYRYAlwtKVlSXpFAZnxybZ2YPJhoL_7vaBc-E1BPU0zzTkz-0VKSEu3LAUFNiJ2g8r0WKtBR0x9-8AOmYOUWfKXTpnxSTZNzS8ta98A/s320/20231006_144451.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It may still be summer in the rest of Italy, but signs of autumn have arrived here in the mountains. Cassio is a pleasant mountain village famous for its stonemasons - a museum of stone carving is due to open in the village - with a bar, a restaurant, and a renowned pilgrim hostel. We headed there first, checked in and showered, and then waited over a carafe of wine until dinner time at the bar/food shop/restaurant Il Vecio handily located just up the road from the hostel.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVK4O0SmzZJoVl0R6ng1_32tS1xDFOwD0pv3XNE4Fbm4pHkKHHE6EPupcS7bUBoJHv8Oh12xBQCSsRF4qsa4CiiZFmuMJOeU2fjXLiXMCWdP91ANWhUDf_Ts7WbkRQPL4OGs2mj7REVgyJwEVqw4UlNrsEezIHwLy_irHfoPofzL3_B_do4SyxyD8ehrc8/s4624/20231006_144812.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVK4O0SmzZJoVl0R6ng1_32tS1xDFOwD0pv3XNE4Fbm4pHkKHHE6EPupcS7bUBoJHv8Oh12xBQCSsRF4qsa4CiiZFmuMJOeU2fjXLiXMCWdP91ANWhUDf_Ts7WbkRQPL4OGs2mj7REVgyJwEVqw4UlNrsEezIHwLy_irHfoPofzL3_B_do4SyxyD8ehrc8/s320/20231006_144812.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4y85qc0xwPI9qVhyphenhyphene6vyvuH1GZ4F-D910wEYTko3gb9YmMUf07mBsocmtBPlvmZiocAU9xlJePzkc-XjW8XkgEe6vZRdDUdMyke66peOfGCJzF2ztBmozklZc-Hhd-jcQWLTD5GsyzQptoNlOc5Srwtzykfoa5j69FIcjulHi1fWE_ql2wet8S-eVOOb9/s4624/20231006_144836.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4y85qc0xwPI9qVhyphenhyphene6vyvuH1GZ4F-D910wEYTko3gb9YmMUf07mBsocmtBPlvmZiocAU9xlJePzkc-XjW8XkgEe6vZRdDUdMyke66peOfGCJzF2ztBmozklZc-Hhd-jcQWLTD5GsyzQptoNlOc5Srwtzykfoa5j69FIcjulHi1fWE_ql2wet8S-eVOOb9/s320/20231006_144836.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBh-I4kD6xHWahM8QZNVkx3sb606YL_nCYhM_70hNtgFL0NCN7d6-ZlGrBTn2agngvW4Qop7ExOdPbfhdb4Nb-T0Wn2orEgymDM46R9NgiSob6MvOfIslKexBw5nVAGrn0wICy-6ufTpIgq6AHPSgrZjE3YF2kFyt9wJajNjPn3mUqOkq9kLY25XTrlRR/s4624/20231006_161916.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBh-I4kD6xHWahM8QZNVkx3sb606YL_nCYhM_70hNtgFL0NCN7d6-ZlGrBTn2agngvW4Qop7ExOdPbfhdb4Nb-T0Wn2orEgymDM46R9NgiSob6MvOfIslKexBw5nVAGrn0wICy-6ufTpIgq6AHPSgrZjE3YF2kFyt9wJajNjPn3mUqOkq9kLY25XTrlRR/s320/20231006_161916.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWhvKywcGnukK3gmKRiODmmQxN8HPObSxRdFmEoqGmJ6MF1COd_N8k_ZwtIvMkJK0mkbk0K-nRdR0PykWJNYPC54l6v813-OUW9uwjcasfXlyV1sF7z-ca3V9hcn4m8LENWxoKVxIruFv7rYs6hIpVK4jdZTJA28n-3DSmB1O5cAIp_Uv206fi2HhrrU2_/s4624/20231006_145044.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWhvKywcGnukK3gmKRiODmmQxN8HPObSxRdFmEoqGmJ6MF1COd_N8k_ZwtIvMkJK0mkbk0K-nRdR0PykWJNYPC54l6v813-OUW9uwjcasfXlyV1sF7z-ca3V9hcn4m8LENWxoKVxIruFv7rYs6hIpVK4jdZTJA28n-3DSmB1O5cAIp_Uv206fi2HhrrU2_/s320/20231006_145044.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-G8EfPdBXr0XK_Mq_ukObymUdgTtveCMwqsLWYQO1rg3OcEkCJY2XEgC3-8rnBGK1aakHV4oHbqZkXdqltumdDEdJX2jbI79ERmvIerwufnbH7_-LkmC1duBqFWYYYoc6eD1i1fa7tpu0aKVnWsNgBg3uok3W_y4oZng7AMYbB8R67n6zHWptE9vLJoZ/s4000/20231006_150037.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-G8EfPdBXr0XK_Mq_ukObymUdgTtveCMwqsLWYQO1rg3OcEkCJY2XEgC3-8rnBGK1aakHV4oHbqZkXdqltumdDEdJX2jbI79ERmvIerwufnbH7_-LkmC1duBqFWYYYoc6eD1i1fa7tpu0aKVnWsNgBg3uok3W_y4oZng7AMYbB8R67n6zHWptE9vLJoZ/s320/20231006_150037.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWsPO1P51ETgYaIOAZhd5LuHN2HSpuVM1jIRl83a1ZUeuY0j3s2aml2biMvsOY9zjhZkWoxC3LTqWFgHq1Ztly-iM8IlN02OPwb8XCauVrqBP2e5lr0T1esXzCW9JsFtfGZpm26llUlDaZ1RX-YxX8RM2JXb5kt0AV4b4nbPjUu3WI95T6QA3_U86Q3sj/s4624/20231006_190624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWsPO1P51ETgYaIOAZhd5LuHN2HSpuVM1jIRl83a1ZUeuY0j3s2aml2biMvsOY9zjhZkWoxC3LTqWFgHq1Ztly-iM8IlN02OPwb8XCauVrqBP2e5lr0T1esXzCW9JsFtfGZpm26llUlDaZ1RX-YxX8RM2JXb5kt0AV4b4nbPjUu3WI95T6QA3_U86Q3sj/s320/20231006_190624.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBArJRdbnjL7MesrhEc9f5mTfGrLa2qBN_6ckKAO-JoKxQU9AEHzl_hIFhw7F83cyhw5Vj227u6Yk9J1lsNSWbIdZ4pzKACquPT0d2yvgeGj1sm5qxnX6Llop3br2WCWh8_V_ygGn5QE7qz1Y_jLjJKs7tcPU-PLY3Y0PZW8GcAvdSytZNbv0-89kCwQSQ/s2040/IMG-20231006-WA0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="2040" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBArJRdbnjL7MesrhEc9f5mTfGrLa2qBN_6ckKAO-JoKxQU9AEHzl_hIFhw7F83cyhw5Vj227u6Yk9J1lsNSWbIdZ4pzKACquPT0d2yvgeGj1sm5qxnX6Llop3br2WCWh8_V_ygGn5QE7qz1Y_jLjJKs7tcPU-PLY3Y0PZW8GcAvdSytZNbv0-89kCwQSQ/s320/IMG-20231006-WA0008.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe48CGU5_5aLmq5TRyzbIxVNT42WfFIMs0XKQMIxO5uQj_NBhVHXOIhSlfpFoNroJ6aFfrePUqbq6McwttRA5iBlKPK_9v2z7OB29bn6Lt8WyuRlK-Zg0Ci7m4_YyGAyKyaOCO8j0iWRZcfdf_-H2WBBykEDMyfxxy7JEaKRE8ssQyJUq_OtYIoxz5MTxy/s1600/IMG-20231006-WA0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe48CGU5_5aLmq5TRyzbIxVNT42WfFIMs0XKQMIxO5uQj_NBhVHXOIhSlfpFoNroJ6aFfrePUqbq6McwttRA5iBlKPK_9v2z7OB29bn6Lt8WyuRlK-Zg0Ci7m4_YyGAyKyaOCO8j0iWRZcfdf_-H2WBBykEDMyfxxy7JEaKRE8ssQyJUq_OtYIoxz5MTxy/s320/IMG-20231006-WA0009.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bartender/cook made us what he calls "hunters' tea"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98m5IfnOW9CHc4Ww5DH7Y8dXEmyXkJfs5ACELu1iQjmFFvUGcvdjorxRnlKTmP0BxgqkQ1OYaQ8Daqrr0xNvpmsrGkfMZfB6Zh9yWf8roRT6iqHmifhKOuXPD3_jWFJfWarER80x9Gfc4hVruksTjGxqYBwOvXyp5DAf6-RbJkne2bnTIoXbo3M0LbcJt/s2400/Screenshot_20231006_151055_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98m5IfnOW9CHc4Ww5DH7Y8dXEmyXkJfs5ACELu1iQjmFFvUGcvdjorxRnlKTmP0BxgqkQ1OYaQ8Daqrr0xNvpmsrGkfMZfB6Zh9yWf8roRT6iqHmifhKOuXPD3_jWFJfWarER80x9Gfc4hVruksTjGxqYBwOvXyp5DAf6-RbJkne2bnTIoXbo3M0LbcJt/s320/Screenshot_20231006_151055_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Sivizzano - Cassio 18 km </div><div style="text-align: center;">1150 metre elevation gain </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-77573437359633506982023-10-05T19:07:00.002+02:002024-01-09T14:23:22.255+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 82: Medesano - Sivizzano<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>When you are moving towards an objective, it is very important to pay attention to the road. It is the road that teaches us the best way to get there, and the road enriches us as we walk its length.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">- Paulo Coehlo, <i>The Pilgrimage </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7EznjH6cssuiW_vtpYiy0EaPQFyAwAkUmACTh5-BzF_RQS2Ew0v6byjrUn_wVTIqXrJHWbINZdX4wBqZvkYUkLfHzOpJJX0whecAY_8w_aqIqVDVUyvn4H7OIv7ivmKOvPMgxsqzl-e7KVDKSwtM5MrbK-e2jow3yEmf08zNOVXXv8kRVaGei4pNCHTS/s3468/20231005_100104.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="2600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7EznjH6cssuiW_vtpYiy0EaPQFyAwAkUmACTh5-BzF_RQS2Ew0v6byjrUn_wVTIqXrJHWbINZdX4wBqZvkYUkLfHzOpJJX0whecAY_8w_aqIqVDVUyvn4H7OIv7ivmKOvPMgxsqzl-e7KVDKSwtM5MrbK-e2jow3yEmf08zNOVXXv8kRVaGei4pNCHTS/s320/20231005_100104.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">We left the hostel in Medesano before dawn and immediately found ourselves on a perfectly flat cycling track beside the main road, which we followed the all the way into Felegara, rather than the pedestrian route of the Via Francigena, which climbs unnecessarily up into the hills and back down again. In Felegara a couple out for a walk warned us that the footbridge was out on the regular Via Francigena pedestrian route just after the town, and told us we should continue straight on at the roundabout, follow the road to the end and take a pedestrian underpass beneath the motorway. The underpass is marked as Via Francigena, but you don't see the signs until you are almost there; it looks as though you are walking toward a dead end!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the underpass we found ourselves once again on the regular track of the Via Francigena, on a footpath through the trees beside the river Taro. We actually followed the footpath too far, missed a turning and ended up on the wrong side of a cement plant 😆. After backtracking for about 500 metres we got onto the right side of the gigantic cement plant and managed to make our way around it to the bridge over the river Taro.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAmWJJRMxLs6ToXetZmLs3QKr5thCC7jMM1fudIs5AH3rrMAKKoHjNj2s2TboHF0iiV7vO5JpywLq14QQ3YSoFYJkImYjuZcU2-DGgYTINn2tJcicDrtC4_1NLrd4K6KRCEdxrFAohphG30LNSW7LNCNuYzW_PZlZDJzkrNMsEu3nQonh9RkTmwRhQupV/s4624/20231005_075437.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAmWJJRMxLs6ToXetZmLs3QKr5thCC7jMM1fudIs5AH3rrMAKKoHjNj2s2TboHF0iiV7vO5JpywLq14QQ3YSoFYJkImYjuZcU2-DGgYTINn2tJcicDrtC4_1NLrd4K6KRCEdxrFAohphG30LNSW7LNCNuYzW_PZlZDJzkrNMsEu3nQonh9RkTmwRhQupV/s320/20231005_075437.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMvNRnxjAqJTd3A7jBFAfFPyD2Twt9D9RF2r1VV8nZKOU_pnpbBc3JA_Y9DillY64g3ct5uan2k_E1SN-s4mZAggSPtKYCfSMpzwHtbgQG58m19kIfJvSSUFmw4WgxXY7QKc3BtuXW4rzdQv8naousZOpiGKMq7Y-9x_I1nMxND8DazWl876xhIXAJeUw/s4624/20231005_100222.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMvNRnxjAqJTd3A7jBFAfFPyD2Twt9D9RF2r1VV8nZKOU_pnpbBc3JA_Y9DillY64g3ct5uan2k_E1SN-s4mZAggSPtKYCfSMpzwHtbgQG58m19kIfJvSSUFmw4WgxXY7QKc3BtuXW4rzdQv8naousZOpiGKMq7Y-9x_I1nMxND8DazWl876xhIXAJeUw/s320/20231005_100222.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYirVaP56M_AsId0B1kkAtcc8bNgXjWdSKqYYG2JsxDsgc0iSGaKAjUiMDF57GPS9aDVfuyMNWeqUxeuFvQ7iWFAl4CONLh-Am5Mn4JytVrO9vNFLWBP0EOpMXa23-03UUluIh8JB5zJZE8y4uBVZiN4x42WlRznwE-WMe0UkC1X19qbPUUcHxaIHmgDaj/s4624/20231005_100410.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYirVaP56M_AsId0B1kkAtcc8bNgXjWdSKqYYG2JsxDsgc0iSGaKAjUiMDF57GPS9aDVfuyMNWeqUxeuFvQ7iWFAl4CONLh-Am5Mn4JytVrO9vNFLWBP0EOpMXa23-03UUluIh8JB5zJZE8y4uBVZiN4x42WlRznwE-WMe0UkC1X19qbPUUcHxaIHmgDaj/s320/20231005_100410.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigpI-nBowiLB2kdZfzIGGx9TO2dsAC84UtvJWfhoSeWLQunpJz4DN4KEWZglnk4TTvUiGOw_cSp6xE7i_KFafreY9A555xOnq18jsb1nI76mbgIlN5c7sci6F2FPZmhjobtyI3aWnvRSaOg3ztCbilaiNo-Z9Nz3f4tSQpjPgT9k1OMoVvNurGElG8Y6Pe/s1224/IMG-20231005-WA0001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1224" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigpI-nBowiLB2kdZfzIGGx9TO2dsAC84UtvJWfhoSeWLQunpJz4DN4KEWZglnk4TTvUiGOw_cSp6xE7i_KFafreY9A555xOnq18jsb1nI76mbgIlN5c7sci6F2FPZmhjobtyI3aWnvRSaOg3ztCbilaiNo-Z9Nz3f4tSQpjPgT9k1OMoVvNurGElG8Y6Pe/s320/IMG-20231005-WA0001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgwa1vQpAYQ4HBkyqdU1XZZ6ApGRiIyCC4WByr7CnN70QE0qID9yPunouYxP0exGv9tUBrAlkdYZVtq6Il2WKWrUXL0vDl6IVj9tZZ6ntWTnellfa7EuUxOCdNOKj-w5QyS5uVlQUg1fk8NUr_MHw8-wYIOGyTt1LCVy33lqowzc1XqrzNAIah_M1Vz80/s4624/20231005_100915.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgwa1vQpAYQ4HBkyqdU1XZZ6ApGRiIyCC4WByr7CnN70QE0qID9yPunouYxP0exGv9tUBrAlkdYZVtq6Il2WKWrUXL0vDl6IVj9tZZ6ntWTnellfa7EuUxOCdNOKj-w5QyS5uVlQUg1fk8NUr_MHw8-wYIOGyTt1LCVy33lqowzc1XqrzNAIah_M1Vz80/s320/20231005_100915.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">After crossing the bridge in the pedestrian and bicycle lane, we descended a staircase to a supermarket parking lot and stopped in to stock up on provisions for the next couple of days, as grocery stores will be scarce in the mountains! We then walked into the centre of Fornovo to take a look around and have lunch.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fornovo </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fornovo, from the Latin <i>forum novum,</i> is located at the confluence of three rivers, the Taro, the Ceno and the Sporzana, and has always been an important stopping point on the Via Francigena before heading into the Appennines.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22MxvEmMM1FWFEU9oa5L1rQl8CilmVIUs_3epZRH4A2CjPAfVcydTIv41ML9OaYb2uNlH3VG6tSWXTJKJ7rAlt7UjICHpCLmFor4wjlvBgraMXbBC81OKe-AVwkZrWWlmLOU4vvFKdLYFA564cm1jsGS2FQ-8BhOS3N6hY7xPHGdIfBSxuP3OPKYn3jje/s4624/20231005_113557.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22MxvEmMM1FWFEU9oa5L1rQl8CilmVIUs_3epZRH4A2CjPAfVcydTIv41ML9OaYb2uNlH3VG6tSWXTJKJ7rAlt7UjICHpCLmFor4wjlvBgraMXbBC81OKe-AVwkZrWWlmLOU4vvFKdLYFA564cm1jsGS2FQ-8BhOS3N6hY7xPHGdIfBSxuP3OPKYn3jje/s320/20231005_113557.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBmMHuewZqFMbXKWwmLMOr_dvyVJRHGUh_-1A6bFdF2wUp7MzZiIyNTdoORuKiv6YJ6JXn9x5KBr25gH4K7Cjcmbn3iy-QpR7HkxLFlYEIIS0lbK7J8pJ4iIm02-LqVejiC8YMQ22ientUhXuuw5BqYRDASTCAeXtAlkBCe7xEriiqLqQWS3AOaWAcjrz/s4000/20231005_105246.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBmMHuewZqFMbXKWwmLMOr_dvyVJRHGUh_-1A6bFdF2wUp7MzZiIyNTdoORuKiv6YJ6JXn9x5KBr25gH4K7Cjcmbn3iy-QpR7HkxLFlYEIIS0lbK7J8pJ4iIm02-LqVejiC8YMQ22ientUhXuuw5BqYRDASTCAeXtAlkBCe7xEriiqLqQWS3AOaWAcjrz/s320/20231005_105246.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqC8dXwyHryE4Kopo_lUjQapZVwqF1jZmiXZzKGnCBlP3q4wW8JNmDT9cmpLjLeB2tyLdiqAz4zWDKYhP1EeCPRemGpsDPgdYfl6o1oscLJyVbqdCr9FHhQ6N_CHxPVA5DulQBEdfndJ90C2GuQgqlDnz4R2aul9B0RcAl-KPevq4N_B7F6sNCkLFs-Jr0/s2040/IMG-20231005-WA0002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="2040" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqC8dXwyHryE4Kopo_lUjQapZVwqF1jZmiXZzKGnCBlP3q4wW8JNmDT9cmpLjLeB2tyLdiqAz4zWDKYhP1EeCPRemGpsDPgdYfl6o1oscLJyVbqdCr9FHhQ6N_CHxPVA5DulQBEdfndJ90C2GuQgqlDnz4R2aul9B0RcAl-KPevq4N_B7F6sNCkLFs-Jr0/s320/IMG-20231005-WA0002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The church of Fornovo, Pieve dell'Assunzione di Maria Vergine, is one of the oldest churches in the diocese of Parma, first mentioned in historical records in the year 854 and most likely built over the foundations of a former Roman temple of Mercury. The present church dates back to the 11th century, and originally had an arcade in front of it to provide pilgrims with a sheltered place to sleep. 18th-century Baroque additions were removed during a restoration project conducted between 1927 and 1942, restoring the simple beauty of the 11th-century Romanesque church, though most of the original façade has been lost. Parts of a 13th-century sculpted pulpit which had been taken apart have now been mounted on the façade, including a wrestling match and scary depiction of the tortures of hell.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbmc0kWNMdammFHkiKVQJVFRU466X3NJ4Rd7yYAJpmOoz4hlFiDht08E8w44e8ZKRCVGm6Y7qRwkeOyj4wjwAIuTmEy7euakqxGYRrttQaRx3Gd_ha8iQ86RiEBUhVrW2UCOd3DpUAEWDapXtZcM4liLJOxzBJJUXsEZgwtUOu3FxZNer69rP9xsK-Ckcc/s4624/20231005_105332.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbmc0kWNMdammFHkiKVQJVFRU466X3NJ4Rd7yYAJpmOoz4hlFiDht08E8w44e8ZKRCVGm6Y7qRwkeOyj4wjwAIuTmEy7euakqxGYRrttQaRx3Gd_ha8iQ86RiEBUhVrW2UCOd3DpUAEWDapXtZcM4liLJOxzBJJUXsEZgwtUOu3FxZNer69rP9xsK-Ckcc/s320/20231005_105332.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zqPrPHUKcelhOdHP5VjpsAk-vQTZD8E_ssH4y3mZzXvDgrIsvCXtyhO4SWmgUxaOZMJLuOpKk9Hb-sP3AicxSaCWNm81eOem5huW5plR-EN76cZMsdG_8oMgRgf92ojlhrl541qVnCx_RyTg3EuVEKWFnSCkatekwlJdag-lA-8wC3O9dIqw5zFs2k7S/s4624/20231005_110853.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zqPrPHUKcelhOdHP5VjpsAk-vQTZD8E_ssH4y3mZzXvDgrIsvCXtyhO4SWmgUxaOZMJLuOpKk9Hb-sP3AicxSaCWNm81eOem5huW5plR-EN76cZMsdG_8oMgRgf92ojlhrl541qVnCx_RyTg3EuVEKWFnSCkatekwlJdag-lA-8wC3O9dIqw5zFs2k7S/s320/20231005_110853.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">A now-headless pilgrim beside the door of the church, identifiable as such by the keys on his belt, symbols of Saint Peter, indicates the way to Rome.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX-Y-X3RTGWqvzV0gF_LCDLy-peLDTivEtpy3jRM7dx5gClg29WUm641j28ATJj9Wvd-XjM_DorWfPA-yOO4e-6vTtW79LYgQjuS-9pVWvOErA7v2Op0VSubNKy1lzpPWdjez2GWF3oD4TJurn4a5x2M5ChV8QHlnqtVVA6WgI_PIQyoqaRbqXKV8iy1jH/s4624/20231005_112422.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX-Y-X3RTGWqvzV0gF_LCDLy-peLDTivEtpy3jRM7dx5gClg29WUm641j28ATJj9Wvd-XjM_DorWfPA-yOO4e-6vTtW79LYgQjuS-9pVWvOErA7v2Op0VSubNKy1lzpPWdjez2GWF3oD4TJurn4a5x2M5ChV8QHlnqtVVA6WgI_PIQyoqaRbqXKV8iy1jH/s320/20231005_112422.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-LUHHUKQxuXIERaRDi2TbYFQDPlxQP_EyqhIzyeMSd4qDKoG-xC5qS8sNlhQJqcVdzk5NzSrMIyPxQ5uXnuIgUf0sLg63xlDZFrVUbcwB_ocLQQhrbLJXOgQby6Kh5E0Wenw7X0M2-fYrU8cEU7J6vhy2r5Yvfj-TExY2aHyN5kND8-BLrlS93N1camO/s3291/20231005_110618.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3291" data-original-width="2468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-LUHHUKQxuXIERaRDi2TbYFQDPlxQP_EyqhIzyeMSd4qDKoG-xC5qS8sNlhQJqcVdzk5NzSrMIyPxQ5uXnuIgUf0sLg63xlDZFrVUbcwB_ocLQQhrbLJXOgQby6Kh5E0Wenw7X0M2-fYrU8cEU7J6vhy2r5Yvfj-TExY2aHyN5kND8-BLrlS93N1camO/s320/20231005_110618.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph sneakily taken from behind a column</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">We walked round the church interior as quietly and stealthily as possible, because it is open for the adoration of the Eucharist every Thursday and there were lots of people praying. Then we got our pilgrim credentials stamped at the tourist office next door and sat down in a café for a drink and something to eat, as there will be no more food sources until Cassio - tomorrow evening. The local specialties in this part of the country are heavy on the meat, especially cured meats, but the café also served branzino (sea bass) with polenta - an unusual combination! 😄</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguv0Cs2YbjaUEX0M-C-sJPzYoAOkVsMjAfgvMAJDmphFMFL-Tkn2KBFTRoTVL_eiGiweuPoIhTIhmRF2pdCl7vgdoDmxIzIlIdodIT7PsGcsVpgV5Dg8Wf0x0IgPy6rsblLC6FA6SfCu7sw_5atgYkKAUtyf3hB6UJzkG0lKODgUa2AXcg3mfaepws0BGh/s4624/20231005_124606.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguv0Cs2YbjaUEX0M-C-sJPzYoAOkVsMjAfgvMAJDmphFMFL-Tkn2KBFTRoTVL_eiGiweuPoIhTIhmRF2pdCl7vgdoDmxIzIlIdodIT7PsGcsVpgV5Dg8Wf0x0IgPy6rsblLC6FA6SfCu7sw_5atgYkKAUtyf3hB6UJzkG0lKODgUa2AXcg3mfaepws0BGh/s320/20231005_124606.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This should get me up the pass!</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">They don't seem to eat vegetables at all around here. I bought a carrot, hummus and fruit for this evening and tomorrow's lunch - as well as a pouch of instant oatmeal and a bag of dragée chocolates 😋. The only kind that don't melt in the sun!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Laden down with all this food - in my stomach and in my backpack - I set off for the final 5 kilometres of the day, climbing a series of hairpin bends on a paved road high above Fornovo. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGDXVrHlCq5oY2GAf1-lQXCcEXw4BgkOJDr3tC5zBVINfCAVgmKE6JivMOHX_NrmVvFaNnEl_L262WUFDTVevRKdCxpIq26IdrJ5VEtwlHcpYnS9dq3fVerxBnJ5Bggiq0IasGaC6c-3VcnkTR3hewbehVtYL0z03dtwIYJ8Cj4bW1tNfOq1Co6qMiW1zP/s4624/20231005_140122.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGDXVrHlCq5oY2GAf1-lQXCcEXw4BgkOJDr3tC5zBVINfCAVgmKE6JivMOHX_NrmVvFaNnEl_L262WUFDTVevRKdCxpIq26IdrJ5VEtwlHcpYnS9dq3fVerxBnJ5Bggiq0IasGaC6c-3VcnkTR3hewbehVtYL0z03dtwIYJ8Cj4bW1tNfOq1Co6qMiW1zP/s320/20231005_140122.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiONVH5bY002m5FAY83U2AHsw1XFYTTWU8Pp2Di0yxChLHqYXM0YEVp9DAlvLjAuOX2_3TD72R9YhvSJLhK74c6nSDVyLW6t5_ykKD-X3DKDCOuFWvkHcA1pmjIQftXkFs5x77wTxZ0tPb46lMcFLBZaHeMpPq0eGRh31yubYzRA_bs5fhZb4sM3w7vaepe/s4624/20231005_142922.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiONVH5bY002m5FAY83U2AHsw1XFYTTWU8Pp2Di0yxChLHqYXM0YEVp9DAlvLjAuOX2_3TD72R9YhvSJLhK74c6nSDVyLW6t5_ykKD-X3DKDCOuFWvkHcA1pmjIQftXkFs5x77wTxZ0tPb46lMcFLBZaHeMpPq0eGRh31yubYzRA_bs5fhZb4sM3w7vaepe/s320/20231005_142922.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We paused at a rest stop with a drinking fountain and a couple of chairs that someone had thoughtfully installed beside the road at the top of the hill in Caselle. Then we continued down Via della Massona, an ancient road joining the valley of the Taro river and the town of Fornovo with the Val Sporzana, valley of one of the three rivers that converge in Fornovo. There was once a pilgrim hostel kept by the Knights Templar on this site, and someone has carved a Knight Templar of wood to watch over modern-day pilgrims passing by on the road to Rome!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jt_C3ogLxxCQVPodWM-Cf_fzrIiLuwopJ7tRgxuYzFXbjwzZI5WWTncPTkURB08Qw410Ed-DXYOTh-OW8tqZGn2odU_-De4HYcC7gch3QnZ9jvPUM3eIHfObX5YELgzECoq1OEnB_b3UD6l2hLoj2wCec1Tlu3jhW6SgrYIpOtqGfohxH5pk7W_lPRY3/s4624/20231005_145727.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jt_C3ogLxxCQVPodWM-Cf_fzrIiLuwopJ7tRgxuYzFXbjwzZI5WWTncPTkURB08Qw410Ed-DXYOTh-OW8tqZGn2odU_-De4HYcC7gch3QnZ9jvPUM3eIHfObX5YELgzECoq1OEnB_b3UD6l2hLoj2wCec1Tlu3jhW6SgrYIpOtqGfohxH5pk7W_lPRY3/s320/20231005_145727.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixf80iVEKUO_djPUGsyQKwtRPzhNLIRNHR7-BC3oBZL8PE903Q1ieXAQOWmrZGyKff238lJo2w9TDp9Xy1HH3JELkJaDQAtFDdjqCZvCfNvtNUDTNWVya5iyD3xMiaaM9xTbWrWIfP7yapVjvPBddn5d1473-f-iUn4BdVzGzgDFX6K6ixIM6DTH_NToH7/s4624/20231005_150359.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixf80iVEKUO_djPUGsyQKwtRPzhNLIRNHR7-BC3oBZL8PE903Q1ieXAQOWmrZGyKff238lJo2w9TDp9Xy1HH3JELkJaDQAtFDdjqCZvCfNvtNUDTNWVya5iyD3xMiaaM9xTbWrWIfP7yapVjvPBddn5d1473-f-iUn4BdVzGzgDFX6K6ixIM6DTH_NToH7/s320/20231005_150359.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We descended into this pleasant valley, where we turned onto a not-so-pleasant road with speeding traffic... but only for a few kilometres, to reach our destination for the evening, Agriturismo Casa delle Viole in Roncolungo, just before Sivizzano. Sivizzano's parish pilgrim hostel closes for the season on October 1st, and so our only options were to stop here or walk another 13 kilometres to Cassio: a bit too far for one day!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our apartment at Casa delle Viole is charming, and it's nice to have such a big place all to ourselves after sharing the rather cramped quarters of the pilgrim hostel in Medesano with three other walkers last night!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our apartment is only a small part of this huge house, where the owners themselves live and there are also a number of refugees of various nationalities, whose colourful clothes are hanging out to dry on the line next to our few bits of pilgrim laundry! One of them showed us to our accommodation so we have not yet met our hostess, the mistress of the house.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5dYrusqUt3KkpXqJVfaudgpCvOMziH2hAZisaOvA2iiJgRcOHpF69if9YiycAWPYndV3OvIItoz5rgRQelYsLgpJdrQoxoxvnxqluxdifXxHcmlWNRhpXn87FRGBRYV0zwbZnF7wLz5fz44c2CgtcUw47xAXEAXqpolBRnC5x0weZo3dunzy9EOqtkFS2/s4624/20231005_153347.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5dYrusqUt3KkpXqJVfaudgpCvOMziH2hAZisaOvA2iiJgRcOHpF69if9YiycAWPYndV3OvIItoz5rgRQelYsLgpJdrQoxoxvnxqluxdifXxHcmlWNRhpXn87FRGBRYV0zwbZnF7wLz5fz44c2CgtcUw47xAXEAXqpolBRnC5x0weZo3dunzy9EOqtkFS2/s320/20231005_153347.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC21EocLfwhFlNO3pYSJ308kD-mj87Mdyx8ZHK0cDqyELTedvTr2wds2CUvcwu7IeubvEWpuoqVa7n2Ug2YFET_sz7ILQ3ZGIX1gsTjvfZfLHttxn2Emm1kZa1391BXbkD3FUwyUhAChyG5I1cpHpYxMfYRa_JC4fUTZOrj_Rv5O2lAGaQq94DHz-SJXm9/s4000/20231005_154714.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC21EocLfwhFlNO3pYSJ308kD-mj87Mdyx8ZHK0cDqyELTedvTr2wds2CUvcwu7IeubvEWpuoqVa7n2Ug2YFET_sz7ILQ3ZGIX1gsTjvfZfLHttxn2Emm1kZa1391BXbkD3FUwyUhAChyG5I1cpHpYxMfYRa_JC4fUTZOrj_Rv5O2lAGaQq94DHz-SJXm9/s320/20231005_154714.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGuLwdozQmJUpeAXAuT5MVhKAUpAJdGCpYhtCJ_Y4jxLSvU9Tgd0PJ9YKhVqUPDxg3y-mEjGsD8b_oUG60ct9juWSiFU_pap6bPJyPsq3p1p5Bx0cx6aLJ0K2VoAG4kdw3BLsv85REKyCiqbanKMLSnNl441MT8CJdsPSQ6wNCyFa7riG-vF9hPJN3K9F/s4000/20231005_154618.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGuLwdozQmJUpeAXAuT5MVhKAUpAJdGCpYhtCJ_Y4jxLSvU9Tgd0PJ9YKhVqUPDxg3y-mEjGsD8b_oUG60ct9juWSiFU_pap6bPJyPsq3p1p5Bx0cx6aLJ0K2VoAG4kdw3BLsv85REKyCiqbanKMLSnNl441MT8CJdsPSQ6wNCyFa7riG-vF9hPJN3K9F/s320/20231005_154618.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoxaquita-_QjyjGATd1VBRRP60JIM6QMt0Q79Hvt8UbNgZqG6-nsw54nxsfhxSu_OMH87Ut2B21SuxKWfjBgrRpkwysYkyGDw0OFUT1N_gGdOBXYr5A-2uq4UqYOqQw7XczDYAapmLaPnC64nfGmUnEtJMouqPSrs40p2Ul9tET2vewwCgBoFWtwRXyW/s2040/IMG-20231005-WA0003.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="2040" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoxaquita-_QjyjGATd1VBRRP60JIM6QMt0Q79Hvt8UbNgZqG6-nsw54nxsfhxSu_OMH87Ut2B21SuxKWfjBgrRpkwysYkyGDw0OFUT1N_gGdOBXYr5A-2uq4UqYOqQw7XczDYAapmLaPnC64nfGmUnEtJMouqPSrs40p2Ul9tET2vewwCgBoFWtwRXyW/s320/IMG-20231005-WA0003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking out the hammock at Casa delle Viole</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmiWaBp8QsMIVvZh_lxDnlZwFlh3a3BlRO-F7SePjeCpG2rTHKC_S6Wy0S292LJ_CtsqZpY3CJHvrjES-Rkgx4UwJtsvP8fqXyOth_Ty2HvZj8na6Uhxd2LYzk_BfZi-VHhXLl5O4dKZStM8HTK4T7TGaBTggEUg3tRmBXAKjdMI9n284OmJQEYQTBC06d/s2400/Screenshot_20231005_153641_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmiWaBp8QsMIVvZh_lxDnlZwFlh3a3BlRO-F7SePjeCpG2rTHKC_S6Wy0S292LJ_CtsqZpY3CJHvrjES-Rkgx4UwJtsvP8fqXyOth_Ty2HvZj8na6Uhxd2LYzk_BfZi-VHhXLl5O4dKZStM8HTK4T7TGaBTggEUg3tRmBXAKjdMI9n284OmJQEYQTBC06d/s320/Screenshot_20231005_153641_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Medesano - Roncolungo 17 km</p><p style="text-align: center;">(including a couple of mistakes!)</p><p style="text-align: center;">450 metre elevation gain </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-3854706959175475772023-10-04T21:25:00.010+02:002024-02-14T16:07:50.199+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 81: Fidenza - Medesano<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Methinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow</i> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">- Henry David Thoreau</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">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.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fidenza</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The name Fidenza, in Latin <i>Fidentia, </i>comes from the root <i>fides: </i>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.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisANhIU6jQ1Kin5yCzh2JxqEhfjpc4sK5xrQ6Zkqmy7lgUbQjLIfeI7fDZeILFu73-w-Fzb-vgf9LowHZQsq4Y-AtakhzHfdSrXlAYw7MhzAmhCqLb2TvoRK-Uhts5_BkbGXgOXdQrxPTUmdxfXloMQXcen24R-JgFqJxSA5OZSNDNCFI8Cveva18VSAaj/s4624/20231004_085105.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisANhIU6jQ1Kin5yCzh2JxqEhfjpc4sK5xrQ6Zkqmy7lgUbQjLIfeI7fDZeILFu73-w-Fzb-vgf9LowHZQsq4Y-AtakhzHfdSrXlAYw7MhzAmhCqLb2TvoRK-Uhts5_BkbGXgOXdQrxPTUmdxfXloMQXcen24R-JgFqJxSA5OZSNDNCFI8Cveva18VSAaj/s320/20231004_085105.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Donnino post-decapitation</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJ_fSvcNFYQt0_QFE2kqvjguCCCaGbOFJ5gpAPQe3ShiphDcIETuz1_7TJrJXKuER8bTtLPbV95dRRi84ysrU6AlL0jRiz69XZra3N52-7drFs2oLjRKt-VLnMDIoivvy-laFj2-lTCIqEkjJVJp4a7uQcPoYYMbBmepzgYjjzmzEi6-w264ih5NTAKXj/s4624/20231004_084524.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJ_fSvcNFYQt0_QFE2kqvjguCCCaGbOFJ5gpAPQe3ShiphDcIETuz1_7TJrJXKuER8bTtLPbV95dRRi84ysrU6AlL0jRiz69XZra3N52-7drFs2oLjRKt-VLnMDIoivvy-laFj2-lTCIqEkjJVJp4a7uQcPoYYMbBmepzgYjjzmzEi6-w264ih5NTAKXj/s320/20231004_084524.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fidenza's medieval town hall</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIKM517NIcPYq7E_RdATRpiBmQ22TZTQ3_7sbTcx1PzkUOIiNYqfyHUtsluhWXfcTpv93iGBEKZLhyphenhyphen8NyWe7ePpXOuWqTZONZMzkIyjkdcSkaIVq6-I2uurw0EdFv62bG_Yyxfutkr8p0gURyHF9v54bi_WHI-Ixx5V-2c0g8hIo6MCEHWHwo08IYTtUkg/s4624/20231004_084429.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIKM517NIcPYq7E_RdATRpiBmQ22TZTQ3_7sbTcx1PzkUOIiNYqfyHUtsluhWXfcTpv93iGBEKZLhyphenhyphen8NyWe7ePpXOuWqTZONZMzkIyjkdcSkaIVq6-I2uurw0EdFv62bG_Yyxfutkr8p0gURyHF9v54bi_WHI-Ixx5V-2c0g8hIo6MCEHWHwo08IYTtUkg/s320/20231004_084429.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">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.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdY6yX2foamOHLI-ZZJZXRy6-H5xwsmy0LDB-1DAnDTD9OxPXL18_zsWeuNeI621WPs2dJz2Y0kMPBBfgN4YX1NXMR2MFm7r8JpwQkRxd3I131_MWrVpvYsHnv9CxMcpads1GtBXqFr3XLtTp2Bx3SxLAnpdWZcvdU56WAtJ4TIXG7cgiP8JoPFdD17ViJ/s4624/20231004_084939.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdY6yX2foamOHLI-ZZJZXRy6-H5xwsmy0LDB-1DAnDTD9OxPXL18_zsWeuNeI621WPs2dJz2Y0kMPBBfgN4YX1NXMR2MFm7r8JpwQkRxd3I131_MWrVpvYsHnv9CxMcpads1GtBXqFr3XLtTp2Bx3SxLAnpdWZcvdU56WAtJ4TIXG7cgiP8JoPFdD17ViJ/s320/20231004_084939.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The apse of Fidenza cathedral </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWm6tVf5nzpesQBJ1UNfsz4eJugJj1PLQ7NcHMJjB4AdBZN1p64c_UyvV3sBSHQZyJok-VhA-dHktxAbzNb5cGEy7a2XkaWT9c2pFRGYh4WtoCSw_WZOkc0g7rsUU11VpEbdOYkVxNuq2rfkc7zU8bXfAlGdxzBZystX9lHumBQ8P5UhB3PCG02-rGN_XU/s4000/20231004_085532.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWm6tVf5nzpesQBJ1UNfsz4eJugJj1PLQ7NcHMJjB4AdBZN1p64c_UyvV3sBSHQZyJok-VhA-dHktxAbzNb5cGEy7a2XkaWT9c2pFRGYh4WtoCSw_WZOkc0g7rsUU11VpEbdOYkVxNuq2rfkc7zU8bXfAlGdxzBZystX9lHumBQ8P5UhB3PCG02-rGN_XU/s320/20231004_085532.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9-kvjSTxQ3U07wszS_3CmzgfOu6H8ZUkddlZdjQ8NYLsb1uCNwnlAHZEeWi8eJovty65fqXV3R3SVIC1hlYBo6G2P1_1vyPec2Ppae9IAFRH0j8Je8q6TuhR8aHDFwNYhKEPo8LsQ5aWnCu4vwVK98I03GfExtGCjWGX3ub1uE2Dn2mLrSFL7TCOBuWJ/s4624/20231004_085325.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9-kvjSTxQ3U07wszS_3CmzgfOu6H8ZUkddlZdjQ8NYLsb1uCNwnlAHZEeWi8eJovty65fqXV3R3SVIC1hlYBo6G2P1_1vyPec2Ppae9IAFRH0j8Je8q6TuhR8aHDFwNYhKEPo8LsQ5aWnCu4vwVK98I03GfExtGCjWGX3ub1uE2Dn2mLrSFL7TCOBuWJ/s320/20231004_085325.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHgiDGw3-wRR49BSmogPM5g3MA57opZv05UEkDInF2xxgwN0G89wgCXN6VWed6F177LVgLJKKwI4Ac2kqJ8tsUi5ChajIbzkUJo5um0d7VnTDUrYV3omgbg0xa-yO6IKUB_pY-XvQ62LFuhlO4O1J3bgQw5pLj6kP_5t7gznkbIdmrsaL292cjs2c6DI5/s4624/20231004_093240.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHgiDGw3-wRR49BSmogPM5g3MA57opZv05UEkDInF2xxgwN0G89wgCXN6VWed6F177LVgLJKKwI4Ac2kqJ8tsUi5ChajIbzkUJo5um0d7VnTDUrYV3omgbg0xa-yO6IKUB_pY-XvQ62LFuhlO4O1J3bgQw5pLj6kP_5t7gznkbIdmrsaL292cjs2c6DI5/s320/20231004_093240.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SjQDYctf08XJokALRV2eB4ySNdV8sjBi5PV2ix52N1ZGRvN2VXiFaizKKZYaCIvzhsbDLtJ-wwEpMfXhiD7EN1PgDeQBCzGyEdr24HydzJbQVZRJFAuaQepqgMlTX-sNsR7QiSWuv_Fwkt7_uJjgpT1VjfPF6md7blFEYgQmmW5MJsj6y2r_enSeT_cz/s1529/IMG-20231004-WA0003.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1529" data-original-width="1147" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SjQDYctf08XJokALRV2eB4ySNdV8sjBi5PV2ix52N1ZGRvN2VXiFaizKKZYaCIvzhsbDLtJ-wwEpMfXhiD7EN1PgDeQBCzGyEdr24HydzJbQVZRJFAuaQepqgMlTX-sNsR7QiSWuv_Fwkt7_uJjgpT1VjfPF6md7blFEYgQmmW5MJsj6y2r_enSeT_cz/s320/IMG-20231004-WA0003.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">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! 😄</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj37b9O_rreRpzraNpdl9frrfIDklP8bCBmphCFubgq5AY2VF5IxGzB50sOf59aCvYz7SXKt5X0oUgQFxRrjJZtaJ4xjHXdB8ECSbdXCROSIll5KZUmNWB8W4yMv90rrkJBny7KDVpdvgE5JwDK5MhKMrHm12_7zi-py47YV_O40efrFfXqar_ABdZSzPp5/s4624/20231004_085818.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj37b9O_rreRpzraNpdl9frrfIDklP8bCBmphCFubgq5AY2VF5IxGzB50sOf59aCvYz7SXKt5X0oUgQFxRrjJZtaJ4xjHXdB8ECSbdXCROSIll5KZUmNWB8W4yMv90rrkJBny7KDVpdvgE5JwDK5MhKMrHm12_7zi-py47YV_O40efrFfXqar_ABdZSzPp5/s320/20231004_085818.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc8KeEd_xSQ_e8dmRwaVJEoAZ97rS-cg1Pof82voQt2Jp0X-CfKr_P0jfMbcLUo3btw0mPt_p4UM3tbiSCiF6MvEgTAlRhtNb2Whal35PY5muvvlf6zGO-sQWRhuRpMyE1Fztr5BjneGm3NfKrF_r47ZSzBKEsqJ1O6FWhe6KoRbmO5ldFg_v3J57jDCTI/s4624/20231004_085811.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc8KeEd_xSQ_e8dmRwaVJEoAZ97rS-cg1Pof82voQt2Jp0X-CfKr_P0jfMbcLUo3btw0mPt_p4UM3tbiSCiF6MvEgTAlRhtNb2Whal35PY5muvvlf6zGO-sQWRhuRpMyE1Fztr5BjneGm3NfKrF_r47ZSzBKEsqJ1O6FWhe6KoRbmO5ldFg_v3J57jDCTI/s320/20231004_085811.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">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! 😄</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfW-sdwgnocFwvqp4lrNdQGfLmjCEOIgxfizz6C08oxkg1r6Q1bHho51MJQVIRs2pVPz_6sdHU8nlfnqdZU7WYnl6_dofwKgm_JU24zgRkzRkK9M6Cyj9CcJnXLuF_i9i7IFEHgEgpZCIlWY3EaJTenudoKcK9YXiF-ExHphlgTB_iqEVs1aqT7nGJb_s/s3416/20231004_092051.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3416" data-original-width="2562" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfW-sdwgnocFwvqp4lrNdQGfLmjCEOIgxfizz6C08oxkg1r6Q1bHho51MJQVIRs2pVPz_6sdHU8nlfnqdZU7WYnl6_dofwKgm_JU24zgRkzRkK9M6Cyj9CcJnXLuF_i9i7IFEHgEgpZCIlWY3EaJTenudoKcK9YXiF-ExHphlgTB_iqEVs1aqT7nGJb_s/s320/20231004_092051.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqhzhkq8EmtTtmycFOabBNByyLRRXhdAl6dzZQhSQavrhZwU1PDcca3zVgsTtMLqzjBI-g7AnIhG4bJq7_fgMYzLFhNAZSLuEqGFQUHk8RpMCVVy6CgE8pysJ_BobNUWtkni8p8RLn3Kiz8Q-uodhnwwdg5iV2RcOk8otYzx2tPDf_6yVeaQbDe98H0op/s3463/20231004_105140.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3463" data-original-width="2597" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqhzhkq8EmtTtmycFOabBNByyLRRXhdAl6dzZQhSQavrhZwU1PDcca3zVgsTtMLqzjBI-g7AnIhG4bJq7_fgMYzLFhNAZSLuEqGFQUHk8RpMCVVy6CgE8pysJ_BobNUWtkni8p8RLn3Kiz8Q-uodhnwwdg5iV2RcOk8otYzx2tPDf_6yVeaQbDe98H0op/s320/20231004_105140.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">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 😋.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">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. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFK_EV46TuvNrAMWGWhO56-NKRl6O0nyHa22lbKOsExQHQmnrIJm2thhwN08FMJvY24UoeSv4-TwnAyjdrA82IG3rLMQEhYgmWhyphenhyphen65NmK74ixCBlpdwvCAVy0kKfszlkgN6PJntpNo7rb8drWkbeQNHNVlHjnVPpFt7Q5C5huYUh4RGCKGJUZUmkTqk5bY/s1600/IMG-20231004-WA0009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFK_EV46TuvNrAMWGWhO56-NKRl6O0nyHa22lbKOsExQHQmnrIJm2thhwN08FMJvY24UoeSv4-TwnAyjdrA82IG3rLMQEhYgmWhyphenhyphen65NmK74ixCBlpdwvCAVy0kKfszlkgN6PJntpNo7rb8drWkbeQNHNVlHjnVPpFt7Q5C5huYUh4RGCKGJUZUmkTqk5bY/s320/IMG-20231004-WA0009.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">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.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The flat Po Valley is finally behind us!!!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN0nFJ7se3In5X0TKbluf_M2PMJoWbSjAAq-ne_-FPqbSGOONVPan3zMI82UG6YqPGHNFhu64SN8b_B69tVy9CzXoO7jaUobugz2AxScbViSUCEnBgxF1Vdcb2ESX69d1Oi7XVt6ky9ZKyJpvNNlALU15DPzVSgFttUWhLzDEbrTz-X7bok6QN1AiFX67D/s4624/20231004_105814.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN0nFJ7se3In5X0TKbluf_M2PMJoWbSjAAq-ne_-FPqbSGOONVPan3zMI82UG6YqPGHNFhu64SN8b_B69tVy9CzXoO7jaUobugz2AxScbViSUCEnBgxF1Vdcb2ESX69d1Oi7XVt6ky9ZKyJpvNNlALU15DPzVSgFttUWhLzDEbrTz-X7bok6QN1AiFX67D/s320/20231004_105814.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHKUI4GGWqzihNCIa-o9Pd0YBcaDuDHwUsIQx9EdIMzgj9sqoByZTNaASX_9R2VeIac5n-hcxi-3CWNB_BLPP6l7dhQEnkRHSBb9L84ybi8VvDgDTZuhcDzBxF9erpTfsYr5zp18R3bEaUSWKglrJV0AYz0VdDhLgD4H_ra455V5Z96yumJLWyIBnY1UM/s4624/20231004_115550.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHKUI4GGWqzihNCIa-o9Pd0YBcaDuDHwUsIQx9EdIMzgj9sqoByZTNaASX_9R2VeIac5n-hcxi-3CWNB_BLPP6l7dhQEnkRHSBb9L84ybi8VvDgDTZuhcDzBxF9erpTfsYr5zp18R3bEaUSWKglrJV0AYz0VdDhLgD4H_ra455V5Z96yumJLWyIBnY1UM/s320/20231004_115550.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">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. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">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. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSp_Kfplym9dMvPlo23ssJpiYGMaCXXjOltHhmAXCagVpO09f2qeNknzrl505u68vSZN2SUt_nyMsyosqH-XXd7C8fRTvj1XyH1iX3jxVwFEDkemLY8zFl-Tb6qt_hSqTnIYsLxgvcHMFCJzZJJClcbwH9c-beoV3YsQL8UehrR9HK0ThMAQCVp7FnUvI/s4624/20231004_152143.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSp_Kfplym9dMvPlo23ssJpiYGMaCXXjOltHhmAXCagVpO09f2qeNknzrl505u68vSZN2SUt_nyMsyosqH-XXd7C8fRTvj1XyH1iX3jxVwFEDkemLY8zFl-Tb6qt_hSqTnIYsLxgvcHMFCJzZJJClcbwH9c-beoV3YsQL8UehrR9HK0ThMAQCVp7FnUvI/s320/20231004_152143.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kNhrw_wdZ0XMC0ArJIyspcg4oDji_z8jU0rqvrkyCz51IzyWwRNaLQ8nthctGPbXCAmzZZqZmg0Rg9jhny3OgH7ZzacXdjX08dF0ku8_RrlYwIwe-V60SiYVSvb6GhagYzL4_iUfnHSgWqPqKGFT61vGwRVJoNI82DVUOI5rRrOpxgxtMDgnSbi8fgRN/s4624/20231004_152425.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kNhrw_wdZ0XMC0ArJIyspcg4oDji_z8jU0rqvrkyCz51IzyWwRNaLQ8nthctGPbXCAmzZZqZmg0Rg9jhny3OgH7ZzacXdjX08dF0ku8_RrlYwIwe-V60SiYVSvb6GhagYzL4_iUfnHSgWqPqKGFT61vGwRVJoNI82DVUOI5rRrOpxgxtMDgnSbi8fgRN/s320/20231004_152425.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCZynsIpzrjpzAjxmp4WHyucShLxmtHK7X-8W7oxUxk78wQwWhazW6xvm-Xp7hIbB7gMQMoDkAZjqN2tARIOC08LtBEF_hsfu_Pqo8HyOxCwkcGR_msvmD4iRxW5ilm5kAU2yX7vhy9Iqp0pp-QRgdnlXxsZkYOfbhokfz01BiGnQHgVfZ8dywpQvkswb/s4624/20231004_152907.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCZynsIpzrjpzAjxmp4WHyucShLxmtHK7X-8W7oxUxk78wQwWhazW6xvm-Xp7hIbB7gMQMoDkAZjqN2tARIOC08LtBEF_hsfu_Pqo8HyOxCwkcGR_msvmD4iRxW5ilm5kAU2yX7vhy9Iqp0pp-QRgdnlXxsZkYOfbhokfz01BiGnQHgVfZ8dywpQvkswb/s320/20231004_152907.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC56DMiIrYYUZY2DlDK7X3rBZxtQYE5D5P7Qym5Hg4JgFSLIZ47dIhwra0VK3xq65fdrMVqtqzFD-qxAuNtn8T-aFDOK7tWBPQLxPO0NZ-hHg7ccDXyclXB5XkwCyMmk9RFe05k2rvEybY1VtQLTV3zvP3H0GWfBAbQTOCHKsXdVeHRfAHxYFGOUA7bp1j/s4624/20231004_153810.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC56DMiIrYYUZY2DlDK7X3rBZxtQYE5D5P7Qym5Hg4JgFSLIZ47dIhwra0VK3xq65fdrMVqtqzFD-qxAuNtn8T-aFDOK7tWBPQLxPO0NZ-hHg7ccDXyclXB5XkwCyMmk9RFe05k2rvEybY1VtQLTV3zvP3H0GWfBAbQTOCHKsXdVeHRfAHxYFGOUA7bp1j/s320/20231004_153810.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjda0b5PFmDYQWbJ2KB9eJwgvi5QKZNgzzpgZCZkHW0bDw0aGZ6Q2bdH94CNjF4sJVqa-TeW3HXGJC6YlLYT938ZV-OTl3yFXqc1TMQoHKWynkl8BhyphenhyphenCHU018w4ue77P_i1n-V_rNYgioi2jOlG_goLpscKUdecVbJ5L4A3hidkX5abk7306S0YD4CL5P2l/s4624/20231004_154558.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjda0b5PFmDYQWbJ2KB9eJwgvi5QKZNgzzpgZCZkHW0bDw0aGZ6Q2bdH94CNjF4sJVqa-TeW3HXGJC6YlLYT938ZV-OTl3yFXqc1TMQoHKWynkl8BhyphenhyphenCHU018w4ue77P_i1n-V_rNYgioi2jOlG_goLpscKUdecVbJ5L4A3hidkX5abk7306S0YD4CL5P2l/s320/20231004_154558.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">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!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">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! 😄</p><p style="text-align: justify;">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!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQRmeEe6uzAXjJBv6_hHWhW1BYVdnxCweRwCnNpV1A-a-sZwBAmhvbXh1Rw4qPcCCC5ZnY8y9YrdpC70t-O3Uy5ZQbuA0iYjhQN-2dPwxNlFkCI6eI5xUmiYNASBiH2aJ8ofqs-tKXwghA1PTdq3VcRCTtsD7nc7m5dXfJRc3Mqx7ZnCndCuT7WoBeavl/s4624/20231004_172613.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQRmeEe6uzAXjJBv6_hHWhW1BYVdnxCweRwCnNpV1A-a-sZwBAmhvbXh1Rw4qPcCCC5ZnY8y9YrdpC70t-O3Uy5ZQbuA0iYjhQN-2dPwxNlFkCI6eI5xUmiYNASBiH2aJ8ofqs-tKXwghA1PTdq3VcRCTtsD7nc7m5dXfJRc3Mqx7ZnCndCuT7WoBeavl/s320/20231004_172613.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OwdIPUEqSib3QtIGGFjs6wh6gC9ddts6KCk8SJGttKkT9-zVbKpooUcry9jKUnVaeSo9WxTzUjV_W1_YWySjit004DmXTAi8KBjfoh2p07STgmXus4tb1qT8bhFNPeWk9bPOPqWhv7Jk9dgBXoOovBwCHOGxitt63Awc1u176EHYN9EVOomEkZ5pzr5P/s4000/20231004_175948.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OwdIPUEqSib3QtIGGFjs6wh6gC9ddts6KCk8SJGttKkT9-zVbKpooUcry9jKUnVaeSo9WxTzUjV_W1_YWySjit004DmXTAi8KBjfoh2p07STgmXus4tb1qT8bhFNPeWk9bPOPqWhv7Jk9dgBXoOovBwCHOGxitt63Awc1u176EHYN9EVOomEkZ5pzr5P/s320/20231004_175948.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecPJQ2CysWfywVOzf91gExxIxIXAwcGbghIERHpflBCrNiy5rgCXjRuG3GWHJnfBPj6LfzGRfH91nYrdiZvVKVl1FF_xTn_oJgFiTMU91pytSsJuHne2TnXiYD93rV__OZd0-5EqDYOYVoBAZlY36TRb1Vsbcrhn9SVNviAIY_FVLbpnsPFOdAseGxXcw/s2400/Screenshot_20231004_180233_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecPJQ2CysWfywVOzf91gExxIxIXAwcGbghIERHpflBCrNiy5rgCXjRuG3GWHJnfBPj6LfzGRfH91nYrdiZvVKVl1FF_xTn_oJgFiTMU91pytSsJuHne2TnXiYD93rV__OZd0-5EqDYOYVoBAZlY36TRb1Vsbcrhn9SVNviAIY_FVLbpnsPFOdAseGxXcw/s320/Screenshot_20231004_180233_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Fidenza - Medesano 25 km </p><p style="text-align: center;">600 metre elevation gain </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><br />Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-80888171620739349152023-10-03T14:13:00.004+02:002024-01-09T14:23:33.094+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 80: Fiorenzuola d'Arda - Fidenza<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Pilgrimage is what one does of necessity, to avoid being lost in a desert; to invest the walking with a purpose while wandering the land with no destination.</i></p><p>- Zygmunt Baumann, <i>From pilgrim to tourist </i>(1996)<i> </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Wide awake at 6:06, we were in the café having breakfast before 7 and on the road by sunrise.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDNDiLYCUScw7Uk3oOXYlyMbJkWCvcphnbXwF4_CuXfWG17kLp6vmfGnwsiNq4W5rmljq8sFiT8iFTxqWpyeEmzr4beyCPwRu5pS4qCSorDCFelSBZX8LYsz2x8ZgQMjKu6JD3ltzLnJaoyqQNOABT6sfNAk8aLTMMJuoY3WYBOQ-NF52ysPWdRgmxB8z/s4624/20231003_073518.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDNDiLYCUScw7Uk3oOXYlyMbJkWCvcphnbXwF4_CuXfWG17kLp6vmfGnwsiNq4W5rmljq8sFiT8iFTxqWpyeEmzr4beyCPwRu5pS4qCSorDCFelSBZX8LYsz2x8ZgQMjKu6JD3ltzLnJaoyqQNOABT6sfNAk8aLTMMJuoY3WYBOQ-NF52ysPWdRgmxB8z/s320/20231003_073518.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">Walking southeast through the cornfields toward the sun, in just over an hour we reached the Abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p><b>The Abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Chiaravalle is a Cistercian abbey founded in 1136 with the goal of reclaiming the swampy land of the plain and making it suitable for human use. The name Chiaravalle is essentially the same as Clairvaux and Vauclair, two Cistercian abbeys I passed by in France, and means "valley of light": these two abbeys were all established in an east-west valley so that they would be in the sunlight all day. At the abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba this is not an issue as the Po Valley is so wide, nothing is ever in the shade! 😄</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbi0SkQ9TyGXN9HmMyTWI32jf3fMSbPsz3gHn8r6oGRW4lOHX1lA-apFZm0MJxDXePLT1YnwA5Qu3zAtyUbhETPZPHylunObiTI0TXUPJNUkqg-bFpsPOAulxdf_IwNQdn4HGgQGQ5ArwVw6qfhjyCns2q1g8DH5LPgxsKGUvWRglVN99iMF1bABMAlQY/s4624/20231003_081939.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbi0SkQ9TyGXN9HmMyTWI32jf3fMSbPsz3gHn8r6oGRW4lOHX1lA-apFZm0MJxDXePLT1YnwA5Qu3zAtyUbhETPZPHylunObiTI0TXUPJNUkqg-bFpsPOAulxdf_IwNQdn4HGgQGQ5ArwVw6qfhjyCns2q1g8DH5LPgxsKGUvWRglVN99iMF1bABMAlQY/s320/20231003_081939.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nuk2wSizWuijz9kaid4ZJ_a2pPqGftEryAzylSfJDGH2gPu3thLtvRsf2X8OBZNnXT5I_P3cIPGAh_yjYz8Dqe77F5JpgOFLFHpPdscLk-GV1Xj_3aisVCGBnwxSA2K7hEvrWkrSYMsn8mDu5zLZXEn8ULAGZ3qn-DQnguGQSbois-cnuG90k_JXSRUm/s4000/20231003_083716.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nuk2wSizWuijz9kaid4ZJ_a2pPqGftEryAzylSfJDGH2gPu3thLtvRsf2X8OBZNnXT5I_P3cIPGAh_yjYz8Dqe77F5JpgOFLFHpPdscLk-GV1Xj_3aisVCGBnwxSA2K7hEvrWkrSYMsn8mDu5zLZXEn8ULAGZ3qn-DQnguGQSbois-cnuG90k_JXSRUm/s320/20231003_083716.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-aeYj8x35NmkfewE-6pdsIYFGTx-GI-maDAssMcubOVqfa_sGZz2j9sgTTPDZhel2yD1VCQMDGCBkifT_e8iQrQUWv3PT8dQj4B4Vw1SkgRbcpUqedkJlerAW0hyphenhyphenb0aWuijDsOB0oLTjf0HnTDxfEmuG1V19HowQ7hOqrk3tZfEvXO5oXzQM6l9tVXpsZ/s4624/20231003_082326.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-aeYj8x35NmkfewE-6pdsIYFGTx-GI-maDAssMcubOVqfa_sGZz2j9sgTTPDZhel2yD1VCQMDGCBkifT_e8iQrQUWv3PT8dQj4B4Vw1SkgRbcpUqedkJlerAW0hyphenhyphenb0aWuijDsOB0oLTjf0HnTDxfEmuG1V19HowQ7hOqrk3tZfEvXO5oXzQM6l9tVXpsZ/s320/20231003_082326.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhnBtYBwoK5H_kdImGe7POIHxX_m41Ocwn2N2kw-qyr8QhpnyVR6izRU_I1ABFJQUw6plEAdxSOGeguGcvbW6miCn8ZFClK1q3UAAatdSIZ0vOQXQEDg5mtvP5pIvkr6dL4apZF3boOVVuIPUmQGuNMa9ycN1W4lYYi9sym9nV24m5aFrZZ6STp6B38PX/s4624/20231003_082405.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhnBtYBwoK5H_kdImGe7POIHxX_m41Ocwn2N2kw-qyr8QhpnyVR6izRU_I1ABFJQUw6plEAdxSOGeguGcvbW6miCn8ZFClK1q3UAAatdSIZ0vOQXQEDg5mtvP5pIvkr6dL4apZF3boOVVuIPUmQGuNMa9ycN1W4lYYi9sym9nV24m5aFrZZ6STp6B38PX/s320/20231003_082405.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZoYkpQowfPDqwufxmdGY84yV-myOjdySO19CYZMnDUzWF23fJFSLEYzE5EYRGDK2gWozW019dsAT9dePOn2hLBAnqH2B8I0qzm4zwycx0tztd0hPu0PJ0_EO1Xv_6b_l3mHV8iEnmSvsv2KGoYBfcMLGO9YzglO0lBjqO1sQ1JpzkbwTdlCLoacPyvEy/s4624/20231003_084413.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZoYkpQowfPDqwufxmdGY84yV-myOjdySO19CYZMnDUzWF23fJFSLEYzE5EYRGDK2gWozW019dsAT9dePOn2hLBAnqH2B8I0qzm4zwycx0tztd0hPu0PJ0_EO1Xv_6b_l3mHV8iEnmSvsv2KGoYBfcMLGO9YzglO0lBjqO1sQ1JpzkbwTdlCLoacPyvEy/s320/20231003_084413.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The Abbey at Chiaravalle dates back to the 13th to 14th century, though it was radically transformed in the 17th century. After falling into decay for some time, it was restored in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, eliminating the Baroque additions. There are now five monks who live in the community. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">After a brief pause to look around the abbey and ask the abbot for a stamp on our pilgrim credentials, we continued on our way, crossing on a viaduct over the motorway A1 and the high-speed railway line. Back in the fields, we zigzagged along paved and gravel roads, passed the church of San Rocco, and took a break at a pilgrim rest area outside a house by the way.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXi5jDbxFQZ_82JYnNxsxEwhgLXFjeAEMgOXkJPvLLZLmjJFiAoHH3onuVsUKqSfXNXFpbAdm6aN-lIpR_1AaRAS_1L4XN8PwXGFd2gL2YG1-qaNKNrzkCVsC6Y24jMaqbWSYYDSisH3BwUSXBsTeCg8W7AAjj9ysCf5L_P8kX6sIBbXr-T-C7ge2rBuw/s4624/20231003_100714.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXi5jDbxFQZ_82JYnNxsxEwhgLXFjeAEMgOXkJPvLLZLmjJFiAoHH3onuVsUKqSfXNXFpbAdm6aN-lIpR_1AaRAS_1L4XN8PwXGFd2gL2YG1-qaNKNrzkCVsC6Y24jMaqbWSYYDSisH3BwUSXBsTeCg8W7AAjj9ysCf5L_P8kX6sIBbXr-T-C7ge2rBuw/s320/20231003_100714.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKYqtRvGqdTuHilMfB4Bbu7ls_k80de-zYprFqXHJpw35RKhXP3mmWxgjT2h87NLwUNLyJyJ2nkJ_O-TXiC2woeWvflIAj7lZFPECovloumFj9_4TSS2wHhA7jPqxDDaL88y6zECCv7N5ihaapOZlV55lt216XAqG7G3c8S29Yzed5jrMlT71Sp3_pefU/s320/20231003_102121.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7FJDM6wG43xUcOfvxQec0K30uWS8yoFsz1fuIZSWub7q8q9CuHjoiJb0dXh7djDYjh3Sj81UBGoGWZrehbznZEz1FAq4W2F93YBs7C4CTc0rXdhJCxquedCdDZizVzBW4NpeQ7jOwcxw7_EXHc1VFWryEjZEYq5-FxIX0CbJLnP2w8nMQpHj8DXhOFI7/s4624/20231003_102159.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7FJDM6wG43xUcOfvxQec0K30uWS8yoFsz1fuIZSWub7q8q9CuHjoiJb0dXh7djDYjh3Sj81UBGoGWZrehbznZEz1FAq4W2F93YBs7C4CTc0rXdhJCxquedCdDZizVzBW4NpeQ7jOwcxw7_EXHc1VFWryEjZEYq5-FxIX0CbJLnP2w8nMQpHj8DXhOFI7/s320/20231003_102159.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81d-12_93j6d4t0_uPO3ANArWqUbDIhjpr_sT07ijvrrWsnVzXflsA2X4bZhgLOyTMmemj29UKiggqyMy4uzu3YhluZiL2efwZqbfw3jgBITxOwddf49JL_SgWUE_mjBTlye-cCIlpRRH9WG2enCiRBGyGn1gfRItjowm8t00U_Ob4EbMyBRJqIWlYvGD/s4624/20231003_105541.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81d-12_93j6d4t0_uPO3ANArWqUbDIhjpr_sT07ijvrrWsnVzXflsA2X4bZhgLOyTMmemj29UKiggqyMy4uzu3YhluZiL2efwZqbfw3jgBITxOwddf49JL_SgWUE_mjBTlye-cCIlpRRH9WG2enCiRBGyGn1gfRItjowm8t00U_Ob4EbMyBRJqIWlYvGD/s320/20231003_105541.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMUBiaTJ826LjZP6ckXq00doSaWK09nOByzM0zCa8_scPcaEEtTqb2-k1afEQNan3Pr_ANLRii_rL09ikDeIX9g-vCoK65t3hUzRXydxHLo1Sf3G34uj2QuczM5Ax8yjo9Mlf_WaOxe9gdi8DEJW8zvDCwvnCcGHrDzpxDUVq8w-okNE25wPsL_dHpMQO/s1600/IMG-20231003-WA0003.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMUBiaTJ826LjZP6ckXq00doSaWK09nOByzM0zCa8_scPcaEEtTqb2-k1afEQNan3Pr_ANLRii_rL09ikDeIX9g-vCoK65t3hUzRXydxHLo1Sf3G34uj2QuczM5Ax8yjo9Mlf_WaOxe9gdi8DEJW8zvDCwvnCcGHrDzpxDUVq8w-okNE25wPsL_dHpMQO/s320/IMG-20231003-WA0003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All pilgrim rest stops should have a hammock!!</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrnHl5faFJGZu0sd2bRODJb4prrSov6brQ9BjD2K96BUnw3Tadzkp1VAZruoqzVuxqRR3S_GRtQug5-eprat_TW5Qbe2fTigMCxRorR6RmRBc8k20CtNZfug7_OFZD6pvW-5uFJ5_IsRs7HN-DQDIje3rsrvSAKv2rMwUAloPbrXxBRAO8nhyphenhyphennon0E7As/s4624/20231003_113252.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrnHl5faFJGZu0sd2bRODJb4prrSov6brQ9BjD2K96BUnw3Tadzkp1VAZruoqzVuxqRR3S_GRtQug5-eprat_TW5Qbe2fTigMCxRorR6RmRBc8k20CtNZfug7_OFZD6pvW-5uFJ5_IsRs7HN-DQDIje3rsrvSAKv2rMwUAloPbrXxBRAO8nhyphenhyphennon0E7As/s320/20231003_113252.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYbxgdfPbkEr9PyEI4sncEY3WH9cHME2JnT5H0LAUMVI9G34D7twsUfTHyRIwQ3Rk_qO4wPT-6oojOuv2yABqOYLiXUfqPPLZoDPknGm3TFWX6uvkxLSvrh-wjXYqKucBDzQzOQSaWqfnCbfOi-44ctjFE8FHri3G-NU6AhHYrW4DVUBdviYLi1JkDcup/s4624/20231003_113609.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYbxgdfPbkEr9PyEI4sncEY3WH9cHME2JnT5H0LAUMVI9G34D7twsUfTHyRIwQ3Rk_qO4wPT-6oojOuv2yABqOYLiXUfqPPLZoDPknGm3TFWX6uvkxLSvrh-wjXYqKucBDzQzOQSaWqfnCbfOi-44ctjFE8FHri3G-NU6AhHYrW4DVUBdviYLi1JkDcup/s320/20231003_113609.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">In the village of Castione Marchesi there was another abbey, but this one was shut; I continued on my way and lost sight of my companions, who had decided to follow a different route. I had already eaten my cheese and fruit in the hammock at the rest stop, so I proceeded along the roadside to the hamlet of Bastelli, where I stopped at a picnic table in the shade by the church to drink some water.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjG01vrx8PncJbe0qGOabw1PWYAi9Qoc_a6Cs8_WybJSacvMC7YBD8YW5GjorYVZsnBPviKbZTOmVXhThxxyNk00c6iR5HbLe3QSUHcVcnrcKMb8-1m5jR6XigmuReoBr9RA8_TM2m-Z8g9qF-fMWpFaoowAaY9Rgfqu4RYM-T1vvEuZhPbuT4N1Gm7xOi/s4624/20231003_121130.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjG01vrx8PncJbe0qGOabw1PWYAi9Qoc_a6Cs8_WybJSacvMC7YBD8YW5GjorYVZsnBPviKbZTOmVXhThxxyNk00c6iR5HbLe3QSUHcVcnrcKMb8-1m5jR6XigmuReoBr9RA8_TM2m-Z8g9qF-fMWpFaoowAaY9Rgfqu4RYM-T1vvEuZhPbuT4N1Gm7xOi/s320/20231003_121130.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The rest of the way into Fidenza was on paved roads, with no particular sights of interest. I crossed over the motorway A1 and the high-speed railway line again - couldn't we have just stayed on the same side all day? - and then on a bridge over a river, then followed a cycling track to the train station of Fidenza. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was 1:30 in the afternoon, very hot, and everything was closed, so I met up with Mariella and we took the train one stop - ten minutes - to Parma, where we will stay with my daughter this evening. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We'll see the town of Fidenza tomorrow morning! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJjoJF4v16YXHPZnkLyAcEc_hHL5vZWO8XHzLJtoG__5Fzt2EHxNUhmU_nBs5PUwIxPoS2VrvkOzuVvaXPQlpmuUS8rmXe6rLXNzTbzFoPLZSNXi0mbMYzy8ofdBbTdETO7JI1vljAWAXsq0H1CKk1zsYRVMow3Gxfmq9K31vJ39o8mPVr-EdsX_x5ZS3v/s4624/20231003_140525.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJjoJF4v16YXHPZnkLyAcEc_hHL5vZWO8XHzLJtoG__5Fzt2EHxNUhmU_nBs5PUwIxPoS2VrvkOzuVvaXPQlpmuUS8rmXe6rLXNzTbzFoPLZSNXi0mbMYzy8ofdBbTdETO7JI1vljAWAXsq0H1CKk1zsYRVMow3Gxfmq9K31vJ39o8mPVr-EdsX_x5ZS3v/s320/20231003_140525.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-gF6heJeGcGlVJgZ0eDxF0TNe8y2TKNc8NOnSsrCk5qlQ07Ibe6B0gjPMFSxm1kgO4HIXTkpkzf6pzIU7JIhzJ2ovf331OCRFWNRNLr7wNzoYgIoi2cqj7nOA3JRU50D2EsDzqP_Fl81rRTvfz0Y_wdRNwtebAFLyWG60uifkfv23SYF7ghExYI1GWHA/s2400/Screenshot_20231003_134921_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-gF6heJeGcGlVJgZ0eDxF0TNe8y2TKNc8NOnSsrCk5qlQ07Ibe6B0gjPMFSxm1kgO4HIXTkpkzf6pzIU7JIhzJ2ovf331OCRFWNRNLr7wNzoYgIoi2cqj7nOA3JRU50D2EsDzqP_Fl81rRTvfz0Y_wdRNwtebAFLyWG60uifkfv23SYF7ghExYI1GWHA/s320/Screenshot_20231003_134921_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Fiorenzuola d'Arda - Fidenza 23.5 km</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-79433913984643245862023-10-02T20:53:00.008+02:002024-01-09T14:23:40.423+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 79: Montale (Piacenza) - Fiorenzuola d'Arda <p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Anyone can walk. It’s free, like the sun by day and the stars by night. All we have to do is get on our legs, and the roads will take us everywhere</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">- Edward Payson Weston, after walking from New York to San Francisco in 105 days at the age of 70, quoted in Physical Culture Magazine (1910)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcebLRApGkRQPkQpGVXs9j3MwySKzfufz80fV7Ihi2xvBQHMmZVXvJP5TXRCQFnMKYwBJmnqtUQj5J9qdkF2YiCdCg8jtecrxglxaoLRnzzW_cWBVKB9KfXHD1uUwrIpuXRMPW1Ns82L7w1csTsAl1cmLJwr5kBweqcRTczGmB_5wztLbu8ha0uYiUbl7/s1600/IMG-20231002-WA0001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcebLRApGkRQPkQpGVXs9j3MwySKzfufz80fV7Ihi2xvBQHMmZVXvJP5TXRCQFnMKYwBJmnqtUQj5J9qdkF2YiCdCg8jtecrxglxaoLRnzzW_cWBVKB9KfXHD1uUwrIpuXRMPW1Ns82L7w1csTsAl1cmLJwr5kBweqcRTczGmB_5wztLbu8ha0uYiUbl7/s320/IMG-20231002-WA0001.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Stepping out the door of thousand-year-old pilgrim hostel in Montale, we were catapulted back into what passes for the real world today, on the Via Emilia, an ancient Roman road now transformed into a modern highway at rush hour on a Monday morning. We walked along the edge of the highway, facing the slow-moving rush hour traffic, to Pontenure, where I opted to take the longer way into the town via a cycling path rather than continuing straight along the highway. The Via Francigena avoids highway walking wherever possible, but on the way into and out of Piacenza it is unavoidable. Between Montale and the outskirts of Pontenure there is, at present, no alternative, also because it's necessary to cross a stream on the road bridge.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaM3UNNmNtAiqYfzS-1jjAo4DaMJf88pQBa-0g3zhbc9jt4NKVqhFXZhHGV2FFk9GW8-YhfaG6R2mEfNfNikW5SI8jhpRyXoq1pGeW-AjY9ookn-K3khaXGYOE_zpXGsqvTnxSqt02u7ZGH2tWcqvqsJ_4is1UpDzvEi2BuUfVqnt8x9raxEMxHhuT5dmx/s4624/20231002_103755.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaM3UNNmNtAiqYfzS-1jjAo4DaMJf88pQBa-0g3zhbc9jt4NKVqhFXZhHGV2FFk9GW8-YhfaG6R2mEfNfNikW5SI8jhpRyXoq1pGeW-AjY9ookn-K3khaXGYOE_zpXGsqvTnxSqt02u7ZGH2tWcqvqsJ_4is1UpDzvEi2BuUfVqnt8x9raxEMxHhuT5dmx/s320/20231002_103755.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Highway walking</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01xm4Sf-oJJijjltV3ji94fFzPXjOL2VhHUYLi-BWDLHOWYQyRasyYhyY6qAkU-sdVDZD92EU6_s6RAsh3VeTiFHm6X7ejY6wOxrEwkRSwq9VFuv_bU9Q64WJ8Mgj5E-kXtZXm9ZrHih15eON4vRDaA-lOSzCwlRhhTUeQ9zTv_9HGefdJUpK83BOT91a/s4624/20231002_092515.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01xm4Sf-oJJijjltV3ji94fFzPXjOL2VhHUYLi-BWDLHOWYQyRasyYhyY6qAkU-sdVDZD92EU6_s6RAsh3VeTiFHm6X7ejY6wOxrEwkRSwq9VFuv_bU9Q64WJ8Mgj5E-kXtZXm9ZrHih15eON4vRDaA-lOSzCwlRhhTUeQ9zTv_9HGefdJUpK83BOT91a/s320/20231002_092515.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">After a restorative stop at a café in Pontenure the three of us ended up going separate ways. I chose not to follow the official Via Francigena route, but take a shorter route marked with the good old do-it-yourself trail markers: arrows with the letters VF in white paint, in the direction heading toward Rome, or yellow paint in the direction heading towards Canterbury or Santiago. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The shortcut required another 2.5 km of road walking on the Via Emilia after Pontenure, but it was not too bad because we could walk on the grassy strip between the roadside ditch and the ploughed fields. It was safe, but not particularly pleasant, so I was happy to turn off the highway and follow a succession of paved and gravel roads that zigzagged across the fields the rest of the way into Fiorenzuola. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-DaX-DsgOhm6UMTNbU4cbzRiakV90_HfXKyiWD2wY7447u9UGykdIWhHRBF7i6mmgEp9S4rS7qlAcwAEw_sy9kZ8v5cjGJe6F43rLuyNZAcARn7cPwf60qNMQeI-3jb9432B0PSnNmumEaiyYCQxhvvnbbdX_aVyYXrma0xjuPjdJ2_elH-F2KqXd-VLI/s4624/20231002_110913.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-DaX-DsgOhm6UMTNbU4cbzRiakV90_HfXKyiWD2wY7447u9UGykdIWhHRBF7i6mmgEp9S4rS7qlAcwAEw_sy9kZ8v5cjGJe6F43rLuyNZAcARn7cPwf60qNMQeI-3jb9432B0PSnNmumEaiyYCQxhvvnbbdX_aVyYXrma0xjuPjdJ2_elH-F2KqXd-VLI/s320/20231002_110913.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmy7RnM-vY5ORqHHJfl4mz0heNdQq1gCGaEke3a3rvxro_nqdX-4xiIvkwIJ98_fwxqLCNDOCu57lp7vrA13fRKC7DjGMQCmIkUfaS6Q0doGd-J65Zjr5u5nyV7AN28tP9wiI7Ag3S7-s7ep_hz7mKVhXif3RXrTDZtsljEM9Sc615JwxHj_VHgGaFANg9/s4624/20231002_120634.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmy7RnM-vY5ORqHHJfl4mz0heNdQq1gCGaEke3a3rvxro_nqdX-4xiIvkwIJ98_fwxqLCNDOCu57lp7vrA13fRKC7DjGMQCmIkUfaS6Q0doGd-J65Zjr5u5nyV7AN28tP9wiI7Ag3S7-s7ep_hz7mKVhXif3RXrTDZtsljEM9Sc615JwxHj_VHgGaFANg9/s320/20231002_120634.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1RaZRKKQ30i-diWrpQTRk2sYZHxz9YYOLL4xgmzwltYR2Wal3WVluBBsP27-QA5ixbGpgpM1MuA5TUmCKOw4pMZBbpdM2z7Bu17QxWG6p5Tmlp9fa4s1RWzJE56EQoetJFrstn3xom3uwVjUpiIkNA3BHTN51RkLR_ko4h3CwRCDNA9asTDs9u_XljEND/s4624/20231002_124408.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1RaZRKKQ30i-diWrpQTRk2sYZHxz9YYOLL4xgmzwltYR2Wal3WVluBBsP27-QA5ixbGpgpM1MuA5TUmCKOw4pMZBbpdM2z7Bu17QxWG6p5Tmlp9fa4s1RWzJE56EQoetJFrstn3xom3uwVjUpiIkNA3BHTN51RkLR_ko4h3CwRCDNA9asTDs9u_XljEND/s320/20231002_124408.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYBu8yjqXZELMGiq_oCPKylJUfIwOzVSSdbdfRaom-38sk5l-1Q8Ircy5Q9qydGwho56Y-IJNZCDmzrSvFdcuIFh7HBZcaxeUUw9LKk81pGxXyd3zGI0FuV-FaX1PIMWa0yNI6n4RM2ovkESTYgM2uaZG_ctbCdf8ccixODMt3GaphisJ8-fUBQ9KlsQ3/s4624/20231002_125427.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYBu8yjqXZELMGiq_oCPKylJUfIwOzVSSdbdfRaom-38sk5l-1Q8Ircy5Q9qydGwho56Y-IJNZCDmzrSvFdcuIFh7HBZcaxeUUw9LKk81pGxXyd3zGI0FuV-FaX1PIMWa0yNI6n4RM2ovkESTYgM2uaZG_ctbCdf8ccixODMt3GaphisJ8-fUBQ9KlsQ3/s320/20231002_125427.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">Fording the Chiavenna stream was easy because there was no water at all, only a few mud puddles! 😄</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUYuz3Id7U9hgIeEJwhIac8O5LV9pP4NFKgpX2lV8duiP_0HByAwmfejlMgJ1dYARxgWYX0SCrRmEdhFH6K7O8OZTvMZMpxwa_xrdGxJeEUO7LIqrZ-5e0PNTJI2GgP6DLLpWsNwaDAiIW-bcTaTm8P0c79mbYlOrJWdlpfc5ChyphenhyphenRQX_X1FoSnlQ9KCDu/s4624/20231002_121430.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUYuz3Id7U9hgIeEJwhIac8O5LV9pP4NFKgpX2lV8duiP_0HByAwmfejlMgJ1dYARxgWYX0SCrRmEdhFH6K7O8OZTvMZMpxwa_xrdGxJeEUO7LIqrZ-5e0PNTJI2GgP6DLLpWsNwaDAiIW-bcTaTm8P0c79mbYlOrJWdlpfc5ChyphenhyphenRQX_X1FoSnlQ9KCDu/s320/20231002_121430.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stepping stones not necessary</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">At the ford I rejoined the official Via Francigena track.<span style="text-align: justify;"> I was ready to sit down for a break and a snack by this time, but there was absolutely nowhere to sit in the shade! It was shady down by the stream, but the stagnant pools attracted swarms of little flies, possibly including mosquitoes. After the ford there were a number of abandoned buildings that kind of gave me the willies, so I kept trudging on under the hot sun. It must have been another hour before I found a spot where I could sit down in the shade - in the ditch by the gravel road! It was actually quite comfortable because I sat in the lowest part of the (dry) ditch, leaning against my backpack, and put my feet up on the higher part toward the road. 😄</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;">In this undignified position I sat for a while recovering from the heat, drank some water and ate my apple and cheese. Then I walked the last half hour into town, where I found Mariella and Daniel already seated at the bar in front of the church of San Fiorenzo in the main square, Piazza Molinari; they had taken an even shorter shortcut. I ordered a beer and messaged Francesco, who runs the local pilgrim hostel; a few minutes later he appeared on his bicycle and accompanied us to our accommodations around the back of the church.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaUiUgDM2fykvQxmdJp_WC19lQ9nFotS22WO8w53fDJvRE08CVr3eTrnuHiE8kQGeFdPvU8nYjPT4SOxPkc4_C9d08kmMHr8TRDrwUce6jPUhIdbOmlxIon7T64q8ujEY3ZzgEFQOGC3uH3M2a3l3g0tFbYCLBffO2jAF1gMj_X0W1xdi5BO8VL6FgmzuW/s4624/20231002_135726.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaUiUgDM2fykvQxmdJp_WC19lQ9nFotS22WO8w53fDJvRE08CVr3eTrnuHiE8kQGeFdPvU8nYjPT4SOxPkc4_C9d08kmMHr8TRDrwUce6jPUhIdbOmlxIon7T64q8ujEY3ZzgEFQOGC3uH3M2a3l3g0tFbYCLBffO2jAF1gMj_X0W1xdi5BO8VL6FgmzuW/s320/20231002_135726.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-6l5AvmIAVxMR4OUg2hZJAPzZamSMah26uTGpasY3b0dhD1GvhDHh_SoP7vQroo0pZc00a-sQ4pb6BrVSJ8fk0hvzAE1sGuTL_D2VjK-pE9yJXTjVFQTh1eFTQEvE0P6RzobRF_Cl621tI4dVc_CFO5wgmr9niy53aUqqNjlpCntd2lv_AOac8Qirfc-/s4624/20231002_141602.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-6l5AvmIAVxMR4OUg2hZJAPzZamSMah26uTGpasY3b0dhD1GvhDHh_SoP7vQroo0pZc00a-sQ4pb6BrVSJ8fk0hvzAE1sGuTL_D2VjK-pE9yJXTjVFQTh1eFTQEvE0P6RzobRF_Cl621tI4dVc_CFO5wgmr9niy53aUqqNjlpCntd2lv_AOac8Qirfc-/s320/20231002_141602.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6LEv-JxN4vzpLmT-ip-39Z7730CNkccCM_OogYLJ2gXuXRrhXxalBJuP94oRQLoa1A6tlDlCujOUGoyFruO97UMbEYfgsAHKF6BQ38_lp6rMdJB5WIrarKJEtMMx8tXsBo5btui8sRw4lm8G5w-KRtL5H6n3QUiuy8hXNFN9nsQa-0m9uiHjHacAt5Mk/s4000/20231002_141812.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6LEv-JxN4vzpLmT-ip-39Z7730CNkccCM_OogYLJ2gXuXRrhXxalBJuP94oRQLoa1A6tlDlCujOUGoyFruO97UMbEYfgsAHKF6BQ38_lp6rMdJB5WIrarKJEtMMx8tXsBo5btui8sRw4lm8G5w-KRtL5H6n3QUiuy8hXNFN9nsQa-0m9uiHjHacAt5Mk/s320/20231002_141812.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHWy8qOCEdKYHy1_4qCoMUC9xmm_ntvSbCYl0Gr08Xl8LFqhzGEdVERq-8cw-YeTlQo37tZWe3YCWx-9CzMGBiGqqFommwUYdYVWWtGcskHVpo5gk31zYTNstDUKmTBOgunZVZCIwYsWfsz_NrFsf_f5rbYxHt-nnVlLBYud0bm2BmD04tG-DzBCCikVm/s4624/20231002_142435.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHWy8qOCEdKYHy1_4qCoMUC9xmm_ntvSbCYl0Gr08Xl8LFqhzGEdVERq-8cw-YeTlQo37tZWe3YCWx-9CzMGBiGqqFommwUYdYVWWtGcskHVpo5gk31zYTNstDUKmTBOgunZVZCIwYsWfsz_NrFsf_f5rbYxHt-nnVlLBYud0bm2BmD04tG-DzBCCikVm/s320/20231002_142435.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fiorenzuola d'Arda </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Originally Florentia, the city was renamed Florentiola, which evolved into Fiorenzuola, to distinguish it from Florentia (Florence) in Tuscany. D'Arda is a reference to the valley of the Arda river, which I crossed on a footbridge on the way into town, though it too was dry.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhteB4M6sGiiBPH_sTSkhZlJv45NBQuxeBvEbYbFZfv9WQC5AiGFlWDEba11eQaj06kWqcZRhs0_tMOuao5j7DfoOQO-eVNjr1s1aE6hswZVgt1YzLn1RSN91rj4f618TOqZ1m4H5LMfV3Nlu-WEqjbaeZp1AVUQfTf0ym1XhwsLzCSLZf0O4ruwSZC_NaK/s4624/20231002_135048.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhteB4M6sGiiBPH_sTSkhZlJv45NBQuxeBvEbYbFZfv9WQC5AiGFlWDEba11eQaj06kWqcZRhs0_tMOuao5j7DfoOQO-eVNjr1s1aE6hswZVgt1YzLn1RSN91rj4f618TOqZ1m4H5LMfV3Nlu-WEqjbaeZp1AVUQfTf0ym1XhwsLzCSLZf0O4ruwSZC_NaK/s320/20231002_135048.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The area has been inhabited since Neolithic times. By the year 222 BC it was a part of the Roman empire, handily located exactly one mansio (a day's ride) from Placentia (Piacenza) on the Via Emilia. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The town's principal attraction is the church of San Fiorenzo, built between 1300 and 1485 on the site of the former church of San Bonifacio dating back to AD 364. Because it took two centuries to build the church, it incorporates styles ranging from Romanesque to Renaissance, in a mish-mash referred to as "Lombard transitional" style. The artworks in the interior are mostly later, from 16th to 19th century. The church is dedicated to San Fiorenzo, or Bishop Florents of Orange, who was born in Tours, France in the second half of the fifth century. On his way to Rome he stopped for a night in Fiorenzuola, like us, and miraculously brought back to life the deceased little daughter of a prominent local family; the church celebrates this miracle. The clock tower beside it is an adaptation of the one remaining tower of the town's medieval castle.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1adO3L15N0Hu5B5tjsaMR5DtPtmpyTCQRbPshHBvgUhZrC5ia5MGYMzAXb6PbrwgzaQ1-uyVYUGLsO8OhvGB2L66Rp3TN2FnJNs0c3Lse15YdcQRKNICROW9Qv8xY0Z3yuUOSHH1_5K0B2LWiKwfrRnzxNu3M5BeNiY34cGrXCXh_gf2bRwQvkE3NFCo/s4624/20231002_135744.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1adO3L15N0Hu5B5tjsaMR5DtPtmpyTCQRbPshHBvgUhZrC5ia5MGYMzAXb6PbrwgzaQ1-uyVYUGLsO8OhvGB2L66Rp3TN2FnJNs0c3Lse15YdcQRKNICROW9Qv8xY0Z3yuUOSHH1_5K0B2LWiKwfrRnzxNu3M5BeNiY34cGrXCXh_gf2bRwQvkE3NFCo/s320/20231002_135744.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWPWq36qsru-nlJevmWwt8KzQVC1mJYtbT2sQ2WiwvD5esLPCEEiRTUKiUt7rs3s9Kw7sNxrMQzjN64UygEdTINfwXr1surW1PPNDSxaEvbu3exy1m5G19UhbnHXgN2HiXGTAWLtgv9EKlb9r1Z5AYX11Zje70Bg1OwLlgh6dbFKYxtVUIWq9fT1Wgwhl/s4624/20231002_164132.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWPWq36qsru-nlJevmWwt8KzQVC1mJYtbT2sQ2WiwvD5esLPCEEiRTUKiUt7rs3s9Kw7sNxrMQzjN64UygEdTINfwXr1surW1PPNDSxaEvbu3exy1m5G19UhbnHXgN2HiXGTAWLtgv9EKlb9r1Z5AYX11Zje70Bg1OwLlgh6dbFKYxtVUIWq9fT1Wgwhl/s320/20231002_164132.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWTkKqSQnp-ajxZ9BSRf7Osv0ZsS_O-139tKsAFy_urjqcHRFAYYkKOKfEZLuBedXNmtcCG4nM1E2JSuHvpvpUjMAYeqsHF1nk8N5cZ0bCroFOR-g0LcAJ7Zv7IzCpATinQXpMAer4hhc9qS7_zfpkZJ0FFgSP-cz9nY_32_DU5t8OekuN6ve4q6PJ1Ao/s4624/20231002_165534.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWTkKqSQnp-ajxZ9BSRf7Osv0ZsS_O-139tKsAFy_urjqcHRFAYYkKOKfEZLuBedXNmtcCG4nM1E2JSuHvpvpUjMAYeqsHF1nk8N5cZ0bCroFOR-g0LcAJ7Zv7IzCpATinQXpMAer4hhc9qS7_zfpkZJ0FFgSP-cz9nY_32_DU5t8OekuN6ve4q6PJ1Ao/s320/20231002_165534.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">15th-century Palazzo Grossi</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">We spent some time wandering around the streets of the town and stocking up on provisions. Unfortunately most of the town's restaurants are closed on Mondays, so we had a glass of wine with snacks at a bar and finished off our meal with cheese, bread and fruit at our hostel, which does not have cooking facilities. The hostel manager Francesco offrs to cook a simple dinner for an additional fee, and we probably would have taken him up on that offer if we had realised that all the restaurants in town were closed! 😄</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNeoX611mEJKvdIPumPFlNzX4qbeBddjOvZM5KF3McGNmpmRPpzshWKDIwm6sDCAGsKvDrlZwB3_BLBt8MuFaKhUxfaOFcL5zuElVkgs8vEkPUzgyKTS1E5KXXJX3D7pKFMoS7YvAuGkVlsgDJbvtz9n4H5prrh2BoQqXEJ-K-mKh2KUp7OQyihAdf8hzT/s2400/Screenshot_20231002_145547_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNeoX611mEJKvdIPumPFlNzX4qbeBddjOvZM5KF3McGNmpmRPpzshWKDIwm6sDCAGsKvDrlZwB3_BLBt8MuFaKhUxfaOFcL5zuElVkgs8vEkPUzgyKTS1E5KXXJX3D7pKFMoS7YvAuGkVlsgDJbvtz9n4H5prrh2BoQqXEJ-K-mKh2KUp7OQyihAdf8hzT/s320/Screenshot_20231002_145547_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My route compared to official VF route and the Via Emilia highway<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEt1IGxl3Oh4pD-MMzLUIU-8vVqcTxPANl78C4Btvl8CL5uMu1xFiVxFrHoGlx8kSpEKy4siK8S2gxi3IMfVO_3Z_0a0aroXMOC0L0RGQe8F4jw1SBZhTFTFzB4impm1ctFUwSxuDwfwfY72jEJSJ2Zj-QUzZyeyx87c2WCPFkgpwy1dzR_YYgSKEIUSWq/s2400/Screenshot_20231002_145653_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEt1IGxl3Oh4pD-MMzLUIU-8vVqcTxPANl78C4Btvl8CL5uMu1xFiVxFrHoGlx8kSpEKy4siK8S2gxi3IMfVO_3Z_0a0aroXMOC0L0RGQe8F4jw1SBZhTFTFzB4impm1ctFUwSxuDwfwfY72jEJSJ2Zj-QUzZyeyx87c2WCPFkgpwy1dzR_YYgSKEIUSWq/s320/Screenshot_20231002_145653_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Montale (Piacenza) - Fiorenzuola d'Arda 22 km</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-66667992657756202582023-10-01T22:43:00.009+02:002024-01-09T14:24:33.507+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 78: Corte Sant'Andrea - Montale (Piacenza)<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>La Via Francigena non aspetta. È una strada inquieta, da troppo tempo sepolta dal sonno della memoria, dimenticata da questo tempo che corre verso quel muro dove sbatterà infine più forte la testa.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>La Via Francigena se è destata. Ha ascoltato i passi di chi, solo e solitario, camminava su di lei, nel lontano ricordo di cammino verso una meta sacra. </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">- poster on the wall at Corte Sant'Andrea</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOVWQo6uVP0jBQLSGFb_yZvtTbVPi2zNKDDbgCbugq_WBULQO_ug7jhqngp0CtRA2Kg8I6EGX5BlfYOTjiu8-8dbOCo9pI6vQGKzAra_FMzI0I1Y5yxbQdTQKK6b1e07xTNc9xBRMyEoiehjb2fEa5L_31n5jIEnSh6Sr71egJgXbey7WS_GkF6525oCv/s4624/20231001_084644.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOVWQo6uVP0jBQLSGFb_yZvtTbVPi2zNKDDbgCbugq_WBULQO_ug7jhqngp0CtRA2Kg8I6EGX5BlfYOTjiu8-8dbOCo9pI6vQGKzAra_FMzI0I1Y5yxbQdTQKK6b1e07xTNc9xBRMyEoiehjb2fEa5L_31n5jIEnSh6Sr71egJgXbey7WS_GkF6525oCv/s320/20231001_084644.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Transitum Padi </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We took it easy this morning, as we had plenty of time before our 9 o'clock appointment with Danilo the ferryman at the dock on the river Po. We said goodbye to Cristina, the hospitalier who had been taking care of us at the pilgrim hostel in Corte Sant'Andrea, who lives in a rather ancient camper with her partner and their three rescue dogs for several months of the year in order to give Giovanni and Caterina a hand running the hostel. I asked her to take a photo of the four of us outside the hostel.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wAj2wsXa657KXyz0vcrsv1ZSBGJzqgVPzJ1nix4Uau8PFKYaGyYmNk-wWHCT1giizB9sWTSwnMZl4IlCeqRp4jYSV8nGWA5K-uzR_xd02dvVChMaeVW5mEqQl_XMK8VtfIkHmDMYSnHt8ZPaZCIr8s6L64fjK9uxfMSEzp4ukBbGLZuUTyfNRXqUyEnw/s4624/20231001_083542.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wAj2wsXa657KXyz0vcrsv1ZSBGJzqgVPzJ1nix4Uau8PFKYaGyYmNk-wWHCT1giizB9sWTSwnMZl4IlCeqRp4jYSV8nGWA5K-uzR_xd02dvVChMaeVW5mEqQl_XMK8VtfIkHmDMYSnHt8ZPaZCIr8s6L64fjK9uxfMSEzp4ukBbGLZuUTyfNRXqUyEnw/s320/20231001_083542.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">Then we walked the short distance to the dock, where an Austrian walker, Heidi, was already waiting. Danilo's boat soon drew up and we all climbed aboard.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheK0bhTNg5aVMY2pByCNgVzAOmzJGaJyDgnIjvYyZ1j2OAMn35lKQBahRNd7BoDzUOcNHOGdq3N4TqYWKc9df3JiK7KCpfg5y1W868yDf-HIf57DaalSPZYwmnD6O-jAkKSRrVC9KkKDszp-IZqKj-7dqS4S6u-WXnKuDYbktqixCCOaQr0ZhUgsdy9UKM/s4624/20231001_085706.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheK0bhTNg5aVMY2pByCNgVzAOmzJGaJyDgnIjvYyZ1j2OAMn35lKQBahRNd7BoDzUOcNHOGdq3N4TqYWKc9df3JiK7KCpfg5y1W868yDf-HIf57DaalSPZYwmnD6O-jAkKSRrVC9KkKDszp-IZqKj-7dqS4S6u-WXnKuDYbktqixCCOaQr0ZhUgsdy9UKM/s320/20231001_085706.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtw1KEWTz_u9cTwgUltLbHdrQE4HqLri9CaeymIW5nbjWY37MuhVClLJqqJZPydfu0461MARhST42GwCd4h6rurck2ExCtdrh7QZOCHeytLuo1tNTZjc2U-MRnmg8dCv6vKyG0LHFRWpe2-eWT5LfpoMrzSolvhKBzXT5VQy6NSLJ4vQpApyYK8-sYfrCY/s4624/20231001_090543.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtw1KEWTz_u9cTwgUltLbHdrQE4HqLri9CaeymIW5nbjWY37MuhVClLJqqJZPydfu0461MARhST42GwCd4h6rurck2ExCtdrh7QZOCHeytLuo1tNTZjc2U-MRnmg8dCv6vKyG0LHFRWpe2-eWT5LfpoMrzSolvhKBzXT5VQy6NSLJ4vQpApyYK8-sYfrCY/s320/20231001_090543.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpz70Jtj65ZZCasC_9lM0xKFDD2S2RCsn9rcYmu3cIfPjLEPgXtCZKEgqQtYDruqu4Y-V2Vt2ygdVXnKk4yCTK36y_NoVbRCsrLPy_1aNsTe7CSaDIxG5Yj7_jFbrH4qBV7DguRXPS3crYw_Sr76HAuJde4kjvngzzvcXoplDIwlc4Fc0mN0n6KJlXI2I/s4624/20231001_090434.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpz70Jtj65ZZCasC_9lM0xKFDD2S2RCsn9rcYmu3cIfPjLEPgXtCZKEgqQtYDruqu4Y-V2Vt2ygdVXnKk4yCTK36y_NoVbRCsrLPy_1aNsTe7CSaDIxG5Yj7_jFbrH4qBV7DguRXPS3crYw_Sr76HAuJde4kjvngzzvcXoplDIwlc4Fc0mN0n6KJlXI2I/s320/20231001_090434.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IIDNIybQ3kmkS2v8mPKv8FwqOtjS-EkDUcuZfN3_Fm5UbyPzpbL7Z2Vr6u9hqM3rvBhRtQs4UNcNFwmEwS3moOD4UDdV2QzWGiveJw6kCxyANwfMscN45MKnmkqbn6sjaswckNyb26ghFWCmqWC303opetwutLX8JJDfyaIiN_0FZhPsfOejWooCna0K/s4624/20231001_090529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IIDNIybQ3kmkS2v8mPKv8FwqOtjS-EkDUcuZfN3_Fm5UbyPzpbL7Z2Vr6u9hqM3rvBhRtQs4UNcNFwmEwS3moOD4UDdV2QzWGiveJw6kCxyANwfMscN45MKnmkqbn6sjaswckNyb26ghFWCmqWC303opetwutLX8JJDfyaIiN_0FZhPsfOejWooCna0K/s320/20231001_090529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJUaMAYuFwvmnb1oXlXVOB-1Yiluwxs7RG9SBAtQ7DrXSt1I742igcfeIWCp2fnDUrlrBqwUXN7_LaPQAx8ZZrxHWfynNRZgEZ-wHdCp1m0ZY4Q75q2SJiQs_rN03XqqLpxLd3zzXaGoM1K2tFbf-VD5UyDXmaXEmXY3JRORX5N7c2ItQ7EQ09HWdEm_x/s4624/20231001_090659.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJUaMAYuFwvmnb1oXlXVOB-1Yiluwxs7RG9SBAtQ7DrXSt1I742igcfeIWCp2fnDUrlrBqwUXN7_LaPQAx8ZZrxHWfynNRZgEZ-wHdCp1m0ZY4Q75q2SJiQs_rN03XqqLpxLd3zzXaGoM1K2tFbf-VD5UyDXmaXEmXY3JRORX5N7c2ItQ7EQ09HWdEm_x/s320/20231001_090659.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrcVmrSQRiCWdH9phSoq1k9N9RlOlnNGHhjAve4WCaBzIBemmApiRqx5OKL74xMSX3Ys0WdyHyjo8kkrqBEEkV7nv_UPtFYAvC0hxWG2Ac55nOVcU8LKo7dEzoJtxJvpiFnYlIVb6rY1kHvovpwRqUYphyhOLm2_uVtl1sWEeEaSAhM4X6pDCclHd-ANxE/s4000/20231001_090755.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrcVmrSQRiCWdH9phSoq1k9N9RlOlnNGHhjAve4WCaBzIBemmApiRqx5OKL74xMSX3Ys0WdyHyjo8kkrqBEEkV7nv_UPtFYAvC0hxWG2Ac55nOVcU8LKo7dEzoJtxJvpiFnYlIVb6rY1kHvovpwRqUYphyhOLm2_uVtl1sWEeEaSAhM4X6pDCclHd-ANxE/s320/20231001_090755.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCBAkpiRarN2f8pQciDtoxfalrWj0A7RPDSlYpfZDhlyg4tbGaYRtmr0zujij_lvcK3gdW7fs4h3XT316H9I_g76vTphdlGrRdV38nHh9D5QzNBh7HEVBGspxFf6MTdm_wq6V8eDKi6VHbw8bkTupjza2CnlntSCKoLQOYsB8VohIbip5u4NX4iSEPybT/s4624/20231001_092439.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCBAkpiRarN2f8pQciDtoxfalrWj0A7RPDSlYpfZDhlyg4tbGaYRtmr0zujij_lvcK3gdW7fs4h3XT316H9I_g76vTphdlGrRdV38nHh9D5QzNBh7HEVBGspxFf6MTdm_wq6V8eDKi6VHbw8bkTupjza2CnlntSCKoLQOYsB8VohIbip5u4NX4iSEPybT/s320/20231001_092439.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Danilo the ferryman is a well-known character on the Via Francigena. He has ferried 12,000 pilgrims across the Po since 1998, 830 so far this year alone. He takes them from Corte Sant'Andrea on the Lombard bank of the Po 3.6 km downstream, disembarking by his home on the Emilian side. Then he explains a bit about the history of the Po crossing or <i>Transitum Padi</i>, stamps pilgrim credentials and has everyone sign his register. At the end of each year he compiles statistics, producing a complicated and very detailed chart which he illustrated to us.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcfxrkC0UBWIfVSX4-0ne2GQ9T_D0us6wZ7ASMC6wfzWRKDoUM3marimMLTPhAAGi9t2XdE5meWoqqTUNr0ZjX-gqXjPzF_I0tbCKOu_2mlaNTR4gmpfaUyHcgwmoQj35WjxKG4dLiiOIsgk55ZIYuZVoYxgdiVAd1z1hzTuwC3dULJ3reCwhItvEiGVH/s4624/20231001_093127.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcfxrkC0UBWIfVSX4-0ne2GQ9T_D0us6wZ7ASMC6wfzWRKDoUM3marimMLTPhAAGi9t2XdE5meWoqqTUNr0ZjX-gqXjPzF_I0tbCKOu_2mlaNTR4gmpfaUyHcgwmoQj35WjxKG4dLiiOIsgk55ZIYuZVoYxgdiVAd1z1hzTuwC3dULJ3reCwhItvEiGVH/s320/20231001_093127.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMix_1Dz9dUlAZyKr4GN2e1-n_JHqOTeQfWMoxRHm_tQFTDDYU1Y7EOigefyDuXx4OTWilGMxLeGxOnIPVh466lpwpcw71DemXqi9kel2x0XPnB4AXWHovr22PZQAGCQAOwIKRrgMtNzOkXVREoCn0NoCqyBOyblWVO8JTG7iLIQIcKCrSYuqyC2Vzdjt/s4234/20231001_093112.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4234" data-original-width="3222" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMix_1Dz9dUlAZyKr4GN2e1-n_JHqOTeQfWMoxRHm_tQFTDDYU1Y7EOigefyDuXx4OTWilGMxLeGxOnIPVh466lpwpcw71DemXqi9kel2x0XPnB4AXWHovr22PZQAGCQAOwIKRrgMtNzOkXVREoCn0NoCqyBOyblWVO8JTG7iLIQIcKCrSYuqyC2Vzdjt/s320/20231001_093112.jpg" width="244" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisugqvjMh_WancG3rGF8KYG9-MgOryoWr-Z4WuPYst8CncJwxhe18ZIO0ySfnGw2euvEMTOTDcqyQSDZqskmXAFTnEjRx6mhPCW_HP4NwWt_5qX2t0GaQZZrq78K-6cDu5z7jdzQed9q-1ACJeJRva2GO-9YcMc-NcZ9Qx9USi7q8qV7rjdsBshnRAQqtL/s4624/20231001_095546.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisugqvjMh_WancG3rGF8KYG9-MgOryoWr-Z4WuPYst8CncJwxhe18ZIO0ySfnGw2euvEMTOTDcqyQSDZqskmXAFTnEjRx6mhPCW_HP4NwWt_5qX2t0GaQZZrq78K-6cDu5z7jdzQed9q-1ACJeJRva2GO-9YcMc-NcZ9Qx9USi7q8qV7rjdsBshnRAQqtL/s320/20231001_095546.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAwJJp4pthyphenhyphenNEw21xIXrn10Bguj-eN9qO4MLfAdoJ_mSB7-VNsDlQjRukzNHeAj1hNgH92yHngslynqU5q8tNpie7gBwLMm7S6MZfFa-kMSyr9bRdIGbfle-FhozTBE5om9Iq8Vo6G3mGJogi9e-cfabA8IJnjihHYQsaRfH4tCBuWJJO_ZOhKyRqkNzsu/s320/20231001_095445.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYlZ6A1ULojknkTiLBXSzr72h3586-ye2yFxrlU2piRQLNT7SB0KRl4SFtfFQdFoeM7p63xYB94GHA8M-_N75nz9e-cPq-2Y-UWwKJHsGzgaqh5Fstlbr7GSAAwoh-KZVi27sA5vyGvT1Sp4s8nRuWVt74Lva7CJ7MdHSS9iUVDsZlvvHUqHJ9U-kp57J/s4624/20231001_095059.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYlZ6A1ULojknkTiLBXSzr72h3586-ye2yFxrlU2piRQLNT7SB0KRl4SFtfFQdFoeM7p63xYB94GHA8M-_N75nz9e-cPq-2Y-UWwKJHsGzgaqh5Fstlbr7GSAAwoh-KZVi27sA5vyGvT1Sp4s8nRuWVt74Lva7CJ7MdHSS9iUVDsZlvvHUqHJ9U-kp57J/s320/20231001_095059.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVgwDqG1O09GfKg3G3S60xZVKcsXlWmlMUb2SV8Rue7awyrxfad0nrXs9Q4CmkZ9MGTcUnMB7h6PS2JgkOhqDxgI4Bg7LdjXkPWsdPscxQ70kKeEDPqpxrsQsLK7IMjgCHwsvg8QzXH7548tvJDemX7_iXC9c-LoOMA2Osgrah5ZETJnxELFKoDXYV4Xg1/s4624/20231001_100519.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVgwDqG1O09GfKg3G3S60xZVKcsXlWmlMUb2SV8Rue7awyrxfad0nrXs9Q4CmkZ9MGTcUnMB7h6PS2JgkOhqDxgI4Bg7LdjXkPWsdPscxQ70kKeEDPqpxrsQsLK7IMjgCHwsvg8QzXH7548tvJDemX7_iXC9c-LoOMA2Osgrah5ZETJnxELFKoDXYV4Xg1/s320/20231001_100519.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Today Danilo had to go back and fetch another group - he normally only does one trip a day, but as his boat can only carry ten, he sometimes has to make two trips! So off he went with a jerrycan of fuel for the boat, while the five of us headed along the embankment of the river and across the fields to Calendasco, where we stopped at a café to discuss our <i>transitum padi </i>experience over a coffee and doughnuts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rest of the walk into Piacenza was pretty unexciting. More flat farmland, more small villages with a café or two. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjal-z4KN6Ig8MDJMkVBebo0d9H0CuamnanjHdHQO7cneZ3q4EIKcSsNVQhPcVM0S6aVEYif_ud-BWtdBKc4CufewTocLX76QidSU5pqiUMCmcUqHBj8GkoYKq0eCgHAcrP58Az8ECMYdOvV6lZMpspgrM7KdXVNM_Vwrso935G0efh2Qe6F2mrnqUP4kyT/s4624/20231001_113800.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjal-z4KN6Ig8MDJMkVBebo0d9H0CuamnanjHdHQO7cneZ3q4EIKcSsNVQhPcVM0S6aVEYif_ud-BWtdBKc4CufewTocLX76QidSU5pqiUMCmcUqHBj8GkoYKq0eCgHAcrP58Az8ECMYdOvV6lZMpspgrM7KdXVNM_Vwrso935G0efh2Qe6F2mrnqUP4kyT/s320/20231001_113800.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAN-am495CZ92MKUkqdZwIgbYJL3vGXNxsnc2KKFg6QsnD05FunKhzH_mDoHrFeOc48Sx4ICpw5rrlqF277G1kuuTBHbdjupcJcltyhEws9ogQ4FrD5xiS_MiIFsM9lArs4qwcOAOuFAIBkHPrl2A6Y_WynempxE4vbhuvwr7buQdHqluSrwnj-P1iRQx/s4624/20231001_114757.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAN-am495CZ92MKUkqdZwIgbYJL3vGXNxsnc2KKFg6QsnD05FunKhzH_mDoHrFeOc48Sx4ICpw5rrlqF277G1kuuTBHbdjupcJcltyhEws9ogQ4FrD5xiS_MiIFsM9lArs4qwcOAOuFAIBkHPrl2A6Y_WynempxE4vbhuvwr7buQdHqluSrwnj-P1iRQx/s320/20231001_114757.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We crossed the river Trebbia by a column commemorating the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Trebia?wprov=sfla1" target="_blank">Battle of the Trebbia</a>, the first major battle in the Punic Wars, fought on December 22 or 23 of 218 BC, in which the Romans were soundly defeated by the Carthaginians. Each of the two armies had about 40,000 men; 20,000 men perished in the battle, along with all but 5 of Hannibal's elephants.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifk5eWNCTIZtiKRjNIV15q_hhm8Gel6hTK_QWw37EOaSSGf_EDY6dCbuhZ6ZFW-T_WTfSh_0ZAXoP8R7GQv46Vdp9ppUCDVCy5h9UnnmPEQ011qY6qc1vUCBQ2DHUCZ8ec0lYE0Y44glqJ3xeDm3wSVsr9yAMCWY_KD8igU7q-wtjSPKNmExLcnYiMznN-/s4624/20231001_123544.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifk5eWNCTIZtiKRjNIV15q_hhm8Gel6hTK_QWw37EOaSSGf_EDY6dCbuhZ6ZFW-T_WTfSh_0ZAXoP8R7GQv46Vdp9ppUCDVCy5h9UnnmPEQ011qY6qc1vUCBQ2DHUCZ8ec0lYE0Y44glqJ3xeDm3wSVsr9yAMCWY_KD8igU7q-wtjSPKNmExLcnYiMznN-/s320/20231001_123544.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCegerjCK8w342MkVXiWN0FZ9TDOu2FCSEZTGHoahllx0_i40W3DpLyltgufiTkuAA0nHaljo29VNxcqtnL-sS20YL7MfqTSQn-qxVoOUBhegYpJJhvBDFOdXurYs_McRdUkbyYJSvuYJJjbmzpvF5CYPCBQaisrEkvRR_ZsTHUmPufd53INfA_Arv2MfI/s1347/FB_IMG_1696209259470.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1347" data-original-width="1016" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCegerjCK8w342MkVXiWN0FZ9TDOu2FCSEZTGHoahllx0_i40W3DpLyltgufiTkuAA0nHaljo29VNxcqtnL-sS20YL7MfqTSQn-qxVoOUBhegYpJJhvBDFOdXurYs_McRdUkbyYJSvuYJJjbmzpvF5CYPCBQaisrEkvRR_ZsTHUmPufd53INfA_Arv2MfI/s320/FB_IMG_1696209259470.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the bridge over the Trebbia we walked straight along the Via Emilia, or Aemilian Way: the Roman road built beginning in 189 BC to connect Rimini with Piacenza. The Roman method of expanding the Empire was to build a brand new road straight through newly conquered territory and then establish a string of colonies, in which the settlers, either civilians or military veterans, would be allocated plots of fertile land confiscated from the defeated native peoples. This was exactly the function of the Via Emilia, and in fact as it was constructed Roman colonies were founded along its whole length at Bononia (Bologna) (founded in 189 BC), Mutina (Modena), Regium (Reggio Emilia), and Parma (all founded in 183 BC).</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhca-ln-39TzgkMClsT-F_xBVrz3a2-O3rphLhpAXZQk_G_uc91fP2uujtiqQUNVdEAgZChdf67z-lPjbiREMxcvysm_21XlxpZ-bVc8okL0iMXat0UzzmcZhIyaMj0EM-u5Al5nMaVwyAWi8vFGB0svcpzuJdRWApQ0tN0WnGp3nWjrIF637L2dP0pjcWb/s4624/20231001_132143.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhca-ln-39TzgkMClsT-F_xBVrz3a2-O3rphLhpAXZQk_G_uc91fP2uujtiqQUNVdEAgZChdf67z-lPjbiREMxcvysm_21XlxpZ-bVc8okL0iMXat0UzzmcZhIyaMj0EM-u5Al5nMaVwyAWi8vFGB0svcpzuJdRWApQ0tN0WnGp3nWjrIF637L2dP0pjcWb/s320/20231001_132143.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFSzRehTlol0Qh9tlnqf7ZCHJrEAsIQCaJGiKkVNa1buEVXKm7rCIoLuXrR7GU2d62uVF-ORrKiWqePeqtCCAEJ5nxxdQ9uUC_f0ZJQS2Yxv_TQhM9lT0Z0F0t9X7Q012RDHvBtEWPDTuj9RlMk_1-nqjqMf1vqG7fpBYOgDV0zhnTKibD3vTrOj9yMfj/s4624/20231001_163428.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFSzRehTlol0Qh9tlnqf7ZCHJrEAsIQCaJGiKkVNa1buEVXKm7rCIoLuXrR7GU2d62uVF-ORrKiWqePeqtCCAEJ5nxxdQ9uUC_f0ZJQS2Yxv_TQhM9lT0Z0F0t9X7Q012RDHvBtEWPDTuj9RlMk_1-nqjqMf1vqG7fpBYOgDV0zhnTKibD3vTrOj9yMfj/s320/20231001_163428.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This ancient Roman road has however been taken over by cars, asphalted over for the convenience of people who feel the need to take half a tonne of steel with them wherever they go. Those of us who wish to return the ancient road to Rome to its original use are relegated to a narrow strip of concrete along its edge.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP2gq_XCpdj_i2pqf04wgauakVoDaNs_gIGhGgHvwmAfnkC7D8CBDPnRszKwyQm1TsEs1_nohYD30rU-IDrXbzAgoBS6lww4MeHkY57vm8Lqhf7gmaxPGPZbPqnVq0FIdEEFnCMCbP_U3BSERBLu5TET8TMCgM9fUXnEvJ-P3Whkvf_Pp6E-cmZNZLA6Dl/s4624/20231001_125805.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP2gq_XCpdj_i2pqf04wgauakVoDaNs_gIGhGgHvwmAfnkC7D8CBDPnRszKwyQm1TsEs1_nohYD30rU-IDrXbzAgoBS6lww4MeHkY57vm8Lqhf7gmaxPGPZbPqnVq0FIdEEFnCMCbP_U3BSERBLu5TET8TMCgM9fUXnEvJ-P3Whkvf_Pp6E-cmZNZLA6Dl/s320/20231001_125805.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A walker in the land of cars</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We caught up with Daniel just coming into the centre of Piacenza and walked together to the main square, Piazza Cavalli, centring around the town hall built in 1281, now known as <i>Il Gotico.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKougT4E7jPHtnAgFi_jbyQvMKuldcNZZts_69vNUnMVPRg6-cV6cJ8kUfCBE2kWsvsd-NU-ajQSx40C6ln83M3iABXlMkJ9_Z5_R0dr0g81blW7sXlzNuUC-ZcKgZd_lQCf9CCmVKfTBHcsYTDwipVECd-YRfNbQtOAK2DvEMyR9ylwoyAtg4-WZjWaI/s4624/20230203_151628.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKougT4E7jPHtnAgFi_jbyQvMKuldcNZZts_69vNUnMVPRg6-cV6cJ8kUfCBE2kWsvsd-NU-ajQSx40C6ln83M3iABXlMkJ9_Z5_R0dr0g81blW7sXlzNuUC-ZcKgZd_lQCf9CCmVKfTBHcsYTDwipVECd-YRfNbQtOAK2DvEMyR9ylwoyAtg4-WZjWaI/s320/20230203_151628.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Wd-Wcl4sbA8HsVoAY1vihV74xVZVWvlJCtbpabYpG2IEk5c8IGli-OtRlYsER_YJtv9M07J5NfaeXnUyetVcuXQh1sXfn89LlbdVrz5s6wAtGdJzMK5ditCwgLLXN4_sRRj6dfaNf6vuvfINWukFJs6fYKIOBSMM7kiZSimmaGEBn8f2NCyEb_PrqGkE/s4624/20231001_141041.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Wd-Wcl4sbA8HsVoAY1vihV74xVZVWvlJCtbpabYpG2IEk5c8IGli-OtRlYsER_YJtv9M07J5NfaeXnUyetVcuXQh1sXfn89LlbdVrz5s6wAtGdJzMK5ditCwgLLXN4_sRRj6dfaNf6vuvfINWukFJs6fYKIOBSMM7kiZSimmaGEBn8f2NCyEb_PrqGkE/s320/20231001_141041.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9zJYn1gP5WJP8THCMRKu3_HJVn3ggxn_teVs9kv0SsGyin3iQThNKbieTcE-xDaXeIWGSU5_JU5aIxD15XJdZvwJVPyQ-riZY9JBVUE22tN1jYqaVIo0apLxuPALRRWUsvyVuoGD5VglbgokRbAN9kmtT86EZIBLjB8Uu4OvFqeaaxQWK_QpFtz8I47c/s2040/IMG-20231001-WA0018.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="1530" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9zJYn1gP5WJP8THCMRKu3_HJVn3ggxn_teVs9kv0SsGyin3iQThNKbieTcE-xDaXeIWGSU5_JU5aIxD15XJdZvwJVPyQ-riZY9JBVUE22tN1jYqaVIo0apLxuPALRRWUsvyVuoGD5VglbgokRbAN9kmtT86EZIBLjB8Uu4OvFqeaaxQWK_QpFtz8I47c/s320/IMG-20231001-WA0018.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We sat down for a drink and a sandwich in the square until the cathedral reopened at 3:30. Piacenza has one of Italy's most beautiful Romanesque cathedrals, constructed between 1122 and 1233.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrCKgofDIBBYnVqPAq1qgmnvZhRQnxwtXLg9gw3CbwALXQIwhUiU3G0TY_4CR3WPgsbUvgn4CUQYG7xgaglezBe-RX-gV_dPfiVaKPuCIV2o-nDhaBwJQq_b0HycOhBDHzesS0ES3sPfsgq6amhBplEMeR2DEpB58cLo6bIrNMZbAPOBCcL58qLxnQi80/s4624/20231001_155258.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrCKgofDIBBYnVqPAq1qgmnvZhRQnxwtXLg9gw3CbwALXQIwhUiU3G0TY_4CR3WPgsbUvgn4CUQYG7xgaglezBe-RX-gV_dPfiVaKPuCIV2o-nDhaBwJQq_b0HycOhBDHzesS0ES3sPfsgq6amhBplEMeR2DEpB58cLo6bIrNMZbAPOBCcL58qLxnQi80/s320/20231001_155258.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQ-HHkTFZzT3u_PwOxCaSbd39iVfo0XrOXbE-W-4R8QZboAziJABvbV2nwNjwVieKky4unWpvxVmCva0Y4eOya_tMIKbY_7SZaQP-yXS1QUrdUNCdq0wjgpgckUGJFrG6mTXsMidMLXTBBcgX2sQFvlPuGRLdEUmq9utO7UiElx9OUnWJzJj4ewh8szoB/s4624/20231001_155511.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQ-HHkTFZzT3u_PwOxCaSbd39iVfo0XrOXbE-W-4R8QZboAziJABvbV2nwNjwVieKky4unWpvxVmCva0Y4eOya_tMIKbY_7SZaQP-yXS1QUrdUNCdq0wjgpgckUGJFrG6mTXsMidMLXTBBcgX2sQFvlPuGRLdEUmq9utO7UiElx9OUnWJzJj4ewh8szoB/s320/20231001_155511.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="text-align: justify;">High up on the columns just inside the doors are bas-relief carvings illustrating ordinary craftsmen at work, including a shoemaker, a weaver and a carpenter. </span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3zVndDv9CzeIUH5DyT-lNcdin2XXzRsRkmV7mUk9cyHR046BeL4gtEG9zS9w6E0CYG_is6n8q-gl0amRid5wqRNwZrhJHBr5ZPlxjaIyKLHLfDl2YowZ96aVhij27pblwTKdzI-IpNmZpaS-8c4tyM8cWvT_PpPfce8myLTA2XESZo6cvi8SQfdkBS8s3/s4624/20231001_155536.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3zVndDv9CzeIUH5DyT-lNcdin2XXzRsRkmV7mUk9cyHR046BeL4gtEG9zS9w6E0CYG_is6n8q-gl0amRid5wqRNwZrhJHBr5ZPlxjaIyKLHLfDl2YowZ96aVhij27pblwTKdzI-IpNmZpaS-8c4tyM8cWvT_PpPfce8myLTA2XESZo6cvi8SQfdkBS8s3/s320/20231001_155536.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YjP_Bab52LhP0uSMk_eRKNiXeQCMA0tPFsDcI6tEGGHgrQki6OKvTRFwURxmuByq-68HecmnkB3M9FyKmFwZsogEQ3wdEdGjZM9CExz-QcRpLWffhWXXdSEADSA2gHxVo9cNQFOI02UNKiMp8uK8WTzOCVH8g6-bVp4cDTfio98He_LkV1DjKSUVRCal/s4624/20231001_155608.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YjP_Bab52LhP0uSMk_eRKNiXeQCMA0tPFsDcI6tEGGHgrQki6OKvTRFwURxmuByq-68HecmnkB3M9FyKmFwZsogEQ3wdEdGjZM9CExz-QcRpLWffhWXXdSEADSA2gHxVo9cNQFOI02UNKiMp8uK8WTzOCVH8g6-bVp4cDTfio98He_LkV1DjKSUVRCal/s320/20231001_155608.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2J1V5wBpmmSVKlbxwnJxsA1gSuA1AwvLLps_3OxDadSvgsJ7YAa9dESwcy-e5Y-jMBvBzm_Va1Egu7l3UkrYPEt8JiwEFVv_PXCcXWDVBapRQYKj2qV7MCjGoth3dZxL1zo2C5bivz6D_m5Ex69KtxyJQcCXU7FmLyIU-fTHXEm6U3F28XEMBGmWmsZR6/s4624/20231001_155829.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2J1V5wBpmmSVKlbxwnJxsA1gSuA1AwvLLps_3OxDadSvgsJ7YAa9dESwcy-e5Y-jMBvBzm_Va1Egu7l3UkrYPEt8JiwEFVv_PXCcXWDVBapRQYKj2qV7MCjGoth3dZxL1zo2C5bivz6D_m5Ex69KtxyJQcCXU7FmLyIU-fTHXEm6U3F28XEMBGmWmsZR6/s320/20231001_155829.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crypt has 108 Romanesque small columns</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQqHAtIcuseRE5TnytYrs9f1ruei3Cg-3PHmQSaTOTrzv-GaX5gz1NKz_zaZimKte1ot9NoGpQGfiKoHslh9zgtaO0ohfQeRyAuhn_dcfQd4CaC7kQguk3l0NIvMvnoYDRxjVRHsRPywDrFniCpo0pwe_Swsd2aAU6SQmo6gvddHMhwiB00aaar7jd5E7/s4624/20231001_155909.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQqHAtIcuseRE5TnytYrs9f1ruei3Cg-3PHmQSaTOTrzv-GaX5gz1NKz_zaZimKte1ot9NoGpQGfiKoHslh9zgtaO0ohfQeRyAuhn_dcfQd4CaC7kQguk3l0NIvMvnoYDRxjVRHsRPywDrFniCpo0pwe_Swsd2aAU6SQmo6gvddHMhwiB00aaar7jd5E7/s320/20231001_155909.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZnT4UTMxDjxqR3NDbUI6M5w7zRpuZjpbmALXcYA3dFIJje82uXFA2zwDzksVhMiSwmpChMYbLdHyRLO4Fmxm7rnNFQ3-oLFO9PlbDcIKLgbXC1fqgZEeacgr8D0zbAVicPVM0HJ7F2W3CxFZoGB1leniM5b6G470sevxuWNs9iZ7WojS_p4cnX-tTfRC/s4624/20231001_155915.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoZnT4UTMxDjxqR3NDbUI6M5w7zRpuZjpbmALXcYA3dFIJje82uXFA2zwDzksVhMiSwmpChMYbLdHyRLO4Fmxm7rnNFQ3-oLFO9PlbDcIKLgbXC1fqgZEeacgr8D0zbAVicPVM0HJ7F2W3CxFZoGB1leniM5b6G470sevxuWNs9iZ7WojS_p4cnX-tTfRC/s320/20231001_155915.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShOkAGDqU463nZgxcFD-ewa_uOnuQERVLMJ64XSqeQTlOH2Ab-9VMMJiyVuIZBPV265kqMBYma0-_EBU4UrseSiyGTNe5W96BjtIqkiAGecsjQRaBZy-5h_XGuHcJd1KSgnSl94iLOc-1AoPkI2XVxEWQ463kGUwM9PyVaSPhxLE5C-96eGa-OIkdGKmr/s4624/20231001_160051.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShOkAGDqU463nZgxcFD-ewa_uOnuQERVLMJ64XSqeQTlOH2Ab-9VMMJiyVuIZBPV265kqMBYma0-_EBU4UrseSiyGTNe5W96BjtIqkiAGecsjQRaBZy-5h_XGuHcJd1KSgnSl94iLOc-1AoPkI2XVxEWQ463kGUwM9PyVaSPhxLE5C-96eGa-OIkdGKmr/s320/20231001_160051.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saint Christopher</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Mariella and I spent a weekend in Piacenza in February, attending a seminar organised by our volunteer pilgrim host association, on which occasion we also visited the Basilica of Sant'Antonino, originally built in the year 375 and renovated in Romanesque style to repair damage from the barbarian invasions. There is a lot more to see in Piacenza too - definitely enough to keep you busy if you take a day off from walking the Via Francigena here - but on this occasion we contented ourselves with walking across the city enjoying its lovely warm colours in the afternoon sunshine. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2bMvR_KZSEg_DOPBZzYwSihBVsUOBNGOEWjFkIXi31LJWT09bvG1TIzEKbWvUqQHPDQHkGHSgN8s5FpFKpZLXj43hubOgSbBWOTGW7pBh6elWbvKLRVtRmVIECShQpn4zR1N6egSdlHbK1tg7ljptu8itXGN-FNC2Z-AHbSMHPGzgVRolBiSi6AalFR-/s4624/20231001_134952.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2bMvR_KZSEg_DOPBZzYwSihBVsUOBNGOEWjFkIXi31LJWT09bvG1TIzEKbWvUqQHPDQHkGHSgN8s5FpFKpZLXj43hubOgSbBWOTGW7pBh6elWbvKLRVtRmVIECShQpn4zR1N6egSdlHbK1tg7ljptu8itXGN-FNC2Z-AHbSMHPGzgVRolBiSi6AalFR-/s320/20231001_134952.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnB_7b5NUfsSd2zUSgwm65oqVuQXPUdy1sweAZVROwo1g_GOGp74ozP_jo9DnIzH3cmpJHBRvl0ZgkCAlbwmvv4oavlW-PZm0zc2G28mt75fqlDH9c3YBTCmWqQRwB_qDt3OOgXtuWjXIuEOi3xB5V7V03DmQa6n7T0MGoMaNeATuhERZ0hxE1dRJRAkA/s4624/20231001_135642.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnB_7b5NUfsSd2zUSgwm65oqVuQXPUdy1sweAZVROwo1g_GOGp74ozP_jo9DnIzH3cmpJHBRvl0ZgkCAlbwmvv4oavlW-PZm0zc2G28mt75fqlDH9c3YBTCmWqQRwB_qDt3OOgXtuWjXIuEOi3xB5V7V03DmQa6n7T0MGoMaNeATuhERZ0hxE1dRJRAkA/s320/20231001_135642.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXaWyxlvKef4ww6OOCu0Hs_7UnusBr5-GC9SGi3pB_IjA-Hlxe-TPiBaDIq5lqdxcMSKCBWKb1lh4eA6X1hR28McWLc7jIFcwcwJZNU5vPuzxOQNgfoxcTRyeSG3CeFSRtim48gCRrW6OJ6L-zMknmyQd3rc6_kTw3zBidqhhIcxQwiDG2k88aduCWMaZz/s4624/20231001_135718.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXaWyxlvKef4ww6OOCu0Hs_7UnusBr5-GC9SGi3pB_IjA-Hlxe-TPiBaDIq5lqdxcMSKCBWKb1lh4eA6X1hR28McWLc7jIFcwcwJZNU5vPuzxOQNgfoxcTRyeSG3CeFSRtim48gCRrW6OJ6L-zMknmyQd3rc6_kTw3zBidqhhIcxQwiDG2k88aduCWMaZz/s320/20231001_135718.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ssfv7VbyyGxHplr-ipflUmCbkb3Od689KVcvISCmrl7-LKIMU45UKiurJWfnfQaOGy-6bfRT3fzJuop1PmwnnIlVzdUZJYAojSzldCJQLcZKzGbe2JIUNH3WrXxQBbeVwwUIBUMfvaXwCcRr7LPhqwclNfxv0akX44jKGPAdBfvGX3Eutj5FQ4rAga_Z/s4624/20231001_160504.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ssfv7VbyyGxHplr-ipflUmCbkb3Od689KVcvISCmrl7-LKIMU45UKiurJWfnfQaOGy-6bfRT3fzJuop1PmwnnIlVzdUZJYAojSzldCJQLcZKzGbe2JIUNH3WrXxQBbeVwwUIBUMfvaXwCcRr7LPhqwclNfxv0akX44jKGPAdBfvGX3Eutj5FQ4rAga_Z/s320/20231001_160504.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then we were back on the busy Via Emilia again, heading out of the historic city centre and into a district of light industries and shopping centres. We had an appointment to meet the parish priest at the church of San Lazzaro in between a christening that ended at five and the start of six o'clock mass - Sunday is a busy day for priests! We waited outside the church until all the well-dressed congregation there for the christening had gone, then went in to pick up the key to the pilgrim hostel another half hour's walk along the road. On the way we stopped for provisions at a massive supermarket, where the three of us miraculously managed not to lose one another, and walked across a roundabout with a prominent "no pedestrians" sign on it! 😄</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggx6187NkOKAnqN-gFBwdcxww7-JNAuHb4dQxGAxdYWTKmaRvpkdeyGTPWAug2wfmcLV0d53srCV3e3D-WSxXtxL0b6euzIBI3JAQiV5Hvd_LaKmerG5zxtidc4HwNy20jzmjcLZyGal2WYaecbbDUK3SwQZSOTWZHNHexZ2kDv8RjaxJsky44-PHFWTfK/s4624/20231001_164524.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggx6187NkOKAnqN-gFBwdcxww7-JNAuHb4dQxGAxdYWTKmaRvpkdeyGTPWAug2wfmcLV0d53srCV3e3D-WSxXtxL0b6euzIBI3JAQiV5Hvd_LaKmerG5zxtidc4HwNy20jzmjcLZyGal2WYaecbbDUK3SwQZSOTWZHNHexZ2kDv8RjaxJsky44-PHFWTfK/s320/20231001_164524.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7z8UBMFi-89nHfNm3Jh53CVXJno4KCkKWuPXbQhAKbcraX2dpZvQI6gQ7L57Th7W6sVr__eskQwOXi87Wzz4kqT2hPyUjqekfH4WhNfU_pOClycNgLxTzoTfeU4BRe35bgpGB8FB_TKT3oEUoUFLOOsictkbUmUdm9_kLhl8LAJf6-2LmHQ8XuQVlu7u/s4624/20231001_171004.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7z8UBMFi-89nHfNm3Jh53CVXJno4KCkKWuPXbQhAKbcraX2dpZvQI6gQ7L57Th7W6sVr__eskQwOXi87Wzz4kqT2hPyUjqekfH4WhNfU_pOClycNgLxTzoTfeU4BRe35bgpGB8FB_TKT3oEUoUFLOOsictkbUmUdm9_kLhl8LAJf6-2LmHQ8XuQVlu7u/s320/20231001_171004.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Rocco / Saint Roch</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPJiXiRWi_FtqGExVHoyrpbb7YtUwgElI6g3_82Bpd2LKJ34g9jWzZf_4IzSCDdmL-MBwhCMKwRjFAoaRAGA1Tka5dwo2ZuXGLTGjgOnVw177iu43xvkpkPKF9GCCvgolQgBJpSoUGt3DFTL0Fk9jgQ9GU8UEhhYIJj43oK3_m9BMbGNQhUa8iWHNqjoC/s4624/20231001_175605.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPJiXiRWi_FtqGExVHoyrpbb7YtUwgElI6g3_82Bpd2LKJ34g9jWzZf_4IzSCDdmL-MBwhCMKwRjFAoaRAGA1Tka5dwo2ZuXGLTGjgOnVw177iu43xvkpkPKF9GCCvgolQgBJpSoUGt3DFTL0Fk9jgQ9GU8UEhhYIJj43oK3_m9BMbGNQhUa8iWHNqjoC/s320/20231001_175605.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Tonight we are housed in the pilgrim hostel of the church of San Pietro in Montale, just outside Piacenza, which has been receiving pilgrims on the road to Rome since 1032. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We opened the door and found ourselves catapulted from a world of speeding vehicles, shopping malls, gas stations, Macdonald's and Ikea into the world of the Knights Templar and the thousand-year-old tradition of pilgrimage to Rome.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tgWThCCCE-NDUHoevCfdpqbmx7Anp3U_rF5yKbI5elQfLU8S3GRdYZKtreOmflf0p2BoFiEHA2aqt2sT2uOXGMo4S8M8upHObj-hehBc7X5EQ8eMarsvCzj3BQZudgTRBuAECqmAw9Hzq_tUArstezaZVKzy7xH-NU8v1PkRUC4XnQCrP10qylubeUfd/s4624/20231001_190455.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tgWThCCCE-NDUHoevCfdpqbmx7Anp3U_rF5yKbI5elQfLU8S3GRdYZKtreOmflf0p2BoFiEHA2aqt2sT2uOXGMo4S8M8upHObj-hehBc7X5EQ8eMarsvCzj3BQZudgTRBuAECqmAw9Hzq_tUArstezaZVKzy7xH-NU8v1PkRUC4XnQCrP10qylubeUfd/s320/20231001_190455.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5dTc9rpBE2C1_kRl9l4aHAlfTxD_msTskl7DK1xD5Qp54bA_oEN4P_qpG15JaAb72D10qVuslSCEqo2r_J5ryNfh8iOeLVOH-mMJD9sWJxSFz9cRvXZAgSUOaXZpGAZclvSW4k4oGMKi2wX-ayiETaYg8vEqO8R3HmOrT_Poz-oRw6-nsqpwDyp2q6AM/s4624/20231001_190615.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5dTc9rpBE2C1_kRl9l4aHAlfTxD_msTskl7DK1xD5Qp54bA_oEN4P_qpG15JaAb72D10qVuslSCEqo2r_J5ryNfh8iOeLVOH-mMJD9sWJxSFz9cRvXZAgSUOaXZpGAZclvSW4k4oGMKi2wX-ayiETaYg8vEqO8R3HmOrT_Poz-oRw6-nsqpwDyp2q6AM/s320/20231001_190615.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPrNnuXOJ6fLm64UYa5NfHnJlE4QYGt8-_h83N5MBd8tM-2s0WW6WDfI62EYSG5RJJRCcodFEtrmUYFKo__9vKlzPIvsO1fEvNCdE-7zKSODt-QR5XstxCe2znbEk-X5m00ymt0co-vLsoNkj62laHv_rRhIe_J-kUkLyYttILPFkRIkqKJZDKSDYEozq/s4624/20231001_191054.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPrNnuXOJ6fLm64UYa5NfHnJlE4QYGt8-_h83N5MBd8tM-2s0WW6WDfI62EYSG5RJJRCcodFEtrmUYFKo__9vKlzPIvsO1fEvNCdE-7zKSODt-QR5XstxCe2znbEk-X5m00ymt0co-vLsoNkj62laHv_rRhIe_J-kUkLyYttILPFkRIkqKJZDKSDYEozq/s320/20231001_191054.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-T0CMhTCDbDEUSUT1GTxze_jHHxc4PrQgXLdFgVHTNd_3QRz8ttEHs7sCCIkTCvRu_7_-NBginBB0GE0Uvs2UV7MVVdeKbf6ALZHrSsPDbqMpKQlhEUThp0qUKqqgqGp4iTb7P3Ttz0cxBnrCpPBUv6TLgkZFkOlBA2ec97Kx0rDoKTCnluImDPi3IYZ/s4624/20231001_191207.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-T0CMhTCDbDEUSUT1GTxze_jHHxc4PrQgXLdFgVHTNd_3QRz8ttEHs7sCCIkTCvRu_7_-NBginBB0GE0Uvs2UV7MVVdeKbf6ALZHrSsPDbqMpKQlhEUThp0qUKqqgqGp4iTb7P3Ttz0cxBnrCpPBUv6TLgkZFkOlBA2ec97Kx0rDoKTCnluImDPi3IYZ/s320/20231001_191207.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br style="text-align: left;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUEl5CozX8dQmE6DZuX6zrwwc1bkiVWr8mok2EM7Bc6Aw7yU_aw0bqzVduzCGITCbGUi4oxj9jtrhpgbRRtD5KorBrn7gPOQ5BQnFr7S4PEO0EJP_gqY9A5uGnQW2RVp1llJkUXz-pzx9eFYcPOS9egTgvQjhsvCxrrj_teN0GMJ4rkcaug-_ndhhzWlL/s4000/20231001_181407.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUEl5CozX8dQmE6DZuX6zrwwc1bkiVWr8mok2EM7Bc6Aw7yU_aw0bqzVduzCGITCbGUi4oxj9jtrhpgbRRtD5KorBrn7gPOQ5BQnFr7S4PEO0EJP_gqY9A5uGnQW2RVp1llJkUXz-pzx9eFYcPOS9egTgvQjhsvCxrrj_teN0GMJ4rkcaug-_ndhhzWlL/s320/20231001_181407.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wMdg1VAAYW-nCLPtzan6c0YRbx5rINKNml46zPsqoQb7uahy9VgGEHNCgDvP_Br1wgEeMxISh5deDE45im9z0XcuPdSLtq9ferYlG7o0yPyJJSKTeN7zoDs98Lbfwdw5hQTjKlKfYcV7EQPVCcruc9WySN7hfb73dE3IcaBZ4x5HO6cLjcrJSMXGKjSj/s4624/20231002_075651.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wMdg1VAAYW-nCLPtzan6c0YRbx5rINKNml46zPsqoQb7uahy9VgGEHNCgDvP_Br1wgEeMxISh5deDE45im9z0XcuPdSLtq9ferYlG7o0yPyJJSKTeN7zoDs98Lbfwdw5hQTjKlKfYcV7EQPVCcruc9WySN7hfb73dE3IcaBZ4x5HO6cLjcrJSMXGKjSj/s320/20231002_075651.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaGE1TR5FFAj7q8Z6ctEWc8mPtx6fnuzq38VxBOoAvuf-_TzrPKETqBCnvHavMdsQkzGDHShqWQKbI5Q0GDp0e90wChodoi-OVGnAUH2ExZFHFYU-4V7tepn45PqK78mGXN5cHobnqJWObMQi7IMuUmQhpxFTS0eJCXDRt5k73r3g-tecpmBsQim7e8-R/s2400/Screenshot_20231001_185414_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaGE1TR5FFAj7q8Z6ctEWc8mPtx6fnuzq38VxBOoAvuf-_TzrPKETqBCnvHavMdsQkzGDHShqWQKbI5Q0GDp0e90wChodoi-OVGnAUH2ExZFHFYU-4V7tepn45PqK78mGXN5cHobnqJWObMQi7IMuUmQhpxFTS0eJCXDRt5k73r3g-tecpmBsQim7e8-R/s320/Screenshot_20231001_185414_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Corte Sant'Andrea - Montale (Piacenza) 29 km</div><div style="text-align: center;">Including 4 km by boat</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><br />Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-86711281794216945512023-09-30T17:49:00.004+02:002024-01-09T14:24:40.091+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 77: Santa Cristina - Corte Sant'Andrea <p style="text-align: justify;"><i>To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">- Anatole France, quoted on a bookmark found in the grass by the trail</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukl191nRhXKGahjHTKFwDmn6y2eyWN1kgaCPH_MSbH0O7SKXtejCZuX5iQZCObPg09ZTE3QkMppY_FfQ7kCbEGyx2z91rq4fcpgOYOFmUOxoapj2FPL5NEd5oMcdb6QgfRty9yMMhrABpLcRKf8pG2SapMUf-xAhbG6e3r4Lb3J8-2xLz4ErG4beFn9pd/s4624/20230929_083807.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukl191nRhXKGahjHTKFwDmn6y2eyWN1kgaCPH_MSbH0O7SKXtejCZuX5iQZCObPg09ZTE3QkMppY_FfQ7kCbEGyx2z91rq4fcpgOYOFmUOxoapj2FPL5NEd5oMcdb6QgfRty9yMMhrABpLcRKf8pG2SapMUf-xAhbG6e3r4Lb3J8-2xLz4ErG4beFn9pd/s320/20230929_083807.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">It was a good thing the nuns gave us our own room last night because we were up and dressing by 6:30, and I don't think the students and schoolteachers would have appreciated that on a Saturday morning! 😄</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After fixing our breakfast in the hostel kitchen and losing and finding a sock or two, by 7:30 we were out the door, crossing the covered bridge of Pavia, this time before sunrise (the sun rises late at the end of September!).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhme4H3HZ1h6OoBTbwdVat4KOtfopl3stqgyJQmFQvB3wZRHA8NNJVa6RiK80incGsBtrWY0za6YS0ppY1jS_womv_Ed9A1aB76aGhDOnO7ASgL7mPAuXfx2hFdQwD41NDusCzXiVJV-8M_2GdAw4cNHZ9EdPV0-kEsrSVDNdYZtK52r3hqdaPXdgEHutw3/s4624/20230930_072714.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhme4H3HZ1h6OoBTbwdVat4KOtfopl3stqgyJQmFQvB3wZRHA8NNJVa6RiK80incGsBtrWY0za6YS0ppY1jS_womv_Ed9A1aB76aGhDOnO7ASgL7mPAuXfx2hFdQwD41NDusCzXiVJV-8M_2GdAw4cNHZ9EdPV0-kEsrSVDNdYZtK52r3hqdaPXdgEHutw3/s320/20230930_072714.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">We crossed the city of Pavia to the train station and took the 8:06 train back to Santa Cristina. An hour's walk on a dirt road took us to Miradolo Terme, where we had a second breakfast stop at a café on the edge of the town. We then followed a cycling and pedestrian track by the road to Camporinaldo. After this village, a dirt road took us around the edge of a dirtbike track, literally buzzing with activity on a Saturday morning, and a field where a tractor was plowing. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKxySpfusy7dwlHROatvIp2Q2x3kdgchC4v8Dlxi_8alSPlBRa5jTOJOIq0T-_QSZZa_xgcaevzPsAN8WJB49Wfx3l3jhmTO3nRHvvYoxrGHMUq42QMLOgfx8lE60OdIXzT1McOVDJ3XgoHMbwP7zoa7pbrtnk7Cf49YMpYa0daiuvPPi_DCPRmnosvHY/s4624/20230930_110410.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKxySpfusy7dwlHROatvIp2Q2x3kdgchC4v8Dlxi_8alSPlBRa5jTOJOIq0T-_QSZZa_xgcaevzPsAN8WJB49Wfx3l3jhmTO3nRHvvYoxrGHMUq42QMLOgfx8lE60OdIXzT1McOVDJ3XgoHMbwP7zoa7pbrtnk7Cf49YMpYa0daiuvPPi_DCPRmnosvHY/s320/20230930_110410.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">We passed in front of the 17th-century castle of Chignano Po and walked on the edge of a paved road to Lambrinia, where we found a playground with benches in the shade where we lunched on the food we had in our backpacks... and the mosquitoes lunched on us! 😅</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpiTRlnzMY3K233qCnJT1zw2D2ShXShYwBDbifaQ1DgppSoFt3G6pn61SLCNS9sxnqtIQ9oYJxa4tl81dAwYsyUwJ4hDWJEOr6WsYrgweYxzqjHxoDfJ1rJ4mpPi8-dTWAg37Jqtyk5faUDz7n0RY5dfrNxC7O4OB6kszHBGS5kYkkiwmcifRDunIT-Wsk/s4624/20230930_112059.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpiTRlnzMY3K233qCnJT1zw2D2ShXShYwBDbifaQ1DgppSoFt3G6pn61SLCNS9sxnqtIQ9oYJxa4tl81dAwYsyUwJ4hDWJEOr6WsYrgweYxzqjHxoDfJ1rJ4mpPi8-dTWAg37Jqtyk5faUDz7n0RY5dfrNxC7O4OB6kszHBGS5kYkkiwmcifRDunIT-Wsk/s320/20230930_112059.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNlSXnj__-z_lbeCTXxiJAiDlvPi1lluqMFeUj-EWKhf2Xvv1LdpXIdB38IONjdZ0ufP7Nve4RjJGnvb4azVpgucasZ84gmxOeuaPctYqFWqtYzQ-uTe5Aijxbb4X4vRbaqw-NJI50J9OiHS3BIDdVT5QHv98wrLCUqzqE4H7mMpPrhmYq0E1-HMpuLKt/s1114/IMG-20230930-WA0000.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="835" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNlSXnj__-z_lbeCTXxiJAiDlvPi1lluqMFeUj-EWKhf2Xvv1LdpXIdB38IONjdZ0ufP7Nve4RjJGnvb4azVpgucasZ84gmxOeuaPctYqFWqtYzQ-uTe5Aijxbb4X4vRbaqw-NJI50J9OiHS3BIDdVT5QHv98wrLCUqzqE4H7mMpPrhmYq0E1-HMpuLKt/s320/IMG-20230930-WA0000.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje37x9t-XABb3lweP-trgte1nw0ssu-W5Pcv0CBq4oANkt6yX85G5wTMOg3QAtx4BTJ72n0S2WLtSu8Ewhv0AFowVNPC1g1LyA50500jN84S4e0wrg7BbkqEZxI6lwXhw_U_urlxHddWDV-O0FJq-ckLdJwxNMYcqzsx9OZFzoX20g4RSU0Br3ov2HGZRF/s4624/20230930_123454.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje37x9t-XABb3lweP-trgte1nw0ssu-W5Pcv0CBq4oANkt6yX85G5wTMOg3QAtx4BTJ72n0S2WLtSu8Ewhv0AFowVNPC1g1LyA50500jN84S4e0wrg7BbkqEZxI6lwXhw_U_urlxHddWDV-O0FJq-ckLdJwxNMYcqzsx9OZFzoX20g4RSU0Br3ov2HGZRF/s320/20230930_123454.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">After a long rest in the shade we ventured out into the afternoon sun to walk through Lambrinia to the highway bridge, the only way to cross the river Lambro.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPhpUdlg4RqxELhNxpPS7fFOPfEYDsV0vPrAkeZpUbw2D-SQ0Ozq1TyjvKz2WL94DMy8xmtOlAm5Ho81P13JQRn4ogCwvyNoSBSGJAVlU6x2nWYflwcsjL-e5CcY9wkJAnD4ACr1hWXxJ5-M17KPK6EqCfQ-QtYJ_ePM00GcrHcP9yLDulZ6QmD48ZXfy/s4624/20230930_134848.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPhpUdlg4RqxELhNxpPS7fFOPfEYDsV0vPrAkeZpUbw2D-SQ0Ozq1TyjvKz2WL94DMy8xmtOlAm5Ho81P13JQRn4ogCwvyNoSBSGJAVlU6x2nWYflwcsjL-e5CcY9wkJAnD4ACr1hWXxJ5-M17KPK6EqCfQ-QtYJ_ePM00GcrHcP9yLDulZ6QmD48ZXfy/s320/20230930_134848.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01pBovEja36Rp6zNiRdCR4LtPML8ge8vxMnwl-_hiu7qX230jnw3Xt9p70_-shTle5EfpSEvLPyDjJ_d9e2imlhX5eochtEVLG0JbRDnrC61xoLWP_GGsELD1hiljDYwW6SqKrEPI4zX0SrMvRSgA_yV83xPh6Rn3oV6BWHfUodYteJU3ebvJADU7RCPF/s4624/20230930_140510.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01pBovEja36Rp6zNiRdCR4LtPML8ge8vxMnwl-_hiu7qX230jnw3Xt9p70_-shTle5EfpSEvLPyDjJ_d9e2imlhX5eochtEVLG0JbRDnrC61xoLWP_GGsELD1hiljDYwW6SqKrEPI4zX0SrMvRSgA_yV83xPh6Rn3oV6BWHfUodYteJU3ebvJADU7RCPF/s320/20230930_140510.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Railway bridge over the Lambro, seen from the road bridge </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We walked on a footpath beside the highway, but on the safe side of the guardrail, and crossed the bridge on the sidewalk, then left the highway to pass underneath the railway bridge and walk along the top of a dyke through the fields, with the town of Orio Litta on our left and the Lambro river on our right, toward Corte Sant'Andrea, by the river Po. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZjqOFb1-tKNhG_Y3b2m7hZG9DYIPw0ofA8pBxHGEP8G5I4s2wbeMkgigR2MLcycMvSHZc3RDyw15KYdfbaQpGkZzUG2xymDQif2Fkz6ujEta2y0MKuSjpnOS6UH8z8GQgoAHwq2oMrJe1dyKFPvvGPsa9TNElUOzYP6RyvT9ZVi-C9X_xw1RPgNUykmA5/s4624/20230930_140658.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZjqOFb1-tKNhG_Y3b2m7hZG9DYIPw0ofA8pBxHGEP8G5I4s2wbeMkgigR2MLcycMvSHZc3RDyw15KYdfbaQpGkZzUG2xymDQif2Fkz6ujEta2y0MKuSjpnOS6UH8z8GQgoAHwq2oMrJe1dyKFPvvGPsa9TNElUOzYP6RyvT9ZVi-C9X_xw1RPgNUykmA5/s320/20230930_140658.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhputnj8Jnh0AROkLj5qtAOwyNdnaJOsio_IujLHbvwt4LRhlLK7I3_SAJ-E0xo9e3qk5pI-xfys9YqYpzEf94UzWJPgeFDue8SvtVNfeooAav5TJsz-KQe8JPeN8YI1VTUFM-hOncw0RnLwCwK3nFeqRgAwQq4B-P5Zj5L9_YS93292oU5-_1rY3OOBa0z/s1239/20230930_164848.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="931" data-original-width="1239" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhputnj8Jnh0AROkLj5qtAOwyNdnaJOsio_IujLHbvwt4LRhlLK7I3_SAJ-E0xo9e3qk5pI-xfys9YqYpzEf94UzWJPgeFDue8SvtVNfeooAav5TJsz-KQe8JPeN8YI1VTUFM-hOncw0RnLwCwK3nFeqRgAwQq4B-P5Zj5L9_YS93292oU5-_1rY3OOBa0z/s320/20230930_164848.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdMoU3aSOVURuy8HbZhkrdPFdu-hGbFMB9zLYwhEPI1-UYCFg1qITzrNw8096wnI3XKsup830E2oms1IAkhyc-Bkq2Ajlg75gpw1hht0H9grhfqYzlKb20_iAhJzSALHRK4Eb8r9INfKr4afj5Pd80p1shtH3fjEBtTCDN56YwYHRQCimIlC968rjdK2q/s4624/IMG_20230930_142929_674.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdMoU3aSOVURuy8HbZhkrdPFdu-hGbFMB9zLYwhEPI1-UYCFg1qITzrNw8096wnI3XKsup830E2oms1IAkhyc-Bkq2Ajlg75gpw1hht0H9grhfqYzlKb20_iAhJzSALHRK4Eb8r9INfKr4afj5Pd80p1shtH3fjEBtTCDN56YwYHRQCimIlC968rjdK2q/s320/IMG_20230930_142929_674.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7mdk79SN4eLKZU3K9oVSu035EBaKi3V_KSQ92I4yff4Z-nMEmQjOCnE3GBw-tqtb4nO4F8lE3A1wnOGxiOw7Y2gs3ZJTWtsHrQsWbpmH5Y-exlMwt0bhpA-6B2zwvr0GQIk00X7MDeJomydCG1-SPmYKIrp-TQTwzocxwwYB867lKvOz7RF8sBfQTiTl3/s4624/20230930_152132.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7mdk79SN4eLKZU3K9oVSu035EBaKi3V_KSQ92I4yff4Z-nMEmQjOCnE3GBw-tqtb4nO4F8lE3A1wnOGxiOw7Y2gs3ZJTWtsHrQsWbpmH5Y-exlMwt0bhpA-6B2zwvr0GQIk00X7MDeJomydCG1-SPmYKIrp-TQTwzocxwwYB867lKvOz7RF8sBfQTiTl3/s320/20230930_152132.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Corte Sant'Andrea is the historic location of the <i>Transitum Padi, </i>the only point at which the river Po can be forded. This meant that anyone travelling between Rome and northern Europe had to cross the river here: Roman legions, Hannibal and his elephants, Archbishops of Canterbury, merchants and pilgrims... Archbishop Sigeric recorded this as his 39th stop on his way back from Rome to Canterbury in 990, "<i>XXXIX Sce Andrea</i>". </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWO4jN_HVfeRosAfrOBFCfIunPrS3KXTZtPqX7HqGhWb1ZBfAHujVRHVhQfD9MWYDOvV-E0vnlByfzSwBTKmPW017MoXeQIAbaeGiP57ey4lKpRQAXbHfCTblZKDP0prZ-33MCMYSHYPG9F4xe4LcYyasdSE9iVHqpwDFK6Rp2twItlgAsMdSGIo2nWgxS/s4624/20230930_200524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWO4jN_HVfeRosAfrOBFCfIunPrS3KXTZtPqX7HqGhWb1ZBfAHujVRHVhQfD9MWYDOvV-E0vnlByfzSwBTKmPW017MoXeQIAbaeGiP57ey4lKpRQAXbHfCTblZKDP0prZ-33MCMYSHYPG9F4xe4LcYyasdSE9iVHqpwDFK6Rp2twItlgAsMdSGIo2nWgxS/s320/20230930_200524.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sigeric's record of his itinerary in 990</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAAGNQJH5weFq5S78U5fqb39tGOZS_lfWrym25eWO-F9_HdWn0Hcg9bwszPnJ780cKTwAggbSNSzxhdgy45TfJ58rkKUN2JbsRbgcHn9xXdjczT9Lmyru3Uf0phz002U9T5FtGxWnXVF7tI0RbMXhNmsLHdHv604uJGH0U3sA4QPveYuPfmiW1meItxC0/s4000/20230930_152435.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAAGNQJH5weFq5S78U5fqb39tGOZS_lfWrym25eWO-F9_HdWn0Hcg9bwszPnJ780cKTwAggbSNSzxhdgy45TfJ58rkKUN2JbsRbgcHn9xXdjczT9Lmyru3Uf0phz002U9T5FtGxWnXVF7tI0RbMXhNmsLHdHv604uJGH0U3sA4QPveYuPfmiW1meItxC0/s320/20230930_152435.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY533E5QLjmKGWcHnHaQ8K4k5KrI6CUNTGk6qKYrdGjpzKbRzrm9-Gxf3wOR6tDdlueT3WR3VdDiBT3Krc8Ai7xPaUDEEqQWggv79QvLCqOeT59Hi-2y9u9u_U0HlvEYVU1NApxqxRyoMYO91nQv9FCvhn-J07wjJLhyphenhyphen6RMEFtLzs6Xetj1CCAWTHcopF1/s4000/20230930_153330.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY533E5QLjmKGWcHnHaQ8K4k5KrI6CUNTGk6qKYrdGjpzKbRzrm9-Gxf3wOR6tDdlueT3WR3VdDiBT3Krc8Ai7xPaUDEEqQWggv79QvLCqOeT59Hi-2y9u9u_U0HlvEYVU1NApxqxRyoMYO91nQv9FCvhn-J07wjJLhyphenhyphen6RMEFtLzs6Xetj1CCAWTHcopF1/s320/20230930_153330.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Corte Sant'Andrea was once part of the territory of the abbey of Santa Cristina. It now has a population of ten, including a Knight Templar, Giovanni, who takes care, with his wife Caterina, of the pilgrim hostel behind the church, in what used to be the home of the parish priest. </div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFuqFO4VJ42h4xKrfdxud25BRTuu0_5HpxLk-gDCIWCDhedwoLsKkbHrktBJ-sKvULXrxi9A9Yu0vG6L7JlbTxI_5Sk4uEsSaRY8hj4fPv8WH2P-jPbi6aJWO52M9pa3wiKzZobsuFny0Y3IjxBfq1OIH_biv3yV0ck2xjpekwxdJanj64dL6UuxZofE7h/s4624/IMG_20230930_155906_132.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFuqFO4VJ42h4xKrfdxud25BRTuu0_5HpxLk-gDCIWCDhedwoLsKkbHrktBJ-sKvULXrxi9A9Yu0vG6L7JlbTxI_5Sk4uEsSaRY8hj4fPv8WH2P-jPbi6aJWO52M9pa3wiKzZobsuFny0Y3IjxBfq1OIH_biv3yV0ck2xjpekwxdJanj64dL6UuxZofE7h/s320/IMG_20230930_155906_132.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br style="text-align: left;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><br style="text-align: left;" /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKu6PE3X9FQaU0fwVsfohF46nCVTv9D8iGXIXkjGzJbN4QIOmpYQqn8J2DHpeEfBVw69EMiK-iBh2UgtGXv52Lc5zIjOgBE-FJxTT_Tx2Z9SajwOf7ID29clAHRo2wF85v1Kb4sVRRiOD15nJ0UmOhol_7jBp74RsIQw9fzCo7SKcMYo_oZMhQKEolcbHQ/s4624/20230930_154639.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKu6PE3X9FQaU0fwVsfohF46nCVTv9D8iGXIXkjGzJbN4QIOmpYQqn8J2DHpeEfBVw69EMiK-iBh2UgtGXv52Lc5zIjOgBE-FJxTT_Tx2Z9SajwOf7ID29clAHRo2wF85v1Kb4sVRRiOD15nJ0UmOhol_7jBp74RsIQw9fzCo7SKcMYo_oZMhQKEolcbHQ/s320/20230930_154639.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giovanni's sword</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qJmB6AxCRfU575W6rL2IRGHjzobDxJdXfyBPiBnH4wgSpk8yp7dImNYWi_MhRRuW88xF4qebZO-YiI5IFGBg8M25Kpn8Zj10THelAXTUVCy61tytC6-2RSW674goJpeDCveDDuAFhKSJpo-2OzHfHqB4XmJYFUSBDmiC_thks8hA68NJECK7XFtOlIiq/s4624/20230930_153453.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qJmB6AxCRfU575W6rL2IRGHjzobDxJdXfyBPiBnH4wgSpk8yp7dImNYWi_MhRRuW88xF4qebZO-YiI5IFGBg8M25Kpn8Zj10THelAXTUVCy61tytC6-2RSW674goJpeDCveDDuAFhKSJpo-2OzHfHqB4XmJYFUSBDmiC_thks8hA68NJECK7XFtOlIiq/s320/20230930_153453.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyD0eNtxN29netuLLDWoufizZEhH6obaGpVeWL7ux8S7mT_HX4EyS1iS2aiPC_XJAEh-hrKltUFFsBVD0I301PIvKbVUQIM0Ygqe9w48-4IBclnianSQ6Mcmcc5dhZlE5qxMFEIdR8kCa8R7gFi3sRbJcc7Oeu8PQVP-txpkgHgrL8Nq5p7rENS35gHjq/s4624/20230930_155121.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyD0eNtxN29netuLLDWoufizZEhH6obaGpVeWL7ux8S7mT_HX4EyS1iS2aiPC_XJAEh-hrKltUFFsBVD0I301PIvKbVUQIM0Ygqe9w48-4IBclnianSQ6Mcmcc5dhZlE5qxMFEIdR8kCa8R7gFi3sRbJcc7Oeu8PQVP-txpkgHgrL8Nq5p7rENS35gHjq/s320/20230930_155121.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKpjS1uHauTA7gxxjViJccwXbsAxqObvfzlgwCleFMbsM2j4B7uFScmh2gp9H3cveZ6Otq06BCH6RuRwex9ouNXdJuITFtG2EScw9iS-pxITj4PgktpdaRxlGa44VWoAiHDHvJZMQyggZftq0NkUkH_rL7JExWIWkf7Lnx3RaldYjSuPvR4LLPAnuMXV95/s4624/20230930_155847.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKpjS1uHauTA7gxxjViJccwXbsAxqObvfzlgwCleFMbsM2j4B7uFScmh2gp9H3cveZ6Otq06BCH6RuRwex9ouNXdJuITFtG2EScw9iS-pxITj4PgktpdaRxlGa44VWoAiHDHvJZMQyggZftq0NkUkH_rL7JExWIWkf7Lnx3RaldYjSuPvR4LLPAnuMXV95/s320/20230930_155847.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbG-FjGdP0qzZvv4ZaVaHHQs0sMxekztI-KMVh2Zc3LSdEcWppF7mV6JH-g4d5g78Bk-kd0szZhhewN5kmc52SK9_tOI8kIasfsJP1sMPtLF3nRJ2t7WObd8vDjxhYXc6SKzU5RjuLAG_rp9btkxwrkPcTIyz8vpxyFUsb_iuQ3MV1puZSnCV7Frt6i8PJ/s3613/20230930_154802.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3062" data-original-width="3613" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbG-FjGdP0qzZvv4ZaVaHHQs0sMxekztI-KMVh2Zc3LSdEcWppF7mV6JH-g4d5g78Bk-kd0szZhhewN5kmc52SK9_tOI8kIasfsJP1sMPtLF3nRJ2t7WObd8vDjxhYXc6SKzU5RjuLAG_rp9btkxwrkPcTIyz8vpxyFUsb_iuQ3MV1puZSnCV7Frt6i8PJ/s320/20230930_154802.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel, Eva, me & Mariella by the hostel laundry</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tomorrow morning at 9 the four of us have an appointment with Danilo, the legendary ferryman of the Via Francigena, who takes pilgrims to the other side of the Po - and into the region of Emilia Romagna!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSSCwEf44LW2ZCcIHPLUf-deEWmvjM4tvC7erStwXjQypmW6Wr7wWULc6mcPTT9TqOTSaQvpEC_Z8SSTuqOOp9OH-vAVUoleI5dlvlXm483WPH2EXU7GlLZ08ABWQe9maQebO7zQirTTT2AExXMOvkZ0EqNU4dZrbBVP6t7HOsW_EYRxTwgXFevHPke-e/s2400/Screenshot_20230930_155728_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSSCwEf44LW2ZCcIHPLUf-deEWmvjM4tvC7erStwXjQypmW6Wr7wWULc6mcPTT9TqOTSaQvpEC_Z8SSTuqOOp9OH-vAVUoleI5dlvlXm483WPH2EXU7GlLZ08ABWQe9maQebO7zQirTTT2AExXMOvkZ0EqNU4dZrbBVP6t7HOsW_EYRxTwgXFevHPke-e/s320/Screenshot_20230930_155728_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Santa Cristina - Corte Sant'Andrea 18.5 km</p>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-20808189482072548502023-09-29T19:32:00.012+02:002024-01-09T14:24:44.200+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 76: Pavia - Santa Cristina <p style="text-align: justify;"><i>And men go abroad to admire the heights of mountains, the mighty waves of the sea, the broad tides of rivers, the compass of the ocean, and the circuits of the stars, yet pass over the mystery of themselves without a thought.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">- St. Augustine of Hippo, <i>Confessions</i></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvF6XmMYvgsGQVEp3PYWH1lfBrvJHQUUKL0oGd5Cn-hIYd3fpfFGyzdl8hy-sdqtNz7Tl6Ozu8WJEtlK0Dp73zM7bD5kJGuCJ1aOKNJlfdlQjE00vybpY-YyB_wlT77fL6a2k8omrhyCT3659Ks5c-kw-R1AY2ONgHxZNMqUSoKt2kP_-au7R_yeFoPYf/s4000/20230929_074021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvF6XmMYvgsGQVEp3PYWH1lfBrvJHQUUKL0oGd5Cn-hIYd3fpfFGyzdl8hy-sdqtNz7Tl6Ozu8WJEtlK0Dp73zM7bD5kJGuCJ1aOKNJlfdlQjE00vybpY-YyB_wlT77fL6a2k8omrhyCT3659Ks5c-kw-R1AY2ONgHxZNMqUSoKt2kP_-au7R_yeFoPYf/s320/20230929_074021.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Saint Augustine died in 430 in his home diocese of Hippo Regius, and was buried in the cathedral there. According to the Venerable Bede, his body was removed to Cagliari in Sardinia by the Catholic bishops whom the Arian Vandal Huneric had expelled from north Africa. The saint's remains were "saved" from the Saracens in Sardinia by Peter, bishop of Pavia and uncle of the Lombard king Liutprand, and deposited in the church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in Pavia around the year 720.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p><span style="text-align: justify;"><b>San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro was commissioned by King Liutprand between 720 and 725 and rebuilt in Romanesque style in the years leading up to 1132. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLjHPkTY_v3GpCcMjQvjvMAk47TfVFbedNkJecf2X8GQtFFV6t9dfMG1MLPwTXF6SVJJrRsG0y_RK3EIaI8kV8QpMEGs-lxoCXQFIbgtWbTMNRjqg4WlFDC5IyjYJCddB_mkH2nN__cOUzooMCkApu0Sr2xpbiWh4atzd_a1xaZAvy_ZmKl6_MRZYw_-K/s4624/20230929_171129.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLjHPkTY_v3GpCcMjQvjvMAk47TfVFbedNkJecf2X8GQtFFV6t9dfMG1MLPwTXF6SVJJrRsG0y_RK3EIaI8kV8QpMEGs-lxoCXQFIbgtWbTMNRjqg4WlFDC5IyjYJCddB_mkH2nN__cOUzooMCkApu0Sr2xpbiWh4atzd_a1xaZAvy_ZmKl6_MRZYw_-K/s320/20230929_171129.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8AlVd_Ktgie5glDxNQoE8K6YLCPrLdl9c3wfRVnr0frI9t-GC5TnqvZhM5YuuxIrvMGmpYDwXtt_GppTwDqmgfEQr8W3NHTI4E2qxAhnFpIJEN2fjoeyKq64bDvYK6OgJoRs05aBz2pbw3QwwJAunKyQKM1siL6Eig2qfUqL4pCi8a8U2k03I9AJTx-z/s4624/20230929_171244.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8AlVd_Ktgie5glDxNQoE8K6YLCPrLdl9c3wfRVnr0frI9t-GC5TnqvZhM5YuuxIrvMGmpYDwXtt_GppTwDqmgfEQr8W3NHTI4E2qxAhnFpIJEN2fjoeyKq64bDvYK6OgJoRs05aBz2pbw3QwwJAunKyQKM1siL6Eig2qfUqL4pCi8a8U2k03I9AJTx-z/s320/20230929_171244.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fA1XxqVf3uFnYrXVXgOY-Drkx99hqHLl_dX5jiKWW4y7hmWV3ThSx9Q9RcprtPuER6diR0dppCElMqCAQYg8nDiidLfV46gYaWy63MnM1bKHITM_OSCnWbfPAM5NMGP0P18-5px7Gdd-GYShD1xinQl57yuw5NYNzqqyNYqIz2UZqXdfroACc7M8dOOO/s4624/20230929_171432.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fA1XxqVf3uFnYrXVXgOY-Drkx99hqHLl_dX5jiKWW4y7hmWV3ThSx9Q9RcprtPuER6diR0dppCElMqCAQYg8nDiidLfV46gYaWy63MnM1bKHITM_OSCnWbfPAM5NMGP0P18-5px7Gdd-GYShD1xinQl57yuw5NYNzqqyNYqIz2UZqXdfroACc7M8dOOO/s320/20230929_171432.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhY1TVJ2hCkTtDcfJToWyoK0SPV1YkLWP9qc_HCcxTLBIudF9-Ozv0OACiTTtZ9YD-n12JuIWQeBhQzIe2WitpN-pz4ANUc-zZyNqsrV5nhpfxvUxtwOZER6boF7ziVrz6UCDdcjDtRWfOMZZHODR4cyX2ks5Fqempgw9TCMDZSxqK2Z_YWpNsU6tQlhu2/s4624/20230929_171538.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhY1TVJ2hCkTtDcfJToWyoK0SPV1YkLWP9qc_HCcxTLBIudF9-Ozv0OACiTTtZ9YD-n12JuIWQeBhQzIe2WitpN-pz4ANUc-zZyNqsrV5nhpfxvUxtwOZER6boF7ziVrz6UCDdcjDtRWfOMZZHODR4cyX2ks5Fqempgw9TCMDZSxqK2Z_YWpNsU6tQlhu2/s320/20230929_171538.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">King Liutprand himself is buried in the church, along with two very influential philosophers of the Christian tradition: Boethius, the author of The Consolation of Philosophy, and Saint Augustine of Hippo, whose writing revolutionised the interpretation and understanding of Christian scripture. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97HnOieNJb89oIa25xtpy95UYYeOeJnxM4RqFJvRcdRTfGms8A-tf-uQ8wVtPgcBGJCltNrEIF24G1PL6w6qXWj_ktZcfQdxTvJkC-nHUzEVHtTn279v5whm5EXoR58Svm-McLvsD3sI5ezH0XaEkQO6Hx0sRps8OYZycwqGuPDe7LTD_FAvZe0rvtYhv/s4624/20230929_171630.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97HnOieNJb89oIa25xtpy95UYYeOeJnxM4RqFJvRcdRTfGms8A-tf-uQ8wVtPgcBGJCltNrEIF24G1PL6w6qXWj_ktZcfQdxTvJkC-nHUzEVHtTn279v5whm5EXoR58Svm-McLvsD3sI5ezH0XaEkQO6Hx0sRps8OYZycwqGuPDe7LTD_FAvZe0rvtYhv/s320/20230929_171630.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The marble box that once contained Saint Augustine's bones <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Saint Augustine's remains were somehow misplaced, but rediscovered by illiterate stonemasons working on the floor of the church in 1695, who lifted a paving block and discovered a marble box underneath it, containing other boxes, one of which contained fragments of wood, bones and glass vials. These were proclaimed to be the remains of Saint Augustine; whether they actually were or not was controversial, until Pope Benedict the 13th proclaimed their authenticity in 1728, putting an end to all debate on the matter. The Ark of Saint Augustine was erected over the high altar to give the saint a more dignified resting place: a masterpiece of 14th-century Lombard sculpture, decorated with 95 statues and 50 bas-reliefs illustrating the theological, cardinal and monastic virtues, as well as a number of episodes from the life of Saint Augustine. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisaiYguBLqDYcDDhA41Q6FAphNBCLG4VYnDZ4S27zk1Hy4czpDoTj_k_bkHlcoiM7Z333GcmRXvufqR6MizwP4hrBS6TOBYR-wnrEgeaXVLturBmE9K-io4GkSjvV4bvPZntNBqomfST6ErFtuaFkzDz7uefbW9cPF1LWiE3Ml8kYZRRXBG9taqL-wXYS-/s4624/20230929_172713.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisaiYguBLqDYcDDhA41Q6FAphNBCLG4VYnDZ4S27zk1Hy4czpDoTj_k_bkHlcoiM7Z333GcmRXvufqR6MizwP4hrBS6TOBYR-wnrEgeaXVLturBmE9K-io4GkSjvV4bvPZntNBqomfST6ErFtuaFkzDz7uefbW9cPF1LWiE3Ml8kYZRRXBG9taqL-wXYS-/s320/20230929_172713.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTtKeQVaOCJIVZ99RvzaqvpoiijKC_j1Rf1mQ6d116ikAKnwc1bYm-uZKySZhISIoJWvXzwRZ_lRvj_eQwQqqJ4nR8T9llcCRiJ6t5zzUGlOw-GsYwnQW2Yzum5G6O-ph69qg7xfQX6zthirinbOYOx1hkCBrX5GNoHak0AlH2A5HXuNU8QdZqTC3_UVb/s4624/20230929_172644.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTtKeQVaOCJIVZ99RvzaqvpoiijKC_j1Rf1mQ6d116ikAKnwc1bYm-uZKySZhISIoJWvXzwRZ_lRvj_eQwQqqJ4nR8T9llcCRiJ6t5zzUGlOw-GsYwnQW2Yzum5G6O-ph69qg7xfQX6zthirinbOYOx1hkCBrX5GNoHak0AlH2A5HXuNU8QdZqTC3_UVb/s320/20230929_172644.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Pavia to Santa Cristina </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In presenting the church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro first, I am proceeding in geographical rather than chronological order: we actually went there in the evening. In the morning, we breakfasted in the hostel kitchen and then proceeded back across the covered bridge we had crossed at sunset the evening before, this time watching the sun rise.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVd9QqPWJ2cemSkucTbmXhE-RkFFmVFUANKFhbBc1emiVydp-8tbAutEKs4JC3C975-Dqe0cVtymoaMuKBbUR5cQoggHmrcuX1Gv86htwEWQ4Uwx4kMdHShVcbZQS42XXekTnTBgDSESM4X89I24-aaQOg-vdqdHtisGM1DdX68VdaEF-v9MX0SymNyyC/s4624/20230929_073912.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVd9QqPWJ2cemSkucTbmXhE-RkFFmVFUANKFhbBc1emiVydp-8tbAutEKs4JC3C975-Dqe0cVtymoaMuKBbUR5cQoggHmrcuX1Gv86htwEWQ4Uwx4kMdHShVcbZQS42XXekTnTBgDSESM4X89I24-aaQOg-vdqdHtisGM1DdX68VdaEF-v9MX0SymNyyC/s320/20230929_073912.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2383Yj9o6X9Un1hlSZLYoC0A2TkT98riBon3lD8h4oiuqUhdruR45q_yVAIq88sVfcHVHznX6zGJmlWnTGCO3XkiTiwsiH1y46rdlQFjZd7u_4aR-TbngMp-CxctcYpZ3vF1q00iO6vzXvfXnKYIHgvj4Te3DmXsunrBHWqXN5EvOrB-lGF-e275bpW2v/s4624/20230929_084723.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2383Yj9o6X9Un1hlSZLYoC0A2TkT98riBon3lD8h4oiuqUhdruR45q_yVAIq88sVfcHVHznX6zGJmlWnTGCO3XkiTiwsiH1y46rdlQFjZd7u_4aR-TbngMp-CxctcYpZ3vF1q00iO6vzXvfXnKYIHgvj4Te3DmXsunrBHWqXN5EvOrB-lGF-e275bpW2v/s320/20230929_084723.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Park on the way out of Pavia</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWnUr2e56k3SQ1-i7Ktmao7VjcySBrVmUDUKcrJzDIB70RNw5ortVS_YLo6xD3NU4U4MOYTeggOmQoo89kRh9cJ9t7zJ27C62Q96PKfNPsnXskHnvTMsTGMbf5YYvq0kHJsGw2DVeMnXAz2zwAiuoMd8gH0j6BAGe-xKRwGFCoIY4hCB5MexGLvMCqd-Z/s2040/IMG-20230929-WA0010.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="1530" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWnUr2e56k3SQ1-i7Ktmao7VjcySBrVmUDUKcrJzDIB70RNw5ortVS_YLo6xD3NU4U4MOYTeggOmQoo89kRh9cJ9t7zJ27C62Q96PKfNPsnXskHnvTMsTGMbf5YYvq0kHJsGw2DVeMnXAz2zwAiuoMd8gH0j6BAGe-xKRwGFCoIY4hCB5MexGLvMCqd-Z/s320/IMG-20230929-WA0010.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In his guidebook, Sandy Brown describes the exit from the city of Pavia as "hectic", and it certainly is between 7:30 and 8 o'clock on a school day morning! We made our way through crowds of students occupying 90% of the available sidewalk space right through the city centre and through the eastern subarbs, walking toward the newly risen sun.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Finally out of the city, we walked on the edge of a quiet paved road, and crossed a busy highway at a roundabout where I put on my fluorescent yellow buff and the flashing lights I bought at the Lidl in Santhià. But the crossing was actually pretty quiet as there was not much traffic. We soon arrived in the village of San Leonardo, where we stopped for a short break outside the church.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fHY5Lqy5YunHRA5ZIVfed88O2J8t-nUT5y30yGsDr2KOkV5KMUi5LJ7UlReZXGLTXv9kAyGvS5OQ6D6tPzFKp06b5L007i0NtQKDOTR18man4AcWazGNLihS8gzQhkZLRM3t9zLjFuwXc6fTswNIMk9g2WdG8na2vwaXp3pj3RcQs1X9IB6hO_zDzEov/s4000/20230929_092928.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fHY5Lqy5YunHRA5ZIVfed88O2J8t-nUT5y30yGsDr2KOkV5KMUi5LJ7UlReZXGLTXv9kAyGvS5OQ6D6tPzFKp06b5L007i0NtQKDOTR18man4AcWazGNLihS8gzQhkZLRM3t9zLjFuwXc6fTswNIMk9g2WdG8na2vwaXp3pj3RcQs1X9IB6hO_zDzEov/s320/20230929_092928.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">Just after San Leonardo the road we were walking on was closed for roadworks, but we were told we could go through on foot, and it was actually better for us because there was no traffic on the road! We followed the same road through Ospedaletto, and then took a shortcut on a gravel road to Santa Margherita, just outside Belgioioso. We missed the pilgrimage church of San Giacomo and walked past a stinky factory, but otherwise the shortcut was fine.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">At the rest area in Santa Margherita - which, pilgrims take note, has not only a fountain and a picnic table in the shade but a solar-powered outlet for recharging your phone - we decided not to stop in nearby Belgioioso as originally planned but continue a dozen kilometres further to Santa Cristina. We adjusted our plan for the next few days and made a few phone calls to arrange accommodations. Then we carried on in the afternoon sun, on a dusty road around a sand quarry, over a canal at the locks, and then along a gravel road between fields of corn and soy to Santa Cristina. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwF_YqJPdza2IjkKYK_yfRzlwpefPZ2cjQeMnJ3nOINsOOiy4r8YOCn63fzL8h3HcDxKL8F6yu_-5KPITzDSF5y8kHFjmRP__BUPo8KyDE8CDDvCNUiCvOsOVpl3_wFfxvDiogdnT__5Ug1CJ4n7r9gXZFjM1hUbLADi7oCsU2VzmOSDIrlS-Ymm-S_Q08/s4624/20230929_105344.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwF_YqJPdza2IjkKYK_yfRzlwpefPZ2cjQeMnJ3nOINsOOiy4r8YOCn63fzL8h3HcDxKL8F6yu_-5KPITzDSF5y8kHFjmRP__BUPo8KyDE8CDDvCNUiCvOsOVpl3_wFfxvDiogdnT__5Ug1CJ4n7r9gXZFjM1hUbLADi7oCsU2VzmOSDIrlS-Ymm-S_Q08/s320/20230929_105344.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNTDU0b2FiwTLsFzTwCz77C7w3rHDT8GuzoG-yTpQ70tq3MShLZrxpdhW3QbqmfpdLDmF-JjRca4EQlenyeOEGSm7AY8kEJbZ1tl6pPiElr5ocDkwG0HABWG7d6WPj90Q3bLTZRqWoFnmSQSi1EUoGMTUwpVPqh4FXcxIBWej5CUHEuGj9K7fh8mzJ9uD/s4624/20230929_111056.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNTDU0b2FiwTLsFzTwCz77C7w3rHDT8GuzoG-yTpQ70tq3MShLZrxpdhW3QbqmfpdLDmF-JjRca4EQlenyeOEGSm7AY8kEJbZ1tl6pPiElr5ocDkwG0HABWG7d6WPj90Q3bLTZRqWoFnmSQSi1EUoGMTUwpVPqh4FXcxIBWej5CUHEuGj9K7fh8mzJ9uD/s320/20230929_111056.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luxury rest area!</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBCYPB8lv0rf0xFqFGFqY_TahehaosaNgmwAGBrxzZ3yBdOI4ZtT2fYXaQreAKY5eCtFV29zEU1GuxZw5RSlD9pDxx4Io48iYQZX1BOC4oQxNZ74IjBIfdy-ffM3cpUMjusnh43UBHqTptdKdj_2FVIz91czsDz_ku9dX6mLavCTWPUW0DEOIFlzjxb9O/s4000/20230929_115852.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBCYPB8lv0rf0xFqFGFqY_TahehaosaNgmwAGBrxzZ3yBdOI4ZtT2fYXaQreAKY5eCtFV29zEU1GuxZw5RSlD9pDxx4Io48iYQZX1BOC4oQxNZ74IjBIfdy-ffM3cpUMjusnh43UBHqTptdKdj_2FVIz91czsDz_ku9dX6mLavCTWPUW0DEOIFlzjxb9O/s320/20230929_115852.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colourful Belgioioso </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxM52t91OdzNChzbDWqoyFeRvvQvV0FKGgIo10b-oQES0Jl3mVey_e7VuQIE4QVJkFRHHsTbYL2Eqe3u_yVqVCYdiDlDm6JD8-w7_-X8W1hR11e8Wc2gcjWzBv7H6TPJEm9ZBFw6qnkqP3t5zT6SMOCrVBfq0Gvb02C9dLYFAhJ7tUyu161a4unbF0CWdP/s4624/20230929_120521.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxM52t91OdzNChzbDWqoyFeRvvQvV0FKGgIo10b-oQES0Jl3mVey_e7VuQIE4QVJkFRHHsTbYL2Eqe3u_yVqVCYdiDlDm6JD8-w7_-X8W1hR11e8Wc2gcjWzBv7H6TPJEm9ZBFw6qnkqP3t5zT6SMOCrVBfq0Gvb02C9dLYFAhJ7tUyu161a4unbF0CWdP/s320/20230929_120521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcaeoBX78jF9sRca9KZt9CKNplI5uti9Fi8dmgV2uGxYN8xpjnpqICNZYer3vKcN767JF7KQl-5500cX-K1DO4rSWlmqL6nH7Ev7XpM0yvw9b3zqtzpg9Te0b76N14k777vcCCgcB7J8w6P3FL_9PkQCXfdki9J0S_pRZVO-jyDyQjDhUSFOZDRrKdAt7v/s4624/20230929_120536.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcaeoBX78jF9sRca9KZt9CKNplI5uti9Fi8dmgV2uGxYN8xpjnpqICNZYer3vKcN767JF7KQl-5500cX-K1DO4rSWlmqL6nH7Ev7XpM0yvw9b3zqtzpg9Te0b76N14k777vcCCgcB7J8w6P3FL_9PkQCXfdki9J0S_pRZVO-jyDyQjDhUSFOZDRrKdAt7v/s320/20230929_120536.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUBQ97Yqd3vsxEu_f-X_hcpSlA6-2EkFK0jc04slxYjO3NnAxtFD1r2YplfiQ8X8ExDDhsp8lNviaHqmRXseq9Q-l2wQD2oWdEGKPxCxub6bNKV4EWqujKrmcGqZGhAAIJvqeHtnrsmsmIxVtz_WF_kTayTCcjPiadv7aCquy-SZPrRl_K8jkaeV9V8gn/s4624/20230929_122649.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUBQ97Yqd3vsxEu_f-X_hcpSlA6-2EkFK0jc04slxYjO3NnAxtFD1r2YplfiQ8X8ExDDhsp8lNviaHqmRXseq9Q-l2wQD2oWdEGKPxCxub6bNKV4EWqujKrmcGqZGhAAIJvqeHtnrsmsmIxVtz_WF_kTayTCcjPiadv7aCquy-SZPrRl_K8jkaeV9V8gn/s320/20230929_122649.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are plenty of fountains on the trail around Pavia</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OOk_wE8LeSWcY7afJEp4oPKbHiumbZL1qpAs9bsa1HHrqn9HUo-BvKUBMt2aWeQ4ghmsuhQfHJ1JXsFB8loP4U2DYnSAMl5eaBzEBJRri1aB32srwSby1c2yJaEkOiY6FP2LTLTvzptNj-g82UjBAotxYaW_TvdFQEJlK5W16hE7Wl0HW0sW65DhSzFZ/s4624/20230929_122847.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OOk_wE8LeSWcY7afJEp4oPKbHiumbZL1qpAs9bsa1HHrqn9HUo-BvKUBMt2aWeQ4ghmsuhQfHJ1JXsFB8loP4U2DYnSAMl5eaBzEBJRri1aB32srwSby1c2yJaEkOiY6FP2LTLTvzptNj-g82UjBAotxYaW_TvdFQEJlK5W16hE7Wl0HW0sW65DhSzFZ/s320/20230929_122847.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitsch house in Torre de' Negri</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguLwIniEqM8tUecoj2zDQfMQ8cx32eThLlqFbDwvP8S0ZuI80cyAZ2gVKREwdlD3IhMoQMtyb6ZusWS1_vMg__77ZtUxkXf8yccIHPjFLCjJTM1l7jomVrPKqGs_cRo-R5qcKpGZ7bziKObAqjT-p9RiuCdxb-3s_FwcwiR6H7AZhc29loc10Ef1_4Fsrq/s4624/20230929_140850.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguLwIniEqM8tUecoj2zDQfMQ8cx32eThLlqFbDwvP8S0ZuI80cyAZ2gVKREwdlD3IhMoQMtyb6ZusWS1_vMg__77ZtUxkXf8yccIHPjFLCjJTM1l7jomVrPKqGs_cRo-R5qcKpGZ7bziKObAqjT-p9RiuCdxb-3s_FwcwiR6H7AZhc29loc10Ef1_4Fsrq/s320/20230929_140850.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The quarry</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRxWxSkCmSWw4e_8ExHVlleMD9RqtS7h1DmPNVMxdjeVQBhLDj6_N5FNtASJUD8gdS2cL4QqXlBY2ZIf2nKBtELD-3xpH3VqcXRtXQjSam0pFNFU7fpRYkzEXTKlvZlKg0StPHs-PxHWJheyF2NrFqgmKQrcwFMhIx7aQR9rr0JTtNXHa_MtSpZNa_BJ4/s4624/20230929_142934.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRxWxSkCmSWw4e_8ExHVlleMD9RqtS7h1DmPNVMxdjeVQBhLDj6_N5FNtASJUD8gdS2cL4QqXlBY2ZIf2nKBtELD-3xpH3VqcXRtXQjSam0pFNFU7fpRYkzEXTKlvZlKg0StPHs-PxHWJheyF2NrFqgmKQrcwFMhIx7aQR9rr0JTtNXHa_MtSpZNa_BJ4/s320/20230929_142934.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The locks</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8osWZUkxx6vKNLZ9mFGFOfsMfaUxJYCrrB8SwppXF0YoHCQ97MKFy2mqfm13o-fwsp340d86PgcqDR1WwmVUIQTglxsmOZ4VQnCOMfyOOBs54VmaI30jMZN69UsUh7OV4s-kX-e4AuxIsSrcdZyZb0UWKxEZYk9qEcL8S6if8rJWF9mmxl5brU3C_poj/s4624/20230929_151146.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8osWZUkxx6vKNLZ9mFGFOfsMfaUxJYCrrB8SwppXF0YoHCQ97MKFy2mqfm13o-fwsp340d86PgcqDR1WwmVUIQTglxsmOZ4VQnCOMfyOOBs54VmaI30jMZN69UsUh7OV4s-kX-e4AuxIsSrcdZyZb0UWKxEZYk9qEcL8S6if8rJWF9mmxl5brU3C_poj/s320/20230929_151146.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fields</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCf7Nki6WtUV6AW4A2Ran3nse37DDOGY-xjYxw_DLoBeHaZgea9sjQBgJUsGN0mRWOfd4UyFb4c13R0UPRkVCKQvhNcIrrJHeOG6PvgLlLNSJ88n0_x-oJJPvqLL9c_LF1TGrezcwQwBx9jpqhlYNA4eFOEWcExN8FwV6Xf5C5jD4apcmUWmyEqm3wAVv/s4000/20230929_151934.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCf7Nki6WtUV6AW4A2Ran3nse37DDOGY-xjYxw_DLoBeHaZgea9sjQBgJUsGN0mRWOfd4UyFb4c13R0UPRkVCKQvhNcIrrJHeOG6PvgLlLNSJ88n0_x-oJJPvqLL9c_LF1TGrezcwQwBx9jpqhlYNA4eFOEWcExN8FwV6Xf5C5jD4apcmUWmyEqm3wAVv/s320/20230929_151934.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pilgrim</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOFlBMWW_fvZeR8GjkxaqKwnzj_GHJ3EamjwNd23oNw8QU4cGi3uXYXk5A18o0ejvD_s8Yu-RENdnSWMY2wabG6sAwknrVNE-tv4T3ll917bJus0XroKiTSKHh1N3GfRLP2_gwuC4tYf9bZt3RM6tX3tNIaR-KeuhVzPmKqwXK8MvMzNGJekSAt_ZhcAqn/s4624/20230929_153841.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOFlBMWW_fvZeR8GjkxaqKwnzj_GHJ3EamjwNd23oNw8QU4cGi3uXYXk5A18o0ejvD_s8Yu-RENdnSWMY2wabG6sAwknrVNE-tv4T3ll917bJus0XroKiTSKHh1N3GfRLP2_gwuC4tYf9bZt3RM6tX3tNIaR-KeuhVzPmKqwXK8MvMzNGJekSAt_ZhcAqn/s320/20230929_153841.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The goat </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1FIOVVpZSPOn3YlDAiLktghyphenhyphenzAFntg6kthY3s3BOMqabNGGRmwbzZvVuyd6JrmvM3itjhNpu0eqE9eM-kmvpLOBNaQWHjNI3BP_k9MVfTMRm_pXfgQ0ZKQgHEFkECiombxd_Dvc0yiKq9S7TMpkZ0eRR-MFVwUx7GKJpAeRPZWaG22AT6rv5rKo2wm-R/s4624/20230929_161029.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1FIOVVpZSPOn3YlDAiLktghyphenhyphenzAFntg6kthY3s3BOMqabNGGRmwbzZvVuyd6JrmvM3itjhNpu0eqE9eM-kmvpLOBNaQWHjNI3BP_k9MVfTMRm_pXfgQ0ZKQgHEFkECiombxd_Dvc0yiKq9S7TMpkZ0eRR-MFVwUx7GKJpAeRPZWaG22AT6rv5rKo2wm-R/s320/20230929_161029.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The train station</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZy3RqZ4NMdC7LO5KhHPAAHYJ41ogFAyK0YoZFw79YA2wpNjql3MMAIkujJTZn9j0u7dmcUL9DagtID0_l5ZyyY2A9psDW_PiXJ3xSLShj9hcjzVKZOfFHlY1Py2hsNW3q6tguzfz0v8S739wJhml4VoM1WJocQHFLOaZjpMm-cM0FhY1zRgYlOXno_5Cz/s4624/20230929_161952.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZy3RqZ4NMdC7LO5KhHPAAHYJ41ogFAyK0YoZFw79YA2wpNjql3MMAIkujJTZn9j0u7dmcUL9DagtID0_l5ZyyY2A9psDW_PiXJ3xSLShj9hcjzVKZOfFHlY1Py2hsNW3q6tguzfz0v8S739wJhml4VoM1WJocQHFLOaZjpMm-cM0FhY1zRgYlOXno_5Cz/s320/20230929_161952.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The train</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The train??</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yes, because the pilgrim hostel in Santa Cristina is closed - sadly because of a "false pilgrim" who was actually a thief. So we were told by the parish priest who stamped our pilgrim passports. We had heard from other walkers that it was closed and so we had asked the nuns in Pavia if we could stay two nights. They agreed and we left our backpacks with them, taking only a small day pack with lunch, sunhat and water. That was why we were able to walk a grand total of 30 kilometres in one day, and still have enough energy left to walk from the train station to the church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro - on the opposite side of town - then back to our hostel in Borgo Ticino for the evening !</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For tonight the nuns have moved us out of the dormitory, which is all booked up, and into a private room with two beds and its own sink, and it is much better than the crowded dorm. If you are travelling with a friend, I would definitely recommend paying the extra five euros for a double room, especially if you happen to come by at the start of the academic year, when the hostel is full of displaced teachers and university students! You can spread your stuff around at will - last night I was in a top bunk and had nowhere to put my things - and you can even wash your socks out in your own room and hang them over the radiator to dry, instead of going down the stairs to the fountain and drying racks in the courtyard ! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">After showering and washing our socks we decided to check out a nearby restaurant that offers a special deal for guests of the hostel, and it definitely was a good deal: we had risotto with artichokes and shrimp, followed by octopus with potatoes and salad, with a small jug of house wine - all for 12 euros!</p><div style="text-align: justify;">After 30 kilometres in the sun and a big meal we should definitely sleep well and get our money's worth for the extra five euros we spent on our luxurious private room! 😄</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEMShP3_FNQ11AeYZ6g60v2Ck5zgmEA1xJYw77vkoJtLaDco7Q1F33uDRHaGBtt4OjhRREkiiz36ncJEdeNma5C5JQbOEBnKhZAYGBhBIVLoBjrnJfjdm1f8INtqoZfBT0JisSC8gd86hUXGK5TEIrLnKPIkXP4HjMuEmV1-Y_cljASqx9Cqie1p4y-8eT/s4624/20230929_193549.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEMShP3_FNQ11AeYZ6g60v2Ck5zgmEA1xJYw77vkoJtLaDco7Q1F33uDRHaGBtt4OjhRREkiiz36ncJEdeNma5C5JQbOEBnKhZAYGBhBIVLoBjrnJfjdm1f8INtqoZfBT0JisSC8gd86hUXGK5TEIrLnKPIkXP4HjMuEmV1-Y_cljASqx9Cqie1p4y-8eT/s320/20230929_193549.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>Today's accommodation: Ostello Santa Maria in Betlem </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWb590tb1KdStxsBLo9ZQInqQnqcPS6AyIu8flcWP-MXPOuqxtTugXGbhw8FDdWYI4aTDPbMFu8S2UvTDeDwHbcHSMp3ds2vWio0ZakyEjQC-QQBK2aSKQtCiEIcHewrTG0JKg5i46mhLb25nmjQMivSiL_cDWtBjWVkjqBGbnczmgEu0pP-6a9XiAtBEa/s2400/Screenshot_20230929_162245_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWb590tb1KdStxsBLo9ZQInqQnqcPS6AyIu8flcWP-MXPOuqxtTugXGbhw8FDdWYI4aTDPbMFu8S2UvTDeDwHbcHSMp3ds2vWio0ZakyEjQC-QQBK2aSKQtCiEIcHewrTG0JKg5i46mhLb25nmjQMivSiL_cDWtBjWVkjqBGbnczmgEu0pP-6a9XiAtBEa/s320/Screenshot_20230929_162245_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJFuc9W1YBZVMDsVn-H8wYyu3UuA7NcfSH7FflxqbhyfQWB7acN_ZwhMtw2s4Q0VFYDoOzpMAHbxXLa0zF5fPXQtLP64LO516sppKgf98HOkg4Y4iUL3ARw68wbXNFTISPV4wzMf5Gdh1F1vvivl0XQExaB0Dz4FAHntWiyChU1B3lkXJR-RtqokoypFP/s2400/Screenshot_20230929_162345_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJFuc9W1YBZVMDsVn-H8wYyu3UuA7NcfSH7FflxqbhyfQWB7acN_ZwhMtw2s4Q0VFYDoOzpMAHbxXLa0zF5fPXQtLP64LO516sppKgf98HOkg4Y4iUL3ARw68wbXNFTISPV4wzMf5Gdh1F1vvivl0XQExaB0Dz4FAHntWiyChU1B3lkXJR-RtqokoypFP/s320/Screenshot_20230929_162345_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Pavia - Santa Cristina 30 km</p>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-71908972817714055502023-09-28T20:30:00.008+02:002024-03-07T16:06:49.386+01:00Road to Home Day 75: Garlasco - Pavia<div style="text-align: left;"><i>Pavia vermiglia, ecco la strada, persa<br /></i><i>a' tuoi confini in un silenzio duro,<br /></i><i>Che più risponde a mio tormento<br /></i><i>di fuga, il mio desio di lontananza.</i></div><p class="MsoNormal">- Ada Negri, poetess of Pavia (1870 - 1945)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Today's stage brought us to one of the biggest and most beautiful cities on the Via Francigena: Pavia!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxNaTcsS0olD65iO8_yWAt9E8NyLNhRt4pLG6_maeY5SEaLYcxdnKImH6S5B0pYNRbYOmDeWGgj-SnyDk1qoxv9uis3YBPgEqP5VJ4ypP-yOu8BosF5MGmidEtaRRxbGvx2TTAJZIehmezSZn9Z12QXKB9iBEnXfKBZ7XF4G8KCSsk9MWaw_dyvDQutjg/s4624/20230928_083523.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxNaTcsS0olD65iO8_yWAt9E8NyLNhRt4pLG6_maeY5SEaLYcxdnKImH6S5B0pYNRbYOmDeWGgj-SnyDk1qoxv9uis3YBPgEqP5VJ4ypP-yOu8BosF5MGmidEtaRRxbGvx2TTAJZIehmezSZn9Z12QXKB9iBEnXfKBZ7XF4G8KCSsk9MWaw_dyvDQutjg/s320/20230928_083523.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">A grassy path beside an irrigation canal took us from Cascina Toledina, just outside Garlasco, to Gropello Cairoli, by way of a very impressive cemetery which, from the outside, looked like some sort of exotic caravanserai!</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQ1vg1gCMusE0z5dJ82lQs8h-b5aMkWig_6LEir2wIDBhpGKlFm0cnO90_tc1xBy9KFl9hEPkQqxSNjsvB74Z3PV_yppCXo_p5pgOnD3NfqiSmevkOrhEgj7Jt3O-qRiMv4gzhX5zE4DHI-pVscIl0vohbe7hyphenhyphen1Aa6g5TWheG6QoKGi6YK7_eYA9S4zAH/s4624/20230928_090022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQ1vg1gCMusE0z5dJ82lQs8h-b5aMkWig_6LEir2wIDBhpGKlFm0cnO90_tc1xBy9KFl9hEPkQqxSNjsvB74Z3PV_yppCXo_p5pgOnD3NfqiSmevkOrhEgj7Jt3O-qRiMv4gzhX5zE4DHI-pVscIl0vohbe7hyphenhyphen1Aa6g5TWheG6QoKGi6YK7_eYA9S4zAH/s320/20230928_090022.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">We crossed the Canale Cavour and found ourselves in Gropello, where we stopped only long enough to visit the churches of San Giorgio Martire and San Rocco.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNC_3ZGH31UOiS2BpaAqZnXPRzh-31MAj86PXKXKFHnjzVd-CeOvVSzrDh2ue7l-k2HnJGvhyRTaofdZ8Uvilt_Bc8OenByy1X7d_f2DYU8T4nPkY-Gl-GEuim8SdBvZI7YtthTvwWvP4Y6G38Vst8ygR4pNtSe6BABmTP3kDBaMJOPy-iZtevUOE6Na8/s1600/IMG-20230928-WA0003.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNC_3ZGH31UOiS2BpaAqZnXPRzh-31MAj86PXKXKFHnjzVd-CeOvVSzrDh2ue7l-k2HnJGvhyRTaofdZ8Uvilt_Bc8OenByy1X7d_f2DYU8T4nPkY-Gl-GEuim8SdBvZI7YtthTvwWvP4Y6G38Vst8ygR4pNtSe6BABmTP3kDBaMJOPy-iZtevUOE6Na8/s320/IMG-20230928-WA0003.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkjYeXcL7Asex2kq2HcWCAG1HA5zIYXOuRbTFtiUWZDAgZvQuuuL46WsILVJZHvjJG75FADYSUJq-4o7gzOQY3HQi6R1ojHjyLJY8Dap3ptxM6ZFnZ8igo17Z_f3IlFbcBnGQmp552N_RrdcBcpTOhNv2dqO6aXzmZeAiljAnALarZsPOQRsvbPfgmerEt/s4624/20230928_090925.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkjYeXcL7Asex2kq2HcWCAG1HA5zIYXOuRbTFtiUWZDAgZvQuuuL46WsILVJZHvjJG75FADYSUJq-4o7gzOQY3HQi6R1ojHjyLJY8Dap3ptxM6ZFnZ8igo17Z_f3IlFbcBnGQmp552N_RrdcBcpTOhNv2dqO6aXzmZeAiljAnALarZsPOQRsvbPfgmerEt/s320/20230928_090925.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyq3lN2SIgDaplh-z8FMa5l5l_dn6t9g9_ul-l5Je-G8ge3-wp_INyZ9JEqup56lPWcziL7aevEvAm5lHpq9vUwW69VsEK0xUbpcu6_QDsG8cj_bZ9nwyJw_2vz02WwQh0WaSwoNVaWsYrX31Q1MgdkGj1QPIMXoNGDqu2NsBVJ5VIad0ZRnI_JOqc9pL-/s4000/20230928_091600.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyq3lN2SIgDaplh-z8FMa5l5l_dn6t9g9_ul-l5Je-G8ge3-wp_INyZ9JEqup56lPWcziL7aevEvAm5lHpq9vUwW69VsEK0xUbpcu6_QDsG8cj_bZ9nwyJw_2vz02WwQh0WaSwoNVaWsYrX31Q1MgdkGj1QPIMXoNGDqu2NsBVJ5VIad0ZRnI_JOqc9pL-/s320/20230928_091600.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0htT_8NK6LDJjianIKYuv-YLhoc1-kYAv81ViKETq9mu3y56Dyi8BJ6bPbElTl8Q68rCSC_NK8yJKb_jb-XASLj5wVWzm5rCRyCdlUpLO75HIBQuQfs77COa9HzPtOLrg1sW_JXKnmvj4Dr1UUDv3d-drBZ-2TerSvcwfxjiYbKXIFzo938unqB7DLoSB/s4624/20230928_092819.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0htT_8NK6LDJjianIKYuv-YLhoc1-kYAv81ViKETq9mu3y56Dyi8BJ6bPbElTl8Q68rCSC_NK8yJKb_jb-XASLj5wVWzm5rCRyCdlUpLO75HIBQuQfs77COa9HzPtOLrg1sW_JXKnmvj4Dr1UUDv3d-drBZ-2TerSvcwfxjiYbKXIFzo938unqB7DLoSB/s320/20230928_092819.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9zhNEt22LMY2KTCDjgBjBrqAGSo8h7zSoRWZTokieziiE0laL5JkC4bqFSQE60lWMAI65u-kv-sGIKYXPYOut2Q7zH115yTz5P0A0KEmGeQHDpemGNdBgGKFkIXlVf1FXCRzh9kuyPQq-bcaL4bCt-l_8c60tP45qmi4sH51NLR3i8-8m5u7MrH10Hg3/s4624/20230928_092918.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9zhNEt22LMY2KTCDjgBjBrqAGSo8h7zSoRWZTokieziiE0laL5JkC4bqFSQE60lWMAI65u-kv-sGIKYXPYOut2Q7zH115yTz5P0A0KEmGeQHDpemGNdBgGKFkIXlVf1FXCRzh9kuyPQq-bcaL4bCt-l_8c60tP45qmi4sH51NLR3i8-8m5u7MrH10Hg3/s320/20230928_092918.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the 17th-century church of San Rocco</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1GSUl-bVHDlXm1zuljGG23T6o_L1zbj5Gq5aUHBvPu47cj7aHX_VC8Nay6Dq9zHmRww9_kaI0K_fOXwdiU9t5-qsy5VR4b09LWXlRjueQCerpXpfASP-6X4ck2XXrEiTaPTSwaZ0ackmk96fOyQZFx7LbuMobzvtPeUY-PIUGVLbv1-_egy4xJc9xwdh/s4624/20230928_092938.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1GSUl-bVHDlXm1zuljGG23T6o_L1zbj5Gq5aUHBvPu47cj7aHX_VC8Nay6Dq9zHmRww9_kaI0K_fOXwdiU9t5-qsy5VR4b09LWXlRjueQCerpXpfASP-6X4ck2XXrEiTaPTSwaZ0ackmk96fOyQZFx7LbuMobzvtPeUY-PIUGVLbv1-_egy4xJc9xwdh/s320/20230928_092938.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...more like San Rococò!!!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Just after the town we passed through a farmyard where a tractor unloaded newly harvested corn into a hopper for grinding in the mill.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLb5HhvpnbKJL0OQsi4jjCRDWGzfixOVra8EN0B7utcE3a5dSo77MBwDqiJ03nTgM-VRaB7ow_1u8lI98qXEbq3pWy5Pl9_8VLY4SLW1Dm88izm6nPKDBR-JfSVMZ_bcPHAC9KQlCaKOPj98y5vBTVfFwJnL1SdmWFda8H8wkvI3geTpkiFi_toVXhzzis/s4624/20230928_100238.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLb5HhvpnbKJL0OQsi4jjCRDWGzfixOVra8EN0B7utcE3a5dSo77MBwDqiJ03nTgM-VRaB7ow_1u8lI98qXEbq3pWy5Pl9_8VLY4SLW1Dm88izm6nPKDBR-JfSVMZ_bcPHAC9KQlCaKOPj98y5vBTVfFwJnL1SdmWFda8H8wkvI3geTpkiFi_toVXhzzis/s320/20230928_100238.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4lTKP7Fyqn_NTl4EzRWwSJpBXWmbqVqugkSacisPWVDc-Z0GDa_scS30dPEtRRpg-168IcxW9d-Ngld78YbNmSoQ6T4TYCcexfJfzOcaYfrb2VTuZ_xCLpY_OMObNJ7_dkQUrXmHDZT7QH02f2Yp_xIrlCJxq1OtcKi4ELbcA37R49B2hE2kRqxhaBkc/s4624/20230928_100403.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4lTKP7Fyqn_NTl4EzRWwSJpBXWmbqVqugkSacisPWVDc-Z0GDa_scS30dPEtRRpg-168IcxW9d-Ngld78YbNmSoQ6T4TYCcexfJfzOcaYfrb2VTuZ_xCLpY_OMObNJ7_dkQUrXmHDZT7QH02f2Yp_xIrlCJxq1OtcKi4ELbcA37R49B2hE2kRqxhaBkc/s320/20230928_100403.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSQ2fAfeoNITT9pZDfLUq2qe_kxj8CSEuec_CmwPplPs7ETK-iNtDoRk1Dve-0u0mjn9QPxXZjGdxuYdedbTGo4aIwIwPQ_XpAVDO1Po6aAOujiEW1cNW8lpQoT79KtYU27hadrCmuhsfi2iUH6Gz6WZlkRDNfPjvwP-VbcqA0Bme0ewel9u_Q1mzTN-l/s4624/20230928_100322.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSQ2fAfeoNITT9pZDfLUq2qe_kxj8CSEuec_CmwPplPs7ETK-iNtDoRk1Dve-0u0mjn9QPxXZjGdxuYdedbTGo4aIwIwPQ_XpAVDO1Po6aAOujiEW1cNW8lpQoT79KtYU27hadrCmuhsfi2iUH6Gz6WZlkRDNfPjvwP-VbcqA0Bme0ewel9u_Q1mzTN-l/s320/20230928_100322.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtTpjKE8JY0W2nijyDnRxPNSVJm5V08rTYB1OK4he_RjpRCA1noLj4vj8SWTAAS5ZLwUA7stsNmOAx5FMk__eS48OKbGA4BZyRk_Uv_DHbUYTpnTBxeptNc76mBByh4zUwIg_TxF7XmSxniIupOwdsfzdwaG6keN55fjGSoETIGaIGs5M28VBIJZ75N3C/s4624/20230928_100329.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtTpjKE8JY0W2nijyDnRxPNSVJm5V08rTYB1OK4he_RjpRCA1noLj4vj8SWTAAS5ZLwUA7stsNmOAx5FMk__eS48OKbGA4BZyRk_Uv_DHbUYTpnTBxeptNc76mBByh4zUwIg_TxF7XmSxniIupOwdsfzdwaG6keN55fjGSoETIGaIGs5M28VBIJZ75N3C/s320/20230928_100329.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><b><br /></b><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5B_XwORlWdu5GGOkj90hHrx19tDf5nvNN5-Rfgx8FYx_3yTcYJ2NcKBApNUcyF50kL6wDl4BBNVhTZLoFaUjgwm-y9mMiD88H5gZL8qSeEdM0w-e4dAZg6ec05G3FCLaznLL7JeH-kjzeeIo4078ZyT24npqDj-n5MO4KY6bBAoHk9gAjLOVTd7O6NcKx/s4624/20230928_101105.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5B_XwORlWdu5GGOkj90hHrx19tDf5nvNN5-Rfgx8FYx_3yTcYJ2NcKBApNUcyF50kL6wDl4BBNVhTZLoFaUjgwm-y9mMiD88H5gZL8qSeEdM0w-e4dAZg6ec05G3FCLaznLL7JeH-kjzeeIo4078ZyT24npqDj-n5MO4KY6bBAoHk9gAjLOVTd7O6NcKx/s320/20230928_101105.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6sGagPwcj8WfWu57pFbWGpIJ7gyQTB4JqLQ4f7gCFvrV0kzZuWocMeLtL-8jZrLnH6IMeclkNbfFXFvgoETjUymEwKtqwLXtn0oGJEbz5ZS-79pHMIhrNeAFsAcgY7gTObx5zHIweTKvpBAo1lMNZ-solv6Kq9WoQuDPkwt8yeuPanmgv1bzsPS8oFQ6Y/s4624/20230928_101222.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6sGagPwcj8WfWu57pFbWGpIJ7gyQTB4JqLQ4f7gCFvrV0kzZuWocMeLtL-8jZrLnH6IMeclkNbfFXFvgoETjUymEwKtqwLXtn0oGJEbz5ZS-79pHMIhrNeAFsAcgY7gTObx5zHIweTKvpBAo1lMNZ-solv6Kq9WoQuDPkwt8yeuPanmgv1bzsPS8oFQ6Y/s320/20230928_101222.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Once again the day was an alternation of rice paddies and cornfields. In the next village, Villanova d'Ardenghi, we sat on benches by the football field for a rest and a snack, and were soon joined by the two American walkers from New Hampshire we had met the previous day. They picked up the Via Francigena in Orsieres, Switzerland after walking the Tour de Mont Blanc for eight days. So this flat walking is pretty easy for them, and though they are older than us, they walk much faster!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Shortly after leaving our rest spot we were joined by Canadian walker <a href="https://brianslattery.blogspot.com/2023/11/via-francigena-embrun-to-pavia.html" target="_blank">Brian Slattery</a>, who reads my blog and was happy to meet me in person! He has been walking various routes through France and onto the Via Francigena in blocks of a few weeks every year, and is ending this year's section in Pavia this evening. We walked the rest of the day together, stopping for a beer at a bar by the Ticino river to celebrate his final day on the Via Francigena this year!</p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Mz-Mu6vKOjbZCKXWeeqgPWTnyck-SwLqoG_d5BfSlFwkGgFd7CypjcT5IUgeWPTU3tWJ_e8eRHYbtsv_GG-wWGyt0fx1oOu_nGBMzBEbScjdRiPmxHrlwJx8B0EOh2yIyEFxHblCXs_mqVD-eNV24C3PpFkJAaeNIC8HwwdWjXBgJxwrSHdJYDgm9hyh/s4000/20230928_103804.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Mz-Mu6vKOjbZCKXWeeqgPWTnyck-SwLqoG_d5BfSlFwkGgFd7CypjcT5IUgeWPTU3tWJ_e8eRHYbtsv_GG-wWGyt0fx1oOu_nGBMzBEbScjdRiPmxHrlwJx8B0EOh2yIyEFxHblCXs_mqVD-eNV24C3PpFkJAaeNIC8HwwdWjXBgJxwrSHdJYDgm9hyh/s320/20230928_103804.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Villanova d'Ardenghi</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9W8xNzZ5vZ4Mw61Je2QpMT3EzVGFEJwTet2Gwq6dT_jd8UJSDrJSXhZCbC-1RgKgmv3FScXr6fJZa2-bgNEPZ8JSJexoSrTK2KCZqTzBlpkAHkWIOeKTvTr7GU3I0hr5_tNA4ykmkrIx00Z8MSvsNnh4VUYNy7DsRtYAh7xnIjStXYNvQskiVD-zUSqa6/s4624/20230928_121745.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9W8xNzZ5vZ4Mw61Je2QpMT3EzVGFEJwTet2Gwq6dT_jd8UJSDrJSXhZCbC-1RgKgmv3FScXr6fJZa2-bgNEPZ8JSJexoSrTK2KCZqTzBlpkAHkWIOeKTvTr7GU3I0hr5_tNA4ykmkrIx00Z8MSvsNnh4VUYNy7DsRtYAh7xnIjStXYNvQskiVD-zUSqa6/s320/20230928_121745.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catching up to Brian</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtIIAlkOQN4wzTPbJB3YYNDgP9LCePq2VbaZIbgja_90IUhUssOWIW-9pQEUDE-Cei_ngPSIv2WB_-tdjsbuEDXAa2pTKNLFdVuTpDNEVqHSMJ1AIgzmtmxtufJiZ1i9zwfGjGBwXZkf7ouaEeiHjUnTmrzgrPzdq7AgRiWEyLtHALlFEOBj4DvMTXQtzz/s1171/20230928_211914.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1171" data-original-width="878" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtIIAlkOQN4wzTPbJB3YYNDgP9LCePq2VbaZIbgja_90IUhUssOWIW-9pQEUDE-Cei_ngPSIv2WB_-tdjsbuEDXAa2pTKNLFdVuTpDNEVqHSMJ1AIgzmtmxtufJiZ1i9zwfGjGBwXZkf7ouaEeiHjUnTmrzgrPzdq7AgRiWEyLtHALlFEOBj4DvMTXQtzz/s320/20230928_211914.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a break with Brian</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C2yAsGVagbhF_IkRlgwpxiHyXwRDukEWBkx1SPeM91two9IZTjNa1fzMv36TiKi9yFbmAQKEisN5U_GAPAXvpSywIrcn8VpgGLrKEJEsnrvGjjck0t762qwVySGDf_DZvf0tSr2R2uaP-6OQ-Ed5TUwqL8ekCCGcwxtxIT5oY6nwfoxqk6NdQl3ziJmj/s4624/20230928_131843.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C2yAsGVagbhF_IkRlgwpxiHyXwRDukEWBkx1SPeM91two9IZTjNa1fzMv36TiKi9yFbmAQKEisN5U_GAPAXvpSywIrcn8VpgGLrKEJEsnrvGjjck0t762qwVySGDf_DZvf0tSr2R2uaP-6OQ-Ed5TUwqL8ekCCGcwxtxIT5oY6nwfoxqk6NdQl3ziJmj/s320/20230928_131843.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">We had taken a shortcut along the cycling route of the Via Francigena to avoid the muddy patches we had been warned of in the Parco Ticino, but after the bar we went back to the pedestrian route and it was fine for the rest of the way into town: a very pleasant stroll through the trees and along the river bank. The dome of Pavia cathedral, the third-largest in Italy, soon came into sight above the trees; we arrived in town right underneath the covered bridge. It is, unfortunately, a post-war reconstruction of the medieval bridge that was destroyed in 1944; but it is still a beautiful covered bridge!</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyMgrwYLf8AbePvbmRaKfImcyFXfzB5cEpQFgjrPR7XZ7G7unnRsR_8a7podTFZ0pUTJMHM8d166x2o_s81xS2D2qOazcbaVfdIBf_qp6HwISN4bqQoIf4GC4e9xbinLhZTqAZBF_O4Sqg8F6jxUz7Rkoku7wCaeRE9qynKpRb3SL1GmTWCq40Dx41peyU/s4624/20230928_150651.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyMgrwYLf8AbePvbmRaKfImcyFXfzB5cEpQFgjrPR7XZ7G7unnRsR_8a7podTFZ0pUTJMHM8d166x2o_s81xS2D2qOazcbaVfdIBf_qp6HwISN4bqQoIf4GC4e9xbinLhZTqAZBF_O4Sqg8F6jxUz7Rkoku7wCaeRE9qynKpRb3SL1GmTWCq40Dx41peyU/s320/20230928_150651.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTriiQdplmsVrLypjAmnJNSBTq95f12dw5f3BxVGL7DCulP1aX9JL-PXjMdSwrZn4IZPRwR1qBdRb1LFeBGs9r-zjjgFc5bE-0x_ihgWednXlOdU-x7Gp3QxP1umM8cUCC9uh_w_JZbTLATWCWrac071F3X04WaaP9dWG7iYONjluNwT-5ORujE9m4JdX/s4049/20230928_150911.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4049" data-original-width="3036" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTriiQdplmsVrLypjAmnJNSBTq95f12dw5f3BxVGL7DCulP1aX9JL-PXjMdSwrZn4IZPRwR1qBdRb1LFeBGs9r-zjjgFc5bE-0x_ihgWednXlOdU-x7Gp3QxP1umM8cUCC9uh_w_JZbTLATWCWrac071F3X04WaaP9dWG7iYONjluNwT-5ORujE9m4JdX/s320/20230928_150911.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRW0PylTE1H3PchZxzIlqVV2nhjW-j4ikYWG9AjeygNIlvHzSyaBP4dBDd5Vf_u8djUsi328rC91QC9SfFowiLhLrnVdCgkLsWfnSt2Y1CrjvntmGpK6auwPwVyxZWcFMxO7i-jR85YTQjAqU6wdVtyoNCQHvJmMekcntqWUn98zMoPRXhzIqaKV5J-QNv/s4624/20230928_150729.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRW0PylTE1H3PchZxzIlqVV2nhjW-j4ikYWG9AjeygNIlvHzSyaBP4dBDd5Vf_u8djUsi328rC91QC9SfFowiLhLrnVdCgkLsWfnSt2Y1CrjvntmGpK6auwPwVyxZWcFMxO7i-jR85YTQjAqU6wdVtyoNCQHvJmMekcntqWUn98zMoPRXhzIqaKV5J-QNv/s320/20230928_150729.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">At the covered bridge we said goodbye to Brian, whose accommodation was in the city centre, and turned the opposite way, into Borgo Ticino, the neighbourhood across the river from the centre, to find our accommodation with the nuns of Santa Maria in Betlem.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TPL0JUDDuIYvfC4-g3II23tpI-o5Y8Ej5MxgQxhxvMNjQEm1p4lr4A6ubtJCqQscspqfEnuwGf8rUi8oiDtWkxvCBzoVJJPSbc3Rhh3Nftf8f_aETv5J1nRprUa8OejkMvIXsxfzliVdnjN6CDloh10n0CkE_BvzfRFAZh_nleIta6NSVPZzsAg7lsR_/s4624/20230928_151543.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TPL0JUDDuIYvfC4-g3II23tpI-o5Y8Ej5MxgQxhxvMNjQEm1p4lr4A6ubtJCqQscspqfEnuwGf8rUi8oiDtWkxvCBzoVJJPSbc3Rhh3Nftf8f_aETv5J1nRprUa8OejkMvIXsxfzliVdnjN6CDloh10n0CkE_BvzfRFAZh_nleIta6NSVPZzsAg7lsR_/s320/20230928_151543.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Santa Maria in Betlem</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The church of Santa Maria in Betlem was built around the year 1130 outside the walls of Pavia, at the entrance to the city in Borgo Ticino, across the river Ticino from the city centre. Its name derives from its location on the pilgrimage route to the Holy Land, and from the fact that the church fell under the authority of the bishop of Bethlehem, rather than of the bishop of Pavia... who was reportedly not very happy about this situation! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The adjacent <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: left;">Oltreticino Hospital housed pilgrims, the sick and the poor; in </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: left;">1383 the hospital was merged with the nearby hospital of Saint Anthony the Great, and in 1808 it </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: left;">was closed. But it has now been reopened and restored to its original function of housing pilgrims on the Via Francigena!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGn-acdXhsRHWkfEV9LLJKKZC754CFlovPsEire0lDfP8UrmhzUjpTuHCh09Ff_dj2YmN4g6HZoAth2iiz83oxYqh29x7Q_PHrq5wKEAt69AdzgcahyWma1ZW7m-dV9gNBTTcUAKbLbm8riQaTLsdoa6LejFN1tBcdFlKMmsUNaGflQmqA_Y3Z3gilL61/s4624/20230929_073345.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGn-acdXhsRHWkfEV9LLJKKZC754CFlovPsEire0lDfP8UrmhzUjpTuHCh09Ff_dj2YmN4g6HZoAth2iiz83oxYqh29x7Q_PHrq5wKEAt69AdzgcahyWma1ZW7m-dV9gNBTTcUAKbLbm8riQaTLsdoa6LejFN1tBcdFlKMmsUNaGflQmqA_Y3Z3gilL61/s320/20230929_073345.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #202122;"><span>And not only pilgrims: the hostel is open to all, and was packed with students in town to attend Pavia's famous university, </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #202122;">one of the world's oldest continually operating universities, founded in 1343. The academic year is just beginning and these students have come from abroad and not yet had time to find lodgings. And two of the women in our dormitory were teachers from Sicily, assigned a teaching post at the opposite end of the country with only three days' notice!! They were desperately seeking a flat to rent in Pavia but said it was very hard to find one. </span></span></div></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202122;">After showering, washing out a few things under the fountain in the stone sink of the hostel garden, and finding space for our backpacks in the crowded women's dormitory, we set out to explore Pavia.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Pavia</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pavia is one of the most historic cities on the Via Francigena, and there is no way I am going to cover all that history here! I will however note that the city has ancient Celtic/Ligurian origins, and became a Roman military outpost, named <i>Ticinum </i>after the river Ticino, during the Second Punic War against Carthage in 218 BC. The present town is still set up on the basis of the Roman grid system centring around the intersection of a <i>cardo </i>(now Corso Strada Nuova, the street on which we entered the city) and a <i>decumanus </i>(now Corso Cavour and Corso Mazzini). </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8TrOYLg5vwUexMQROZZ9L2AIIgw7ALmqRAyCgK2B1b1c5QH2x1dpeOIMoIXmeU8CjpZ7eMD34mxt544BVBPJ1t8Op4z2u34ivVHf4HTn0aqKlCjJtiFlarWmZaiNivbKhlqGf1RoMtK89cxiORhu5SyuwMfbJpO6e4XTfPnfR1dp9N2CTu2M2WdX16FL/s596/IMG_E2796_(2).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="596" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT8TrOYLg5vwUexMQROZZ9L2AIIgw7ALmqRAyCgK2B1b1c5QH2x1dpeOIMoIXmeU8CjpZ7eMD34mxt544BVBPJ1t8Op4z2u34ivVHf4HTn0aqKlCjJtiFlarWmZaiNivbKhlqGf1RoMtK89cxiORhu5SyuwMfbJpO6e4XTfPnfR1dp9N2CTu2M2WdX16FL/s320/IMG_E2796_(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerial view of Pavia clearly showing the <i>cardo </i>and <i>decumanus</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="http://www.paviaedintorni.it/temi/arteearchitettura_file/artearchitettura_varie_file/descrizioni_fognatureromaneapavia.htm" target="_blank">ancient Roman brick sewer system</a> is still in place underneath the city, and was still in use until around 1970! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Six centuries after the Romans took over, the city was burned to the ground in the uprising that followed the appointment of Romulus Augustulus, when still a child, as the last Roman Emperor in AD 476. Only 12 years after the devastating fire, the Ostrogoths conquered and rebuilt the city, even providing it with Roman-style baths and an amphitheatre. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Ostrogoth Kingdom held the city against the Byzantine armies in 535, but, following a three-year siege, in 572 it fell to the Lombards, who renamed the city Papia, which later became Pavia. Lombard kings commissioned the building of the city's beautiful churches in Romanesque style. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">After two hundred years of Lombard rule, Charlemagne's armies defeated the Lombards in 774 and made Pavia a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa was crowned King of Italy in Pavia, in the church of San Michele Maggiore, in 1155. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzK4Cu54wxM0afc96bzQKItXVHpPgiXhyphenhyphenZ71xifu10jxgR9Nukg_Ntw3EKaIA6S8PMDCljPk06u5__mnNZ71ROGFI5wgmBeg_UMf3q7B-yFUSXLx8j0IeslHTWOjVqnmE-FQj4giB_gr4VSbio4Z7kQQkX_Jjlgb7HrpQMRmrRGPeS1FmMPjnL3yMFz9Q/s4624/20230928_171741.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzK4Cu54wxM0afc96bzQKItXVHpPgiXhyphenhyphenZ71xifu10jxgR9Nukg_Ntw3EKaIA6S8PMDCljPk06u5__mnNZ71ROGFI5wgmBeg_UMf3q7B-yFUSXLx8j0IeslHTWOjVqnmE-FQj4giB_gr4VSbio4Z7kQQkX_Jjlgb7HrpQMRmrRGPeS1FmMPjnL3yMFz9Q/s320/20230928_171741.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Michele Maggiore</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLQaOkIM4oDPdrUxwiqn_-F_GZ_05jjbZSThs35xlqeBUK6Dq2dVZuOhvsoWe7oXnk69faGbcC5NlfdORIIC_HwLs5YPAt01Ofl8WluTdi2hfxfIzMlIbnCigrhDrxdbC74yeV7zY4PWEd_pXxCTsB5R58VxJDZo8mt6w04u0XR-SwAXfx5GPd257Rb4x/s4000/20230928_172944.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLQaOkIM4oDPdrUxwiqn_-F_GZ_05jjbZSThs35xlqeBUK6Dq2dVZuOhvsoWe7oXnk69faGbcC5NlfdORIIC_HwLs5YPAt01Ofl8WluTdi2hfxfIzMlIbnCigrhDrxdbC74yeV7zY4PWEd_pXxCTsB5R58VxJDZo8mt6w04u0XR-SwAXfx5GPd257Rb4x/s320/20230928_172944.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiotrxZAB2pXW81PczbEnamGIyQtjkQXw10uDELFM8b3Rp8xTlbCAXEXj2fI0LKBhS-nMABrz66mssO5OJNlOfp9bHW3fxnWasSvturojxixVCrvFFSaHYgFdt32z_vcD0R4htTiHlbtdJmYar3oe5uynmrDXnptOM2QQ1M2sYyQhK5f4lUdrHHcIs2gMJL/s4624/20230928_172546.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiotrxZAB2pXW81PczbEnamGIyQtjkQXw10uDELFM8b3Rp8xTlbCAXEXj2fI0LKBhS-nMABrz66mssO5OJNlOfp9bHW3fxnWasSvturojxixVCrvFFSaHYgFdt32z_vcD0R4htTiHlbtdJmYar3oe5uynmrDXnptOM2QQ1M2sYyQhK5f4lUdrHHcIs2gMJL/s320/20230928_172546.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEios519Xu_LJGLvJJnyKKW-srjBibjUnvc2ODhA3_dfW_yZtpe0AjTXXWfjCFDZGbUJo2uRPcf6tbBYb8JzkSHYgnAciIu50gaTx9pAMY2MMTww1hqjGuoNV232_J29y3NVy3h10ijEvmsxVFGchxC_k4pWxWvGogp1UsEwvsJUqiWKV_w0rXIwQHCLICuT/s4624/20230928_173258.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEios519Xu_LJGLvJJnyKKW-srjBibjUnvc2ODhA3_dfW_yZtpe0AjTXXWfjCFDZGbUJo2uRPcf6tbBYb8JzkSHYgnAciIu50gaTx9pAMY2MMTww1hqjGuoNV232_J29y3NVy3h10ijEvmsxVFGchxC_k4pWxWvGogp1UsEwvsJUqiWKV_w0rXIwQHCLICuT/s320/20230928_173258.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">As we emerged from the church of San Michele, a man who was walking by stopped to comment on the sandstone carvings on the facade. He made sure we had seen all the highlights inside the church and told us we must go and see San Teodoro, the most beautiful church in the city, in his opinion. As he was out taking a stroll before dinner, he offered to accompany us. And so we had our own guided tour of the church, later extended to include the cathedral and an exhibition of historic photographs of Pavia in the Broletto, former city hall, now partly used by the University and partly as an exhibition centre. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the church of San Teodoro is an amazing fresco illustrating the city of Pavia as it was in 1524, at the time of the Franco-Spanish wars.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Z72cdmCP9yr98muU4M38xwjpmQaabNYDMsjC6oDnTwIsu9A6RDkj5Lp8m2rX3d8fFptDv2qqoN3iuxvNM7t4PTRejMz6hj611SaBhjAJ3o_-GiiDGDDPON2hmvrcsfnxin5bGH4eEJAbUvFdhCeTpZ5aBsPGCCqbF2Bno3GKLmClnrfr5leETYFzRdLF/s4624/20230928_174314.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Z72cdmCP9yr98muU4M38xwjpmQaabNYDMsjC6oDnTwIsu9A6RDkj5Lp8m2rX3d8fFptDv2qqoN3iuxvNM7t4PTRejMz6hj611SaBhjAJ3o_-GiiDGDDPON2hmvrcsfnxin5bGH4eEJAbUvFdhCeTpZ5aBsPGCCqbF2Bno3GKLmClnrfr5leETYFzRdLF/s320/20230928_174314.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Another fresco was discovered beneath this one, which was detached and moved to the counter-facade, so that both versions are now visible. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMI21UNcZhKwxF8qO3lncgUHNMC9ogXyGVArQRtbsJwvStI3qP9VpYQl7I4Ez6Jk7n4bijniTU-Rr8os3wwrVnxR_jYk_6BBQxO9rBdCedRB6QP9vQ12lKunRsphl6S3v_jO3ziS18EBsUkzvnxI1fa3fQ7i4DMOtI4zc8LQH6DdVIjAt2rabWhx3I404e/s4624/20230928_174343.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMI21UNcZhKwxF8qO3lncgUHNMC9ogXyGVArQRtbsJwvStI3qP9VpYQl7I4Ez6Jk7n4bijniTU-Rr8os3wwrVnxR_jYk_6BBQxO9rBdCedRB6QP9vQ12lKunRsphl6S3v_jO3ziS18EBsUkzvnxI1fa3fQ7i4DMOtI4zc8LQH6DdVIjAt2rabWhx3I404e/s320/20230928_174343.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">On the other side of the nave, fragments of a Roman mosaic floor may be seen, under glass and a couple of metres lower than the current floor level; they were discovered when installing a heating system in the church!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4m_GC4eu-KUivjz7kXvaA2Z5z_OXIe7yNfDuqCsILzafnnxCFV2OA416wSmN5YUm9K8YWXsoafaMtJRC-nlOiT44TEytgwvr2YFvWY7f9jyy1lQ6fdXMMDuahFMpqc0sSV-cS_9U0DEkptqfTf89G7NptqAMxdOm-YS7NuG4DfMOecBTptaNaQU2QtT7/s4624/20230928_174513.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4m_GC4eu-KUivjz7kXvaA2Z5z_OXIe7yNfDuqCsILzafnnxCFV2OA416wSmN5YUm9K8YWXsoafaMtJRC-nlOiT44TEytgwvr2YFvWY7f9jyy1lQ6fdXMMDuahFMpqc0sSV-cS_9U0DEkptqfTf89G7NptqAMxdOm-YS7NuG4DfMOecBTptaNaQU2QtT7/s320/20230928_174513.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_LyeUJaxMXUTCmxq8jhCA-HsYvgbZVtb6NcLX0ZAt24I03V0nSmHje9k-Xamb0XLnRb-Kg_sY_MHqTM0RjKQ0v5mAX_Dbegk_gIJuwD0x4450JS9bD5nn11h5cekXJo52glYXSjzwYv3-tjNUEfzSdrrjFN1aB8yTe04pYRVB9zoGeGUGesCyN43Xa-i/s4624/20230928_175014.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_LyeUJaxMXUTCmxq8jhCA-HsYvgbZVtb6NcLX0ZAt24I03V0nSmHje9k-Xamb0XLnRb-Kg_sY_MHqTM0RjKQ0v5mAX_Dbegk_gIJuwD0x4450JS9bD5nn11h5cekXJo52glYXSjzwYv3-tjNUEfzSdrrjFN1aB8yTe04pYRVB9zoGeGUGesCyN43Xa-i/s320/20230928_175014.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br style="text-align: center;" /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJFFJEdcGd7c56Lx2SOE95LgXvUnFUVel5Q8ag8UQeDUg2SfcqFKlUbUqoqPsY4PSOMVMapTooc8KnW-27AwJY_5Q_6j1bwzkjepZBJPf-_CzS_zOw7sJaQxAxk9ZUIjsjChUdIPEEVzZs0K6MIoiAGzXRu5NghRunClxC4EVPhoX9EfO-EIGQEySPlve/s4624/20230928_174854.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJFFJEdcGd7c56Lx2SOE95LgXvUnFUVel5Q8ag8UQeDUg2SfcqFKlUbUqoqPsY4PSOMVMapTooc8KnW-27AwJY_5Q_6j1bwzkjepZBJPf-_CzS_zOw7sJaQxAxk9ZUIjsjChUdIPEEVzZs0K6MIoiAGzXRu5NghRunClxC4EVPhoX9EfO-EIGQEySPlve/s320/20230928_174854.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The church has plenty of other treasures to offer, such as the capitals of the columns, richly carved in true Lombard style, and the fresco cycles illustrating the lives of Saint Anne and Saint Theodorus, the first bishop of Pavia.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFurSKGiHjhVp-g8VrgPlzwYbaATyaMfB5xpLvySCCi6aRDCUuQQFx9zZXiKWMYtcfYfHHK29n8OSQ5f72LIYjLXHEyJB8dh6PN2G25LD1mfZJkO4pmxIB2usSwk0EHzHvEBbpMwrHtwHVW0ykemjQEUnEvMAta-F2wgCAW5Qx9wh4nn4KFZXOeRpPBWWp/s4624/20230928_174709.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFurSKGiHjhVp-g8VrgPlzwYbaATyaMfB5xpLvySCCi6aRDCUuQQFx9zZXiKWMYtcfYfHHK29n8OSQ5f72LIYjLXHEyJB8dh6PN2G25LD1mfZJkO4pmxIB2usSwk0EHzHvEBbpMwrHtwHVW0ykemjQEUnEvMAta-F2wgCAW5Qx9wh4nn4KFZXOeRpPBWWp/s320/20230928_174709.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvNQXdk5jXIGL6hQH9DAo7tr2ONM4dLXjphWBD8SszwHg3NSrN0MRsyNOks3RsfbiYjcYyrUvms8ghWc1IsHi4n-9vZGBrPH7_v58RrLmTkUBeOYMOULPvz8DLUwwfTRlqXxOTkJWk-N_sfOUBVIFE7Y7F33Zga2bWP9JEegSJ46-Hc_UDO1kT1b9VFPH/s4000/20230928_175422.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvNQXdk5jXIGL6hQH9DAo7tr2ONM4dLXjphWBD8SszwHg3NSrN0MRsyNOks3RsfbiYjcYyrUvms8ghWc1IsHi4n-9vZGBrPH7_v58RrLmTkUBeOYMOULPvz8DLUwwfTRlqXxOTkJWk-N_sfOUBVIFE7Y7F33Zga2bWP9JEegSJ46-Hc_UDO1kT1b9VFPH/s320/20230928_175422.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Opposite the church in the small square stands a building that was once a brothel. Our improvised tour guide told us an amusing anecdote: the brothel operator and the priest of the church obviously didn't get along, and the priest excommunicated the brothel owner, who retaliated by commissioning a rather lewd pair of nude sculptures to be put up on either side of the door of the establishment, facing the church!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMq60p-LPopURPamqyhzldiNfdyF15WM_XAxdAiOHZwMMOLUgjmAPrvgVk74860-E5NK3SN2oXVB4gGDxx53gLaznLI-m1-0_vm-7Fd8A_sm3Y2W9l9uBr9StGIKgGiPMD1RfvNi-JI8wWQLszo9u8hr8CLthjlWmFAwrsCZpIdqPTV0cJPe3R1Jw_N1-O/s4624/20230928_175451.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMq60p-LPopURPamqyhzldiNfdyF15WM_XAxdAiOHZwMMOLUgjmAPrvgVk74860-E5NK3SN2oXVB4gGDxx53gLaznLI-m1-0_vm-7Fd8A_sm3Y2W9l9uBr9StGIKgGiPMD1RfvNi-JI8wWQLszo9u8hr8CLthjlWmFAwrsCZpIdqPTV0cJPe3R1Jw_N1-O/s320/20230928_175451.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The sandstone has been worn smooth by the elements over the past three centuries and the sculptures are no longer as rude as they may once have been, but it is amusing to see how saints and sinners faced off on either side of the little square for all those years!</p><div style="text-align: justify;">Our self-appointed guide took us next to the cathedral, which is impressive in size but fairly plain and unadorned inside.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_cZVu37NE_7z1INjl0eicamSFWmVKAnyiPTjOmPH7KGzKa_7Iy_S2WsNP8T7J2ouuOrIthkul3100bnrFaBygosyJIzF4KBkDKmH-AgXmoEvu2iGIec7Dr4mAinRPWckE9lAKN8tMtUfXZmZBA2CAH-Wmi78BvRt9eHY2dpNqkQUKid_m6kG81NkvX1l/s4000/20230928_180157.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_cZVu37NE_7z1INjl0eicamSFWmVKAnyiPTjOmPH7KGzKa_7Iy_S2WsNP8T7J2ouuOrIthkul3100bnrFaBygosyJIzF4KBkDKmH-AgXmoEvu2iGIec7Dr4mAinRPWckE9lAKN8tMtUfXZmZBA2CAH-Wmi78BvRt9eHY2dpNqkQUKid_m6kG81NkvX1l/s320/20230928_180157.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>The cathedral and the tower</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The cathedral of Pavia was begun in the 15th century but not completed until the 20th century. <span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit; text-align: start;">The twin cathedrals of Santo Stefano and Santa Maria Maggiore, collectively referred to as Santa Maria del Popolo, stood on the area currently occupied by the cathedral from their construction in the sixth and seventh centuries. They were rebuilt in Romanesque style in the 11th and 12th centuries, but were then </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit; text-align: start;">deconsecrated and progressively demolished as the construction of the new </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: left;">Renaissance</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: left;"> cathedral </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: inherit; text-align: start;">advanced, though a large part of the 11th-century crypt of Santa Maria del Popolo was preserved. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The 11th-century civic tower that stood next to the cathedral <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-18-mn-119-story.html" target="_blank">collapsed on 17 March 1989</a>, killing four people and injuring 15. Following this accident, the government of Italy closed the tower of Pisa in 1990, until it could be reinforced, to prevent a similar fate from striking this much better-known and frequently visited tower! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The tower in Pavia was not rebuilt, and what remains of it is preserved in a fenced-off area. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhklSMbc1MtnP2XYr2O0iWX80P91EYSeToUROFtdoHhzWj3LuAi8mTgeiT-vRjTtOlXj91BHvsOOa7jz02ANFRZtQ0wc4jJklBzJTLGW3eOjMm4U_cCfj_0RY8oKkTZFGWj4wBtdLkmB2bmheddi30D-41j6m8L0ZyUAyGP55DUJ1QzQq9h_LvT15k1A3j/s4624/20230928_180434.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhklSMbc1MtnP2XYr2O0iWX80P91EYSeToUROFtdoHhzWj3LuAi8mTgeiT-vRjTtOlXj91BHvsOOa7jz02ANFRZtQ0wc4jJklBzJTLGW3eOjMm4U_cCfj_0RY8oKkTZFGWj4wBtdLkmB2bmheddi30D-41j6m8L0ZyUAyGP55DUJ1QzQq9h_LvT15k1A3j/s320/20230928_180434.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our guide left us at the Broletto, a complex which was originally the city hall but is now an event and exhibition venue. The current exhibition is of historic photographs of Pavia, showing the original bridge, with washerwomen doing the city's laundry in the Ticino river beside it. After viewing the exhibition and walking around the square, we returned to our hostel for the evening, crossing the covered bridge at sunset.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79fcDG5Uzss45MYWkfGP278uNdAddZfp8_JoUnSm07Zoxkjt9u5e_eHb7lIvQxgezV_a8EWruI0fqA0TYsLg8PaTDJ_ZCNU_6XpmxJGx4yWTYMfflMLMpqQa7qoBnJfKJ6Tj0QHCmgUblb0NyFMS4lUSx5cme1ZPZo_tTW73kEfyKDrlY0PL0z1m6jV59/s4624/20230928_183154.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79fcDG5Uzss45MYWkfGP278uNdAddZfp8_JoUnSm07Zoxkjt9u5e_eHb7lIvQxgezV_a8EWruI0fqA0TYsLg8PaTDJ_ZCNU_6XpmxJGx4yWTYMfflMLMpqQa7qoBnJfKJ6Tj0QHCmgUblb0NyFMS4lUSx5cme1ZPZo_tTW73kEfyKDrlY0PL0z1m6jV59/s320/20230928_183154.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0jkLHlo4Nz-fDgr8W9JOmcVFvoAOIMFba3eUp2JB2N3BVij77YVtkmGa400qDVJPqjYzzPsdYedrtnnzleVhb0P0oCvh7TIWH3fnD2Jm-1tZhxcUZ8J2OeqGyF-sidZlwOy6Sm6geJqOPJ0X-kj60i2EATsqScyUcQue3DwQXuiS_0wS2xrfrzfEsMfqA/s4000/20230928_182910.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0jkLHlo4Nz-fDgr8W9JOmcVFvoAOIMFba3eUp2JB2N3BVij77YVtkmGa400qDVJPqjYzzPsdYedrtnnzleVhb0P0oCvh7TIWH3fnD2Jm-1tZhxcUZ8J2OeqGyF-sidZlwOy6Sm6geJqOPJ0X-kj60i2EATsqScyUcQue3DwQXuiS_0wS2xrfrzfEsMfqA/s320/20230928_182910.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgViKIN3omb7ypCtG5np8cOI1ptqKpaijNa4zwwv2AS3vn-Jf98y6lJhjw8wUptLy26JxVUj4jmayOCmzTZOZKsR6OtqfSHBE2kcCBFrOiQqpYGKtzijTqcxZV9OBlxt2UKhpWWOkN4IXmFy_FwhhGGYWG9eKUAPiGJpusj1RKSuoVSN3jlwQ-jp4cs9Zkk/s4624/20230928_185500.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgViKIN3omb7ypCtG5np8cOI1ptqKpaijNa4zwwv2AS3vn-Jf98y6lJhjw8wUptLy26JxVUj4jmayOCmzTZOZKsR6OtqfSHBE2kcCBFrOiQqpYGKtzijTqcxZV9OBlxt2UKhpWWOkN4IXmFy_FwhhGGYWG9eKUAPiGJpusj1RKSuoVSN3jlwQ-jp4cs9Zkk/s320/20230928_185500.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmG4fZX9uZcMawa20GfIzdiK9Q5drdPNSXRXwNGXwVX8-UZ2UIROd-LarcUadVSBFSFA74K86Je0RUdmSGI_t3pTFj-u3fVFXY5hHKagyeGukpRuvDL2Bkmu4PT5Cvlhr09DSo76YNdn1PAyq7YKS8AGA4Wyvn6-4or4QtPGVmSfSffOLYiL0uRAVl3k8C/s4624/20230928_185641.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmG4fZX9uZcMawa20GfIzdiK9Q5drdPNSXRXwNGXwVX8-UZ2UIROd-LarcUadVSBFSFA74K86Je0RUdmSGI_t3pTFj-u3fVFXY5hHKagyeGukpRuvDL2Bkmu4PT5Cvlhr09DSo76YNdn1PAyq7YKS8AGA4Wyvn6-4or4QtPGVmSfSffOLYiL0uRAVl3k8C/s320/20230928_185641.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCgkjYiMWTfE_l9vJcwUv2q8xp6pl7yGfdczkUkWNTceYzpgpBNmH3Hhrqek7IfzxiWia3oyR0s4S2EbuX2PnsfWPzuCmzlzYuZK4jndG2RIIEgCR-NpQ2HvEZ4JSnqUQ8XisBUdyNvg18sLockiMUddVS1-S4luKtZV7VxrJ5kl9S_Lj1Mzl0KPcMiDR/s2400/Screenshot_20230928_165205_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCgkjYiMWTfE_l9vJcwUv2q8xp6pl7yGfdczkUkWNTceYzpgpBNmH3Hhrqek7IfzxiWia3oyR0s4S2EbuX2PnsfWPzuCmzlzYuZK4jndG2RIIEgCR-NpQ2HvEZ4JSnqUQ8XisBUdyNvg18sLockiMUddVS1-S4luKtZV7VxrJ5kl9S_Lj1Mzl0KPcMiDR/s320/Screenshot_20230928_165205_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garlasco - Pavia 22.5 km</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-10739049285430450192023-09-27T18:30:00.009+02:002024-01-09T14:24:57.662+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 74: Mortara - Garlasco<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>We step off the path, but not necessarily the Way. </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>- </i>Lea Page, <i>Between the Path and the Way: a 1000-mile journal</i> (2023)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhabfdPHgetjLmFgWUeAV7oYcNags7onFDi0kKiY5tGj-nnBbMqSy8Mg7E6hMR8rYu6lm9GU_1F1xWtOtcT2In6qUHodHIjcDdkGN2WkUAcNz4F8DiJ_zOHylhMIC3OPRu0fq8-Gc244UUFuwyHviV39_AjdQvvhjV1833YYd1acMA0FI9B1WQXnPAtaI/s4624/20230927_075548.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhabfdPHgetjLmFgWUeAV7oYcNags7onFDi0kKiY5tGj-nnBbMqSy8Mg7E6hMR8rYu6lm9GU_1F1xWtOtcT2In6qUHodHIjcDdkGN2WkUAcNz4F8DiJ_zOHylhMIC3OPRu0fq8-Gc244UUFuwyHviV39_AjdQvvhjV1833YYd1acMA0FI9B1WQXnPAtaI/s320/20230927_075548.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I stepped off the path ten days ago in Mortara, and now I'm stepping back on, right where I left off!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I took the train back to Mortara, where I met up with my friend and habitual walking buddy Mariella. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNA7UdiBy2C5d1CI595rG5IYSDYurfebb3ypQxLBDDw7FCYQihaHc_HPI653lrGTWGJS3fi-Lpx2KqVHv1oxFE3Qil5WsAGnIadtXeJ1zeMli9YD8VuJG__nR9tWkENwzuSYU1ecO-R2C0Yvcu47StUyJ5BLOiPbuCFw_TXytf1KWadEHewAbj5-sSAR_P/s3700/20230926_173052.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3700" data-original-width="2774" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNA7UdiBy2C5d1CI595rG5IYSDYurfebb3ypQxLBDDw7FCYQihaHc_HPI653lrGTWGJS3fi-Lpx2KqVHv1oxFE3Qil5WsAGnIadtXeJ1zeMli9YD8VuJG__nR9tWkENwzuSYU1ecO-R2C0Yvcu47StUyJ5BLOiPbuCFw_TXytf1KWadEHewAbj5-sSAR_P/s320/20230926_173052.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We walked a grand total of 1.5 kilometres from the train station through the centre of Mortara and out the other side of town, to the Abbey of Sant'Albino.</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14Z54C1hNhtHUjIQBJxlyrWwOkS01WZ06q3ouyuhpalMsu6u3UF7_LgpkJe_n7xHaZGvsn5PowF-siFBNGsRQtjkp4F2VaVFlr9xvTlc_cPg2Wlnd09RFwjgNcDbqXkcBdi6NXIJgLTezYnfh6lHg7lt9epidJw2n-Qj0UTYRnv5JE-kgvtccZDjAYxUv/s4000/20230926_175328.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14Z54C1hNhtHUjIQBJxlyrWwOkS01WZ06q3ouyuhpalMsu6u3UF7_LgpkJe_n7xHaZGvsn5PowF-siFBNGsRQtjkp4F2VaVFlr9xvTlc_cPg2Wlnd09RFwjgNcDbqXkcBdi6NXIJgLTezYnfh6lHg7lt9epidJw2n-Qj0UTYRnv5JE-kgvtccZDjAYxUv/s320/20230926_175328.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Abbey of Sant'Albino</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the second half of the fourth century after Christ, Bishop Gaudenzio of Novara had two chapels built </span>on the Via Francigena about a kilometre and a half outside the walls <span style="font-family: inherit;">of the city of Mortara. Both of the chapels, </span>consecrated to Saint Peter and Saint Eusebius,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> were in use for four hundred years, with adjacent pilgrim hostels providing an essential stopping point on the Via Francigena; illustrious guests who stopped by on their way to Rome included the future Pope Leo in the year 440, Richard of Kent in 522, and Pope Paul I in 757. In the Spring of 773 the entire Frankish embassy stopped at the Abbey on the way back from a meeting with Pope Adrian I in Rome, and of course Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury stayed here on his way back from Rome in 990. Pilgrims over the centuries have left behind documents and inscriptions, some of which are still visible in the bricks on the southern side of the presbytery; the oldest remaining graffiti dates back to the year 1100!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGVm3v6TJiq7xj-tpsu-7kQNJ8x9vJtdMzALFOtwy_SRRpJQ9AIyEZjSDsd78T0aKGJN9cgRkjQZF-bf60dnlTHS1C0PYv97oUTu5RyJzJmr6ezKm1sUdGemCjvbP7om2uppr5j8RHik2klMJ_J0kamPn2lAe9pImq9YdsSRSqTZn-2jlc1ct-7ApYfiR/s4624/20230926_181903.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGVm3v6TJiq7xj-tpsu-7kQNJ8x9vJtdMzALFOtwy_SRRpJQ9AIyEZjSDsd78T0aKGJN9cgRkjQZF-bf60dnlTHS1C0PYv97oUTu5RyJzJmr6ezKm1sUdGemCjvbP7om2uppr5j8RHik2klMJ_J0kamPn2lAe9pImq9YdsSRSqTZn-2jlc1ct-7ApYfiR/s320/20230926_181903.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6CuQW7mYW2ju31o8RZ0IZCfnk4ioeKNEqhi3vBxrnUbp_o5PAL8fr5liw-vu6D7OkKiRPXAOSPFebljToHRDyevFHBXYmdGFjKdCzdWjh8e-LvOsnZdC9i5-vYH0Vkj7DdZMqHxBRSYrBLzVKrimVzCBXSfH7G0zIhe8dFojawRkenjeC2CONw26IsYb/s4624/20230926_181929.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN6CuQW7mYW2ju31o8RZ0IZCfnk4ioeKNEqhi3vBxrnUbp_o5PAL8fr5liw-vu6D7OkKiRPXAOSPFebljToHRDyevFHBXYmdGFjKdCzdWjh8e-LvOsnZdC9i5-vYH0Vkj7DdZMqHxBRSYrBLzVKrimVzCBXSfH7G0zIhe8dFojawRkenjeC2CONw26IsYb/s320/20230926_181929.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frescoes by Giovanni di Milano (1410)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdK-qgGb5vYe1HRp75lST-pbZyPBe_CnD2w9eCN69pQThEj0Rn1BdFNYxgb35uhSsWmB5bg1p-XUgN8x7qv19zIqMQR-6nA-6-ovBaXQceRN_fpvmddNL97KOuGsDcFFlUi03bLaOF3MMk0zOvAL95xgEAcjT1hhDERYOsFJc1oeACC3AE8Tm4wHVkb_wn/s4624/20230926_185311.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdK-qgGb5vYe1HRp75lST-pbZyPBe_CnD2w9eCN69pQThEj0Rn1BdFNYxgb35uhSsWmB5bg1p-XUgN8x7qv19zIqMQR-6nA-6-ovBaXQceRN_fpvmddNL97KOuGsDcFFlUi03bLaOF3MMk0zOvAL95xgEAcjT1hhDERYOsFJc1oeACC3AE8Tm4wHVkb_wn/s320/20230926_185311.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medieval graffiti</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLXy_WmkciQXEW4hxnhrvSkTazIcVGr5dJdXhA8M8R7jSiKWw_7omIw3-GMxvG0J-jBw6rVu5c_-m8O5EkSy6ZrOlg8XDJYTiqCH5DfEtN7AEFHQ9bSM35HMtOYsSKK_EhDTv7sL9AM6WMXBCHl4IZSjsreyv2epFYhXbD42ZnF3ch7KyA0UzJXHbk8OK/s4624/20230926_185319.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLXy_WmkciQXEW4hxnhrvSkTazIcVGr5dJdXhA8M8R7jSiKWw_7omIw3-GMxvG0J-jBw6rVu5c_-m8O5EkSy6ZrOlg8XDJYTiqCH5DfEtN7AEFHQ9bSM35HMtOYsSKK_EhDTv7sL9AM6WMXBCHl4IZSjsreyv2epFYhXbD42ZnF3ch7KyA0UzJXHbk8OK/s320/20230926_185319.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixIto1TeZ_GnKOmJAbGrc9mhZZSliAkyCOcMMzZFNS6HY9AaN2L6gGkdaUA92ugWiOFzzlhts3f1UBjt50Y3yX-0MbNjHJYr7EV_eDugKtyUezl2TuxxLPceUeJf0RlE_Gfx0wrRLmwcSrelD0D6VRshbBosIr51ymxqXGVKOetXR1JN05uLlXAFUHQNWu/s4624/20230926_185339.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixIto1TeZ_GnKOmJAbGrc9mhZZSliAkyCOcMMzZFNS6HY9AaN2L6gGkdaUA92ugWiOFzzlhts3f1UBjt50Y3yX-0MbNjHJYr7EV_eDugKtyUezl2TuxxLPceUeJf0RlE_Gfx0wrRLmwcSrelD0D6VRshbBosIr51ymxqXGVKOetXR1JN05uLlXAFUHQNWu/s320/20230926_185339.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">After four hundred years of use, the chapel of Saint Peter fell into disuse and was abandoned, but the chapel of Saint Eusebius went down in history as the place where Charlemagne's Franks defeated the Lombards on 12 October 773. The exploits of two Frankish paladins who perished in the battle and were buried in the Abbey, Charlemagne's cup-bearer Amelius of Alvernia and his royal treasurer Amico Beyre, are celebrated in the <i>chansons de geste </i>popular around the eleventh century.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was after this battle that the British abbot Albin Alkwin, a counsellor to Charlemagne, had a monastery constructed adjacent to the chapel of Saint Eusebius, to which the Emperor had donated a large amount of land. Father Albin went on to become Bishop of Vercelli, and it was in tribute to him that his monks re-dedicated the Abbey to Saint Albin of Angers, a bishop who died in the year 550. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Abbey was rebuilt in the 11th century, and the bell tower was reconstructed in the 13th century after it was destroyed in battle in 1253. However, the monastery fell into decline after the year 1290; it was dissolved by Pope Pius II in 1464 and became a commandery: a church under the control of an order of knights. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The church was rebuilt in Renaissance style in 1540 on the orders of Abbot Pietro Antonio Birago. Almost three hundred years later, the commandery was suppressed under Napoleon, and local farmers took to using the adjacent monastery buildings; the property was broken up and sold off. For the duration of the 19th century, the majority of the property was owned by the Pavesi family of Mortara. The last Countess in the family left it to the Hospital of Mortara in her will, and in the 1960s the monastery became the property of the local public health unit. Since 1996 it has been owned by the City of Mortara, which <span style="font-family: inherit;">restored, renovated and reopened the Abbey for the celebrations of the Jubilee year 2000. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately for us, the city has restored it to its former purpose as a pilgrim hostel on the Via Francigena! We shared the church hall that serves as pilgrim dining room and dormitory with Eva, an American walker who began the Via Francigena in Canterbury on August 5 and writes a blog called <a href="http://evaonthevia.com" target="_blank">Eva on the Via</a>, and Daniel from Belgium, who has been walking the Via Francigena in stages (like me) and started his current stage in Martigny on September 13th.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPfe41LHbQxyF_m_RuM1VGl6IZT3Zo2UStOl620TEWaeaD0VPHyHIOFtVk1WxXAgsi1VDNORpes8RPr0BhRZSencmFHePXO0lNAxs8SesLXZ8jYEk0iMvpuhblz8pwPOugsRvvmsa_Qtb9fj7YRbkKD-SOs4vmziP7idqDd9UWt5yahvA3ulVkXIJUvAJ/s4624/20230926_181741.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPfe41LHbQxyF_m_RuM1VGl6IZT3Zo2UStOl620TEWaeaD0VPHyHIOFtVk1WxXAgsi1VDNORpes8RPr0BhRZSencmFHePXO0lNAxs8SesLXZ8jYEk0iMvpuhblz8pwPOugsRvvmsa_Qtb9fj7YRbkKD-SOs4vmziP7idqDd9UWt5yahvA3ulVkXIJUvAJ/s320/20230926_181741.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Abbey custodian and pilgrim hostel operator Franca unfolded our beds and served us dinner at the long table in the hall. She stamped our pilgrim credentials, collected 20 euros from each of us, and announced that she stopped serving breakfast at 7 and wanted everyone out by 7:30. That was fine with us! We went straight to bed and so it was no problem to be up and ready to go.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was glad to have Mariella's company and pass the time chatting on this rather uninteresting stage of the Via Francigena. More cornfields and rice paddies, in some of which giant combine harvesters were at work. More irrigation canals and crayfish; one of them had got out of the water to take a walk on the Via Francigena!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUe5gVnR9pSLAyoYcrhk_s2RzpOQ5F2yANhgaLbX0eF9QOmcQVX_g0Vk0xV-NVDpLA1gakZoL3LS3LvTWNiDWs5WhgM4IP12bRQnTTKllPYGe7XQoErIZGeT9SDKzrBPRKKK5a6VMAOp54O2Il4MJZbQILrm3RxQ-kUEiLk9QahRbu7ARR8KgRJH3lfoYj/s4624/20230927_094919.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUe5gVnR9pSLAyoYcrhk_s2RzpOQ5F2yANhgaLbX0eF9QOmcQVX_g0Vk0xV-NVDpLA1gakZoL3LS3LvTWNiDWs5WhgM4IP12bRQnTTKllPYGe7XQoErIZGeT9SDKzrBPRKKK5a6VMAOp54O2Il4MJZbQILrm3RxQ-kUEiLk9QahRbu7ARR8KgRJH3lfoYj/s320/20230927_094919.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolZYgl2q25g4KQA-f4OxR0VazZ-r4odB_lNMuMDB_RtXYl71rtlK4qpsdEr8y6G5JhCDLqBzUynrObcA0UxixAvjSaqDFjnQ3ggsO7t70R0xzIin3ukAXpusM7TsQ0av2jiCTVDqXr7H2U5QGVw58CL2U082pGwhVBsEoNNoS_8Fw9YkEutL2EZep_3CJ/s4624/20230927_100200.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjolZYgl2q25g4KQA-f4OxR0VazZ-r4odB_lNMuMDB_RtXYl71rtlK4qpsdEr8y6G5JhCDLqBzUynrObcA0UxixAvjSaqDFjnQ3ggsO7t70R0xzIin3ukAXpusM7TsQ0av2jiCTVDqXr7H2U5QGVw58CL2U082pGwhVBsEoNNoS_8Fw9YkEutL2EZep_3CJ/s320/20230927_100200.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXEP5NmsDb9A4xX7a4ENDOxSs4QKDdByNEzw-tyflyUZBI069sXqFoZF5sQQASTifSRWWNZw6_bE70-3uVm0JFC-AvupRV0O8EsP7bIpCCHNxohppn-rafWdiKQWEQirF4dprygFbvVoNnN-2EaTaXfTJvpseU2bZxoO7Ww0lfc8P5RXB_yyhABEd9ypg/s4624/20230927_093125.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXEP5NmsDb9A4xX7a4ENDOxSs4QKDdByNEzw-tyflyUZBI069sXqFoZF5sQQASTifSRWWNZw6_bE70-3uVm0JFC-AvupRV0O8EsP7bIpCCHNxohppn-rafWdiKQWEQirF4dprygFbvVoNnN-2EaTaXfTJvpseU2bZxoO7Ww0lfc8P5RXB_yyhABEd9ypg/s320/20230927_093125.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiClQHFISxjCeEBTIH88NQlUPL21dovQN3cby8JzznRjEn6wpa2_ysdTF_c7CpZU2ccRJuHgvWp0bnnjYfEDZN7-iPU73P6xJMJFfNcX-Mjc_KtUK3cPNgvEv7digRS8U-dUqaPmL4Y7VwoQEJJH8jSREeayix1x3_cr4Uu9kujYRA8CAxmDe7ttMpdaxCY/s4624/20230927_120855.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiClQHFISxjCeEBTIH88NQlUPL21dovQN3cby8JzznRjEn6wpa2_ysdTF_c7CpZU2ccRJuHgvWp0bnnjYfEDZN7-iPU73P6xJMJFfNcX-Mjc_KtUK3cPNgvEv7digRS8U-dUqaPmL4Y7VwoQEJJH8jSREeayix1x3_cr4Uu9kujYRA8CAxmDe7ttMpdaxCY/s320/20230927_120855.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_NIZQGaBb-eF2wsixhRHtKe0eHq8v0YLzw0GYzbTWhh9fs5H8cbLoQ-5d3Pr13BFfVvC1F4JijIZjTGi3jqA9Kp49wgXT4G455Zvoc79no4cr126BWBvpwc0LBYX7NIVmRVZUdtLeBiUwndp_ItGxMA9K79FFl6g3z58uQEqhu5oQ38TIfxgc9TTiZpa/s4624/20230927_122911.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_NIZQGaBb-eF2wsixhRHtKe0eHq8v0YLzw0GYzbTWhh9fs5H8cbLoQ-5d3Pr13BFfVvC1F4JijIZjTGi3jqA9Kp49wgXT4G455Zvoc79no4cr126BWBvpwc0LBYX7NIVmRVZUdtLeBiUwndp_ItGxMA9K79FFl6g3z58uQEqhu5oQ38TIfxgc9TTiZpa/s320/20230927_122911.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">In the village of Tromello, we met Eva and Daniel outside a café, and we all went in and had a drink together. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqq7XS2atM6TZyUVGgCxYQI4Q7NCkanzpTtlMj0f_86-c5Z_CUv5SclwE1CuTc2vdlZ29n2XRy7afgPnp7Dk9-wcyuuUXl7YiQeCzXeRjYs_UsTImKsduFfTCqVqoQlU5L2y0hp1Vgp_6OhfZScHmuZWE860bNyH6SfBk55U6uTgkXGYQ3_WuVvgMKQ3Mc/s4624/20230927_104504.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqq7XS2atM6TZyUVGgCxYQI4Q7NCkanzpTtlMj0f_86-c5Z_CUv5SclwE1CuTc2vdlZ29n2XRy7afgPnp7Dk9-wcyuuUXl7YiQeCzXeRjYs_UsTImKsduFfTCqVqoQlU5L2y0hp1Vgp_6OhfZScHmuZWE860bNyH6SfBk55U6uTgkXGYQ3_WuVvgMKQ3Mc/s320/20230927_104504.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Tromello</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2U4H1EFJh1pKSrDYg_ZkVBNy-RPBnVAL7UQlfVBuatF00__UCX0id4xDW48eTvRO-5xDzSslsZJv5GbOsZ7Q5AT9V4jzyMSUHeQ29ryyV_fU_srncrgta5VvpAHb1E2ZKrP25KMJrpStPjm9EmLTWXBfagnp04lG05unzMM-cRV7Eywd84N7UmEASJBc/s4624/20230927_114900.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2U4H1EFJh1pKSrDYg_ZkVBNy-RPBnVAL7UQlfVBuatF00__UCX0id4xDW48eTvRO-5xDzSslsZJv5GbOsZ7Q5AT9V4jzyMSUHeQ29ryyV_fU_srncrgta5VvpAHb1E2ZKrP25KMJrpStPjm9EmLTWXBfagnp04lG05unzMM-cRV7Eywd84N7UmEASJBc/s320/20230927_114900.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuI6eOjzT8Q9kpzIvBXK3UYP2yuZNe3dcyvKmdavgorfcaRn_QX2jQJ3xIAKfcyk8YJhnFy_oIHP_-z2XBcEVjgtqgkxLontpCMQ-sbjqKZI9WzTkRa-QXa0J7GiIfANfjrdUh9a7wDOplfVuSKyTixZ67LOO7SO56y5LiUYhcViUpHyCl21ksvfuqXzME/s4624/20230927_115126.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuI6eOjzT8Q9kpzIvBXK3UYP2yuZNe3dcyvKmdavgorfcaRn_QX2jQJ3xIAKfcyk8YJhnFy_oIHP_-z2XBcEVjgtqgkxLontpCMQ-sbjqKZI9WzTkRa-QXa0J7GiIfANfjrdUh9a7wDOplfVuSKyTixZ67LOO7SO56y5LiUYhcViUpHyCl21ksvfuqXzME/s320/20230927_115126.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_tI95CGcCNePkQasjuf8WiBzE7ikFEkooTypNgs1E9RlokWelUMD8uLv17cNYpVF2DUJUlTw4PzM2WuqhXb5H5Q5qRLUhfmBjor1gaRj1Pz7MqViHjHkCA-LvPq1--kXSfxBHorqia6Q3kT8-HwYnQ55CR8t-Syp8wYC_mDiZ8y_Fl7TKwzvEudCfp1c/s4624/20230927_115644.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_tI95CGcCNePkQasjuf8WiBzE7ikFEkooTypNgs1E9RlokWelUMD8uLv17cNYpVF2DUJUlTw4PzM2WuqhXb5H5Q5qRLUhfmBjor1gaRj1Pz7MqViHjHkCA-LvPq1--kXSfxBHorqia6Q3kT8-HwYnQ55CR8t-Syp8wYC_mDiZ8y_Fl7TKwzvEudCfp1c/s320/20230927_115644.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">On the way out of Tromello we found a book exchange set up by someone with a spelling problem.... but the books inside were surprisingly erudite. Two ladies who met through a book club could not pass up such an opportunity; we each picked up a book to read in the hostel in the evening. I chose a 1997 pocketbook edition of Dacia Maraini's <i>Bagheria </i>because it was particularly lightweight, while Mariella took, for the same reason, a collection of aphorisms by 18th-century German illuminist philosopher Georg Lichtenberg.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As we only had another 5 or 6 kilometres to go, we stopped for a leisurely lunch break by the canal, during which we spoke to a family on bicycles who wanted to know more about the Via Francigena, and a couple from New Hampshire who were walking it. Upon arriving in Garlasco, we stopped at a <i>gelateria </i>to complete our picnic lunch with a delicious dessert!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpGKCB-58aL9qbEBM2d3hcIbjY7gkdC3XxJBghGlRC2EgGlcoiJG_m5wKKBSqBv4TVachWLixyrlARPMjjLuGC3J6PNAwK1HjocVuTYQlhWvNneWq4qXORqW-ePtt1SEJ_cjoqOtB6JwUSjNZ9h834wEu4YTkmkyy5ryL8852ROMJU2UNrgw4qGWDzaSu/s4624/20230927_143102.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpGKCB-58aL9qbEBM2d3hcIbjY7gkdC3XxJBghGlRC2EgGlcoiJG_m5wKKBSqBv4TVachWLixyrlARPMjjLuGC3J6PNAwK1HjocVuTYQlhWvNneWq4qXORqW-ePtt1SEJ_cjoqOtB6JwUSjNZ9h834wEu4YTkmkyy5ryL8852ROMJU2UNrgw4qGWDzaSu/s320/20230927_143102.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXcsN87m8-RbquYx_cBhBowDEj4Ft14X_mPF_pCa8ap_lmmdf5nIpJ2r5-AdC-vNtDCn1b3MS3thg7dD3iPndPuGBhW8MnH8cRHtgycWaMzgwkcVwHlFE_8KfXOTuOaa67a59fFaS8H8r29Cgm--g1kONnnJRPdsWnwdjKnw-CHLLhPQKpHPX-91PkYaS/s2040/IMG-20230927-WA0001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="1530" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXcsN87m8-RbquYx_cBhBowDEj4Ft14X_mPF_pCa8ap_lmmdf5nIpJ2r5-AdC-vNtDCn1b3MS3thg7dD3iPndPuGBhW8MnH8cRHtgycWaMzgwkcVwHlFE_8KfXOTuOaa67a59fFaS8H8r29Cgm--g1kONnnJRPdsWnwdjKnw-CHLLhPQKpHPX-91PkYaS/s320/IMG-20230927-WA0001.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Garlasco</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A town with pre-Roman Celtic origins, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Garlasco was fortified with a castle in the 14th to 15th centuries, destroyed and rebuilt in 1524. All that remains of the castle is a single tower, along with the base of the walls incorporated into nearby buildings. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheygRYmg96HG0QbZg_lip1QSWkYH6GT9L_It5ENU45xFB24UB6XZMqXFWK4OtJXpg-QGAF-_sW5GxX8kedzzsmKtGilBPDO_7pXkLz9lf9lRsGqVpPpqrpKiC6m13Rae9cy-hX3RTA7DrQHrVz-CM85FeWjmwRAKihnu_7hl5fPTqd-dOw1pvHZfQQv-By/s4624/20230927_143704.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheygRYmg96HG0QbZg_lip1QSWkYH6GT9L_It5ENU45xFB24UB6XZMqXFWK4OtJXpg-QGAF-_sW5GxX8kedzzsmKtGilBPDO_7pXkLz9lf9lRsGqVpPpqrpKiC6m13Rae9cy-hX3RTA7DrQHrVz-CM85FeWjmwRAKihnu_7hl5fPTqd-dOw1pvHZfQQv-By/s320/20230927_143704.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGM_TRw7SfAPRfGG8AgY8Gn0345Occ9OXUTt7GqKiIV0paAUWIBBBEVUzqdhKNCOpygLmEKbaTDhv1qDGuzF5CCoGE94qNsKvhn8YzI8orFu4g9_LcF6sxRyD1NY1hFykQqzVXs-Byer8buVLwvellg1ZL1ntU2-3fiAr61dX_R8tQOdEpjxNxnDewkzQr/s4624/20230927_143536.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGM_TRw7SfAPRfGG8AgY8Gn0345Occ9OXUTt7GqKiIV0paAUWIBBBEVUzqdhKNCOpygLmEKbaTDhv1qDGuzF5CCoGE94qNsKvhn8YzI8orFu4g9_LcF6sxRyD1NY1hFykQqzVXs-Byer8buVLwvellg1ZL1ntU2-3fiAr61dX_R8tQOdEpjxNxnDewkzQr/s320/20230927_143536.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garlasco town hall</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRyA0qMlLO2JPP0lwmSDQySlDd0h-lV-wA6P95NiIBmsU6MgfFhe3AD66N6nMsTTRFuCE8fivKQk-JvuM3uzhTgJisVYCxVSXUwuvaEKUUXhrGxMOJGpnCTCbGDdsc2IkFN2NIclyb-ctU_8gJb0Q7oxJWb-O8LGetsZ-rzBHCX1qLIUmSdz-YyWxpw7K/s4624/20230927_143613.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRyA0qMlLO2JPP0lwmSDQySlDd0h-lV-wA6P95NiIBmsU6MgfFhe3AD66N6nMsTTRFuCE8fivKQk-JvuM3uzhTgJisVYCxVSXUwuvaEKUUXhrGxMOJGpnCTCbGDdsc2IkFN2NIclyb-ctU_8gJb0Q7oxJWb-O8LGetsZ-rzBHCX1qLIUmSdz-YyWxpw7K/s320/20230927_143613.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">More recently, in the 1960s Garlasco came to be known as "the Las Vegas of Lombardia" because of its bars and nightclubs. We saw little evidence of this walking through the town in the afternoon, so I can't say if it is still the case. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We continued through the town centre and back into the fields to Cascina Toledina, where we are guests of the <a href="https://www.exodus.it/sedi-exodus/garlasco.html" target="_blank">Exodus Foundation</a>, a non-profit association which provides assistance to young people who have problems with addiction or have been in trouble with the law. The goal is to help them reintegrate into society and gain skills making them eligible for employment. The community where we are staying in Garlasco is in an old farmhouse with 10,000 square metres of land, on which the members of the community grow fruit and vegetables. The pilgrim hostel is run in collaboration with volunteers from <a href="https://www.accoglienzapellegrina.org/en/home-page-english/" target="_blank">Accoglienza Pellegrina</a>, the volunteer pilgrim host association that Mariella and I both belong to. </p><div style="text-align: justify;">However the volunteer currently on duty wasn't feeling very well, so she left us on our own for the remainder of the evening; that was fine with us, as we had our new books for company!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFax_1FQr6RYF4hMw2-qAY6388DxJGSI9Jw3nxwx4IkZj4Hkn-dtnSUeFcllA0GHM4mpAF7OUf4gVzonNx6mBbib8ei-3omHw4QRwABeKTOZpUjQgZqfmMutfLsVrR1ORSMaUs05IWKSNicPmO1vVdjB_XZ9WwgIr5AtKsSkVjQSEL2p7tKuzHr-gQXnWh/s4624/20230927_153405.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFax_1FQr6RYF4hMw2-qAY6388DxJGSI9Jw3nxwx4IkZj4Hkn-dtnSUeFcllA0GHM4mpAF7OUf4gVzonNx6mBbib8ei-3omHw4QRwABeKTOZpUjQgZqfmMutfLsVrR1ORSMaUs05IWKSNicPmO1vVdjB_XZ9WwgIr5AtKsSkVjQSEL2p7tKuzHr-gQXnWh/s320/20230927_153405.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitC7cIGp2hUc1NNpibHlZVgGS5AD7Z5WFeiEv2cYDxmcFgMx0_4Z_rWxgbjELcfvrXmTZZzR8JR1JOh1xAUHdvocFt1HHvoDMDBMpffiXIJs9Ug2crxvB98TV5uPDwRrjz52_X4mZk52If3B9wqkMEXB2-2iFn6WF5ZhLxa3PA9bGEtj19YVwcfUFov83s/s4624/20230927_153647.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitC7cIGp2hUc1NNpibHlZVgGS5AD7Z5WFeiEv2cYDxmcFgMx0_4Z_rWxgbjELcfvrXmTZZzR8JR1JOh1xAUHdvocFt1HHvoDMDBMpffiXIJs9Ug2crxvB98TV5uPDwRrjz52_X4mZk52If3B9wqkMEXB2-2iFn6WF5ZhLxa3PA9bGEtj19YVwcfUFov83s/s320/20230927_153647.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiInmmhGn-WsQRHDZBS2c9uSlTRLpUa5KxcqjkxVwQibHEPriMuwb_nyQokO6JrVthAP6HYM5cM5W7tJB2z_Kxu7yoQov_f-rYnUUvYd8WUO8AbEV_QYpt-K8KgdXgeQWRUMRIONvRnU4mzm8Ev5NJ6ZnFJBQNyzZlN8SCHxWggw1G2SDC5y9ggOLZaGMCm/s4624/20230927_153701.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiInmmhGn-WsQRHDZBS2c9uSlTRLpUa5KxcqjkxVwQibHEPriMuwb_nyQokO6JrVthAP6HYM5cM5W7tJB2z_Kxu7yoQov_f-rYnUUvYd8WUO8AbEV_QYpt-K8KgdXgeQWRUMRIONvRnU4mzm8Ev5NJ6ZnFJBQNyzZlN8SCHxWggw1G2SDC5y9ggOLZaGMCm/s320/20230927_153701.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIm3jW5Lo-KC53hUKF0O5_YiuHil-Y3owMcqJA6_lt200oGxpzQxm0c1KG-kYRuFd46srL3tW4m_G8R8rVanyNTEb-P5mEze02h0vL5eK8DsNxJrMFfbtZMkEDGe4hUTMSrpCX48GV-PcRCeE-uSPq-dRhRdvLEquKc0VDM5_ifU6Sjpm28A363I9QFlc3/s4000/20230927_163720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIm3jW5Lo-KC53hUKF0O5_YiuHil-Y3owMcqJA6_lt200oGxpzQxm0c1KG-kYRuFd46srL3tW4m_G8R8rVanyNTEb-P5mEze02h0vL5eK8DsNxJrMFfbtZMkEDGe4hUTMSrpCX48GV-PcRCeE-uSPq-dRhRdvLEquKc0VDM5_ifU6Sjpm28A363I9QFlc3/s320/20230927_163720.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today's accommodation: <a href="https://www.exodus.it/sedi-exodus/garlasco.html" target="_blank">Casa del Pellegrino Exodus</a></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-72176136633371191242023-09-16T15:09:00.007+02:002024-01-09T14:25:10.383+01:00Road to Home Day 73: Robbio - Mortara<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Maria, stella mattutina, all'inizio del giorno di cammino rivolgiamo il nostro pensiero a te. Ti affidiamo i passi di questo pellegrinaggio fino a sera, chiediamo il sostegno nella fatica del corpo e dell'anima. Ti chiediamo la gioia del cuore, la speranza dell'alba, la fortezza del mezzogiorno, la pace della sera.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>- </i>pilgrims' prayer, posted in the chapel in Nicorvo</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjblLUarjgiHxjLub0_uXzqNOg6-RS2ld5ixV8YQ3bxJXKqmoUTbMj-dU7hocCRASUYlQ0jsBzm0MgWghc4FdNkWnovI2TorHzBnaU6nyC6ewRGvKaxiYO-WClWnr_fw8i-CZaLQm7LDA8OvsxhsHAOjCUD83cH4U6Yw3Mv1tXa66xjOdYkdBEf5IttpiTK/s4624/20230916_074746.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjblLUarjgiHxjLub0_uXzqNOg6-RS2ld5ixV8YQ3bxJXKqmoUTbMj-dU7hocCRASUYlQ0jsBzm0MgWghc4FdNkWnovI2TorHzBnaU6nyC6ewRGvKaxiYO-WClWnr_fw8i-CZaLQm7LDA8OvsxhsHAOjCUD83cH4U6Yw3Mv1tXa66xjOdYkdBEf5IttpiTK/s320/20230916_074746.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">My Dutch roommates and I were in bed by nine, so I was up early and on the trail by a quarter past seven. The sun rises later these days, and I was already walking through Robbio's "industrial zone" and past the football stadium as the birds sang their dawn chorus.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As a matter of fact the birds were the highlight of today's walk. Grey herons, great white egrets, and a bird I hadn't seen before: the African sacred ibis.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The African sacred ibis (<i>Threskiornis aethiopicus</i>) is a wading bird native to much of Africa, as well as small parts of Iraq, Iran and Kuwait, famous for its role in the religion of Ancient Egypt. It was connected with the Ibis-headed god Thoth, associated with the arbitration of godly disputes, the arts of magic and writing, and the judgment of the dead. For many centuries in pre-Roman Egypt, tens of thousands of birds were buried in temples every year, and ibis breeding farms (called ibiotropheia by Herodotus) may have been set up to sustain sufficient numbers for the demand for sacrifices by pilgrims from all over Egypt. Whether for this reason or due to hunting in later centuries, by 1850 the species had disappeared from Egypt, but it is now increasingly common in Europe.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XThB77QzmVef3qmnQeBv9f7xoFg9OxRyk-EEeGKKrllmZthtPaxcn-F8fbV-Aqfm0E_ee3KNvr2Mu1N78XntTwJr09fH6Xf6XEkwysnu_ccsKaIDUztvulzdihVp-89mzldfK7UTc44B2KejUPBOfUlTkQEsUg8bnrgj_m5Srew1T8IL-oJ2Gkq2tJow/s1168/Thoout,%20Thoth%20Deux%20fois%20Grand,%20le%20Second%20Herm%C3%A9s,%20N372.2A.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="868" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XThB77QzmVef3qmnQeBv9f7xoFg9OxRyk-EEeGKKrllmZthtPaxcn-F8fbV-Aqfm0E_ee3KNvr2Mu1N78XntTwJr09fH6Xf6XEkwysnu_ccsKaIDUztvulzdihVp-89mzldfK7UTc44B2KejUPBOfUlTkQEsUg8bnrgj_m5Srew1T8IL-oJ2Gkq2tJow/s320/Thoout,%20Thoth%20Deux%20fois%20Grand,%20le%20Second%20Herm%C3%A9s,%20N372.2A.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thoth</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwylG0aY6lf5fcu3uDuq1g0D7RMX6ubBUkfTo-KyiDHtwdcnzubENxWk5cV9VMG9gTl0-iSq7TJNCqk_h9yaYPuGUBKxGagODvcrJ7DIeRKsZO_tbQGNnTsWuJw_TtsQlffAv73Mt8OPxWQBl3k4KsEkYL7N_anGlrYcE1Rk9lxtoQhbCU6qrPq979V04/s4624/20230916_075325.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwylG0aY6lf5fcu3uDuq1g0D7RMX6ubBUkfTo-KyiDHtwdcnzubENxWk5cV9VMG9gTl0-iSq7TJNCqk_h9yaYPuGUBKxGagODvcrJ7DIeRKsZO_tbQGNnTsWuJw_TtsQlffAv73Mt8OPxWQBl3k4KsEkYL7N_anGlrYcE1Rk9lxtoQhbCU6qrPq979V04/s320/20230916_075325.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sacred African Ibis wing feather</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7eOvfll-xiSz3vI0jL_0_Zz-2bOWq4UpFl_MXw1eqk-EQOqYbpmSb8EoBtqR6t4d-uul8tP9SY_9J8PRp4Oy6Peb8E6KdWurBCdYRcmjSQKflWNpceR3yFcpHU2HfcgdTaVC_YoA1rBIBV8rXHf-tfKDgDIMCdmlwQKORZVjoXfzxBpQkqZnETyy8GMba/s1280/IMG_20230916_084451_553.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1280" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7eOvfll-xiSz3vI0jL_0_Zz-2bOWq4UpFl_MXw1eqk-EQOqYbpmSb8EoBtqR6t4d-uul8tP9SY_9J8PRp4Oy6Peb8E6KdWurBCdYRcmjSQKflWNpceR3yFcpHU2HfcgdTaVC_YoA1rBIBV8rXHf-tfKDgDIMCdmlwQKORZVjoXfzxBpQkqZnETyy8GMba/s320/IMG_20230916_084451_553.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sacred African ibis (not my picture - from Wikipedia)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The ibises never hung around long enough for me to get a good picture, so here's one from Wikipedia! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Judging from the shells littering the path, I seemed to have interrupted them in the middle of a crayfish feast. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2CHawzYsxw086JffEai2CAQikNnDqNsmGzcJZxNopncp6Vq06s9_MzueLw_qS0Amn1kVE8gYmamwB_L-4LvhEYRfST1fNRs27RhRfTabaMO1R3E8hosESEnIpB3bKUoi-oDpb1_cJ0sRDKwLEnMk-PQvs9F6GptsuXZxqZ7JHkuwSLkGVRQ1a1_s9wRj/s4624/20230916_094317.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2CHawzYsxw086JffEai2CAQikNnDqNsmGzcJZxNopncp6Vq06s9_MzueLw_qS0Amn1kVE8gYmamwB_L-4LvhEYRfST1fNRs27RhRfTabaMO1R3E8hosESEnIpB3bKUoi-oDpb1_cJ0sRDKwLEnMk-PQvs9F6GptsuXZxqZ7JHkuwSLkGVRQ1a1_s9wRj/s320/20230916_094317.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I stopped to take a closer look at the life in the irrigation channels, but didn't see any crayfish!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVfq7x88v3BEnqTP5L3T2GAA3KqGUKAg-iH5ZZyVzyrQyY2IQsLVDwGIawjS60phI3n_D-sm5eSrYAmcuMV5B_TZT1X_qm7fH_nGZe6r1vyGh8eekxYES1nMMBhXSDQGwGZRg87RmOaaVAehVpLptEzC0TxgQCi6h5DnnSCa5SIux-2QKq39BvYpsSrPS/s4000/20230916_075843.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVfq7x88v3BEnqTP5L3T2GAA3KqGUKAg-iH5ZZyVzyrQyY2IQsLVDwGIawjS60phI3n_D-sm5eSrYAmcuMV5B_TZT1X_qm7fH_nGZe6r1vyGh8eekxYES1nMMBhXSDQGwGZRg87RmOaaVAehVpLptEzC0TxgQCi6h5DnnSCa5SIux-2QKq39BvYpsSrPS/s320/20230916_075843.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_7M0Gtaj7hH1zBnom2TME1HS7j-sdxbDryVyuHdQ3Dmf8cqKbrdNMqa0bjdbsu4vH3eqTZYE9GUJ-0SlhhP0AUECbqWDVpqqbicNCGdudjIqpvH27CRxQQxOOC0iEUupzLKdkKITQjSNJaTzhugWyzMfqnyi3CFZy7fTUnk_oISEJIQkTqm5tfsjoZAP/s4624/20230916_075831.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_7M0Gtaj7hH1zBnom2TME1HS7j-sdxbDryVyuHdQ3Dmf8cqKbrdNMqa0bjdbsu4vH3eqTZYE9GUJ-0SlhhP0AUECbqWDVpqqbicNCGdudjIqpvH27CRxQQxOOC0iEUupzLKdkKITQjSNJaTzhugWyzMfqnyi3CFZy7fTUnk_oISEJIQkTqm5tfsjoZAP/s320/20230916_075831.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMPIwwggRC1VMA-_NsDD_SGd7CMIl2ZKvvnnV6d2F8k7ct2O14GcBCOdlotKSIwPjsHKzhk34mYbx6WHRY27734GW0EyErHUWtKhiyqQMkLEQ1hfTck-lM58PABIQ8uQTw2GiAbNwOHMODMR2SLTUJshIS6QAqKhNY_Ulr4HlUugikWyQkodcjMMAR1FY/s4624/20230916_075836.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMPIwwggRC1VMA-_NsDD_SGd7CMIl2ZKvvnnV6d2F8k7ct2O14GcBCOdlotKSIwPjsHKzhk34mYbx6WHRY27734GW0EyErHUWtKhiyqQMkLEQ1hfTck-lM58PABIQ8uQTw2GiAbNwOHMODMR2SLTUJshIS6QAqKhNY_Ulr4HlUugikWyQkodcjMMAR1FY/s320/20230916_075836.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">After an hour or so among the rice paddies I crossed the river Agogna and walked along the roadside into the village of Nicorvo, where I stopped for a coffee and croissant. The café owner told me I could get a stamp for my credential at the little church right where the Via Francigena turns a corner, known as the Madonnina, so I stopped in there before leaving the village behind for more rice paddies, ibises and crayfish claws.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJAM_veLbmysloVjVsfq79NKLR_VfVXSBPZCeC38To86b9U6_IHMEHau7oxI6FnwSm8rU11oOVi-O_3ooPoOBA-vJsRDiMdXgmCNePRLNR-_RkcOyxbNTlcN1xSItVUwH5CnJB_qcaO_6OnmgYVcT53Cv5_zLeT5yjZheuhxPm_1KmpnmtTG34fYYOW4c/s4624/20230916_075933.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJAM_veLbmysloVjVsfq79NKLR_VfVXSBPZCeC38To86b9U6_IHMEHau7oxI6FnwSm8rU11oOVi-O_3ooPoOBA-vJsRDiMdXgmCNePRLNR-_RkcOyxbNTlcN1xSItVUwH5CnJB_qcaO_6OnmgYVcT53Cv5_zLeT5yjZheuhxPm_1KmpnmtTG34fYYOW4c/s320/20230916_075933.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lYVDyCycZ2s586hFDaZVx4nvK24OFIwWh6ExHTDTpG-357qNeutK41HdtyJMQonxjnW4c2U7w8FOCXSyKt68OGWFYpn98gjORxDq3eFzDkwCIr0TuR_8xap1wFb8bQ1-u2PlTfppiDvwWSThh2dizxLTmrznRUYa1uI2PNLMh7MRuMiIs7ER2GeXmOHM/s4624/20230916_082516.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lYVDyCycZ2s586hFDaZVx4nvK24OFIwWh6ExHTDTpG-357qNeutK41HdtyJMQonxjnW4c2U7w8FOCXSyKt68OGWFYpn98gjORxDq3eFzDkwCIr0TuR_8xap1wFb8bQ1-u2PlTfppiDvwWSThh2dizxLTmrznRUYa1uI2PNLMh7MRuMiIs7ER2GeXmOHM/s320/20230916_082516.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Torrente Agogna</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1v8D-OKPfuevAnVf1-XC-7jDs0xamh22qasNbNd2kSbD541rEonPlVtuyOXek69vpP4myYPL86mnGwqK2znJIgWi_LbGSVg9dkvsStDbC5bKFLAj-lEee2d5GbvFs6X3IioQIBA-20mKdC11khGjqe1UhCmxDmRn-vkmx27AyKzy4IlCEcMJJ3cQMjvTE/s4624/20230916_090031.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1v8D-OKPfuevAnVf1-XC-7jDs0xamh22qasNbNd2kSbD541rEonPlVtuyOXek69vpP4myYPL86mnGwqK2znJIgWi_LbGSVg9dkvsStDbC5bKFLAj-lEee2d5GbvFs6X3IioQIBA-20mKdC11khGjqe1UhCmxDmRn-vkmx27AyKzy4IlCEcMJJ3cQMjvTE/s320/20230916_090031.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nicorvo</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5wuI1JqzOZl1B5QeYyI33YyPQJofM6DSCH4fArK95Tc_c8eG0IgrRq8ijJMnukFPzCAaoZgDmAKOfy1MjzTWxVq8X9EbEqUd05hlEp5gOydUTUIWiLnRWODjdEvqwjxqH-TBdiacs4B0Lw1I5rJjWk64x7tPOMQ5_dTXALgLsO0U-3TP5vmrBzWy9JlxD/s4624/20230916_090218.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5wuI1JqzOZl1B5QeYyI33YyPQJofM6DSCH4fArK95Tc_c8eG0IgrRq8ijJMnukFPzCAaoZgDmAKOfy1MjzTWxVq8X9EbEqUd05hlEp5gOydUTUIWiLnRWODjdEvqwjxqH-TBdiacs4B0Lw1I5rJjWk64x7tPOMQ5_dTXALgLsO0U-3TP5vmrBzWy9JlxD/s320/20230916_090218.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nicorvo</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvHJ7_pAh4AcfxdCtIBHD7xkBK0sIK53X3WSibu79b8clHrqm506lgcAkgniztRcv21IwqtRLWtkjGyV26-jobQwwRWtCnSEJMqqULY0A3yAgGIoZCgfOxZuyLNCtAK_gOGafkHZaYB-Y6Uqbgl_-Att1tkWUKlFgR4VzOWhkfmM-P5490fGqSloZDudU/s4624/20230916_090232.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvHJ7_pAh4AcfxdCtIBHD7xkBK0sIK53X3WSibu79b8clHrqm506lgcAkgniztRcv21IwqtRLWtkjGyV26-jobQwwRWtCnSEJMqqULY0A3yAgGIoZCgfOxZuyLNCtAK_gOGafkHZaYB-Y6Uqbgl_-Att1tkWUKlFgR4VzOWhkfmM-P5490fGqSloZDudU/s320/20230916_090232.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nicorvo </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnjjAPbeDHkK1kHZ35u5niGHj5iJwKSPU2SVVG9w2TDVtn6tP7-aQwb5k7X82j4d-OYosHWpPRtq4ugWcF9NlviLSogQWnIfPXcXev0AA7n5odb1n6-OG57N2xR2AcgolRluCQHRR05PWFuGN2LPhur7P09dLGGk237Gr9tF-ijtJphMdT6saf9PDc4ijv/s4624/20230916_090312.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnjjAPbeDHkK1kHZ35u5niGHj5iJwKSPU2SVVG9w2TDVtn6tP7-aQwb5k7X82j4d-OYosHWpPRtq4ugWcF9NlviLSogQWnIfPXcXev0AA7n5odb1n6-OG57N2xR2AcgolRluCQHRR05PWFuGN2LPhur7P09dLGGk237Gr9tF-ijtJphMdT6saf9PDc4ijv/s320/20230916_090312.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ZZZ9nfNlm5uT2IZWBVb_9EoAvV7aHKoFjgJZzWw1VJVo7nS2Di5sZWtQGzMbAq32KTmFMQ-u7uO1A_8MdXFskGSEBdUQtsclNdspmKDMj77kkdFqUunnNh57-78qnRzvxIn4_w2kpfhlOekHpfGVq4u0XJoaJhtem1r4oAIs67ofXSWaiGjpd7EBpJAx/s4624/20230916_090343.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ZZZ9nfNlm5uT2IZWBVb_9EoAvV7aHKoFjgJZzWw1VJVo7nS2Di5sZWtQGzMbAq32KTmFMQ-u7uO1A_8MdXFskGSEBdUQtsclNdspmKDMj77kkdFqUunnNh57-78qnRzvxIn4_w2kpfhlOekHpfGVq4u0XJoaJhtem1r4oAIs67ofXSWaiGjpd7EBpJAx/s320/20230916_090343.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr25VXpeVZGQP-DwW8dpcbrph-9ZD6RvrNrfB7EVpUrF-wbiRF6kslBkI6qy5q153303D4AyabGhlSFgPVySx6V45kNpznRuLUfhpRJ2dFD1H6_DJZiueOVxrB96WmsStPgl0C8rN48opksQRqSA1e0e40moiVdcSTIvwF0nfsGTgep7d_8_N7MgRxtEn7/s4624/20230916_091547.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr25VXpeVZGQP-DwW8dpcbrph-9ZD6RvrNrfB7EVpUrF-wbiRF6kslBkI6qy5q153303D4AyabGhlSFgPVySx6V45kNpznRuLUfhpRJ2dFD1H6_DJZiueOVxrB96WmsStPgl0C8rN48opksQRqSA1e0e40moiVdcSTIvwF0nfsGTgep7d_8_N7MgRxtEn7/s320/20230916_091547.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">A few minutes' walk outside Nicorvo, I spoke to a man with a scythe who was cutting sheaves of rice in the corners of a small rice paddy and throwing them into the middle. I asked why, and he told me the rice was going to be harvested today - if it doesn't rain - and the harvester can't manœuvre around the corners of the field. He wanted to make sure every stalk of rice got harvested! He told me the rice would be sold to one of the big processing plants. In Robbio I had walked past the head offices of Riso Gallo, one of the biggest Italian brands, and seen the processing plant in the distance. The industrial rice processing plants have taken over from the family-owned <i>cascine </i>like the one I walked past a few minutes further down the trail, where everything was done by hand, or using simple machinery powered by either water or donkeys!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhy0LTnaKc-rgHZZi_X-W992Fzap-JVQVe-_uxErHrgO5ey1UPDAAAOVve6xNc-msCD0k1EldopPQU0zxT1CdepLq09zvpnarOiyuok1OnnIpHTxYzO_3brG06EMnu9uGeJNAL7OHQTS46Yb7TeY81fYsSlr1KO7Q35AkL1BuoFjG7hX2ZdpJzqUXu_edz/s4624/20230916_093411.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhy0LTnaKc-rgHZZi_X-W992Fzap-JVQVe-_uxErHrgO5ey1UPDAAAOVve6xNc-msCD0k1EldopPQU0zxT1CdepLq09zvpnarOiyuok1OnnIpHTxYzO_3brG06EMnu9uGeJNAL7OHQTS46Yb7TeY81fYsSlr1KO7Q35AkL1BuoFjG7hX2ZdpJzqUXu_edz/s320/20230916_093411.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZLhYTTzKVzMWZ0r5pHSQYDKvXF80sJz9XNav3XMUe5zFHJZBA2H5NxI8tCt-CS5BRz5HO2fwHuXyh1JoQxiHumObO9nGZ1xUUnfwBpntwHe4BvD7hNFmprEFsNPx7B7Dr1VDKUYNT53kK6HRGhgu1lEgaSWo39HWnLNgIc7ungbHLUydbFFf-34dxpLy/s4624/20230916_093429.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZLhYTTzKVzMWZ0r5pHSQYDKvXF80sJz9XNav3XMUe5zFHJZBA2H5NxI8tCt-CS5BRz5HO2fwHuXyh1JoQxiHumObO9nGZ1xUUnfwBpntwHe4BvD7hNFmprEFsNPx7B7Dr1VDKUYNT53kK6HRGhgu1lEgaSWo39HWnLNgIc7ungbHLUydbFFf-34dxpLy/s320/20230916_093429.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwsJL8LAzwWC0HyD6oknNHeferAcG7nfN4JacakR5oZ1vFMnz0hal2qHOp0CDVtvLTpeFBWo5nXmvOhgENS-vrPIeCB62fYqRKoymdZLP6E7XPjSF7RrxlyVbY1JYoZyw-_tOcRcI6H-agOX2q0RV4XyZ8K5-proNo_oNJU9NskmzkGco0kAQAOSfg6BXT/s4624/20230916_093521.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwsJL8LAzwWC0HyD6oknNHeferAcG7nfN4JacakR5oZ1vFMnz0hal2qHOp0CDVtvLTpeFBWo5nXmvOhgENS-vrPIeCB62fYqRKoymdZLP6E7XPjSF7RrxlyVbY1JYoZyw-_tOcRcI6H-agOX2q0RV4XyZ8K5-proNo_oNJU9NskmzkGco0kAQAOSfg6BXT/s320/20230916_093521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rice paddies and birdwatching came to an end at the hamlet and church of Madonna del Campo, where I stopped for a rest on the bench in front of the church.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEtwMSefKuu60LWpBv7K_tb4R_TKommW1O7uFAChj180At8qetmuanpqfR3KcncGWtydYKefxNfOWjdciOb_UNHPgN4iJJBYZ5ndTy2q9DDJBLvpenZchGGb1J_G-Jo9isxXAm4KUwsXp7eNTiJAC-t8vPJd9Kl8Vstrg6Gg5sKjFc5lcZsWd0XzbJvJv/s4624/20230916_103558.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEtwMSefKuu60LWpBv7K_tb4R_TKommW1O7uFAChj180At8qetmuanpqfR3KcncGWtydYKefxNfOWjdciOb_UNHPgN4iJJBYZ5ndTy2q9DDJBLvpenZchGGb1J_G-Jo9isxXAm4KUwsXp7eNTiJAC-t8vPJd9Kl8Vstrg6Gg5sKjFc5lcZsWd0XzbJvJv/s320/20230916_103558.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskgnrzfmrTUXVcNuzyabiEIMJKiZeNjHNsY4ajgVV4uwllNfxh2NfsCCIvG3RYXFs06EkhH7WDcrJrO4By6OkIvB3huJxLnfPyHcEKI9wFsW5vbMAbYgWinln4dE8-sV8M9Fd5Lq4Xn2oXyE_2bUc2nqrnhpS225cwzhVdvEANY7viK4be4CL9nQNppYY/s4624/20230916_101613.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskgnrzfmrTUXVcNuzyabiEIMJKiZeNjHNsY4ajgVV4uwllNfxh2NfsCCIvG3RYXFs06EkhH7WDcrJrO4By6OkIvB3huJxLnfPyHcEKI9wFsW5vbMAbYgWinln4dE8-sV8M9Fd5Lq4Xn2oXyE_2bUc2nqrnhpS225cwzhVdvEANY7viK4be4CL9nQNppYY/s320/20230916_101613.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbnL93aSWpqkw2_0X6hHBZRoyBHvdR70DU_ebnO1QDxBMG03diIjfGPycoijDx32rKinl3MddwuktPXVO6itSWxhzZagbg3ffvcSRcbifu0VEUH-EQ_fNYjl89P4sQx-lA14tI0WCTRm5CvzY7PSBi9OWzlASGrCT0b6Wvv7dP6fHMKUMsauEgfe60nsS/s4624/20230916_102131.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbnL93aSWpqkw2_0X6hHBZRoyBHvdR70DU_ebnO1QDxBMG03diIjfGPycoijDx32rKinl3MddwuktPXVO6itSWxhzZagbg3ffvcSRcbifu0VEUH-EQ_fNYjl89P4sQx-lA14tI0WCTRm5CvzY7PSBi9OWzlASGrCT0b6Wvv7dP6fHMKUMsauEgfe60nsS/s320/20230916_102131.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpn4QWitbAF_xS-nofoPb4aAIASzG_N-uaekY74BO7pydwiKVz1GZQZI4YAfdbsDlim6AghyAKCm5gQyevD58JX8IW66tzUHe51xwgofqueXDsy1Q7M2n7w72T2MPZ6sr3h-exID-Mb_XopyWwkitKcyXAQpEQe4pqPeaxGOInE6jW0pKfPGYaj7FP1vIm/s4624/20230916_103737.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpn4QWitbAF_xS-nofoPb4aAIASzG_N-uaekY74BO7pydwiKVz1GZQZI4YAfdbsDlim6AghyAKCm5gQyevD58JX8IW66tzUHe51xwgofqueXDsy1Q7M2n7w72T2MPZ6sr3h-exID-Mb_XopyWwkitKcyXAQpEQe4pqPeaxGOInE6jW0pKfPGYaj7FP1vIm/s320/20230916_103737.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From Madonna del Campo it was only a short walk around a freight yard and across the train tracks via an underpass to Mortara, where I made a triumphant entrance into the church of Santa Croce to the sound of the organ!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxerEM2GyGJsqmvOulSdM8NJFYQPhPDgu05HCFuXno7Mx6lGwno2qGQ8a-32a7I_soyfY23_qZ9JeLA58AAog' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I seem to have a knack for finding rehearsing organists and choirs recently! 😄</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I walked on as far as the town hall and the cathedral. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbfKRnDNa8nWQt6h44iWYTyiFOpJgSCF5J1tthoumBVywfIYSzY4WghHNWhLWcUbqzU2xs8_sZ3ndUr2YdJPb-P0GmGqSk-83584vL6P-YgsJ_MdDMKbQ3Cru5G9xc-G4tQy1rhzI7yIAlxivMZTHOiQN2y9Q8qMAtstm69jrGxGpqtM2q_WhFJnUqI_fU/s4624/20230916_112207.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbfKRnDNa8nWQt6h44iWYTyiFOpJgSCF5J1tthoumBVywfIYSzY4WghHNWhLWcUbqzU2xs8_sZ3ndUr2YdJPb-P0GmGqSk-83584vL6P-YgsJ_MdDMKbQ3Cru5G9xc-G4tQy1rhzI7yIAlxivMZTHOiQN2y9Q8qMAtstm69jrGxGpqtM2q_WhFJnUqI_fU/s320/20230916_112207.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church of Santa Croce</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkdwmbYIGaypserKrVpA6AW8ZEBcaowrAbE_fr7JZ45efxHaa3Yc_OuBJ7SqCSc3_4O6oqk5M5qlZA6IqL_crYrysNPw_P1OmBFIFokcQr4EFu6wN2dxJ9Hhy6DUx8FH9RAdB32BefsuAzenNCTJdbcEkPwZtncvKLEmO_vJQ_QQCr7azdicM48MCmHdP/s4624/20230916_112612.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkdwmbYIGaypserKrVpA6AW8ZEBcaowrAbE_fr7JZ45efxHaa3Yc_OuBJ7SqCSc3_4O6oqk5M5qlZA6IqL_crYrysNPw_P1OmBFIFokcQr4EFu6wN2dxJ9Hhy6DUx8FH9RAdB32BefsuAzenNCTJdbcEkPwZtncvKLEmO_vJQ_QQCr7azdicM48MCmHdP/s320/20230916_112612.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church of Santa Croce </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiA3kvNpUkHPFouWzMfjT1W9VoKRvpCdrdh8b6FeO99v4EWHj6-RHf6SEzOZr1mxzChhLZz_f7uqrrwyvGi-aGSfQ2gvJDFMypPpvUVEaI3696jHPqFg73Jl0NghSmiI_Yjme5TTUqpsiEuoVWHnT2FfTbrWMb3i-yy2IX3hQGgQY_6P_M3DhGdXAQqzE/s4624/20230916_111818.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiA3kvNpUkHPFouWzMfjT1W9VoKRvpCdrdh8b6FeO99v4EWHj6-RHf6SEzOZr1mxzChhLZz_f7uqrrwyvGi-aGSfQ2gvJDFMypPpvUVEaI3696jHPqFg73Jl0NghSmiI_Yjme5TTUqpsiEuoVWHnT2FfTbrWMb3i-yy2IX3hQGgQY_6P_M3DhGdXAQqzE/s320/20230916_111818.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mortara city hall</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOv4SL2eLQZgEEXUwUgek2bnHM994Y_9nVmua9Dp06MKPbHQkVP4GI59TcpaH1EYDlqTvZPM49FTrDKt6c4f3IblUZQ5Gwcig3GVYDb1nThq_Co6W3iyNhDk7M0r0CH8vRiMTXCaiY-xH9WhG7vuDBOgo8Ol0dOMvNbU0ek6IaIiIH9CN5FCLtEWC8QKUc/s4624/20230916_113617.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOv4SL2eLQZgEEXUwUgek2bnHM994Y_9nVmua9Dp06MKPbHQkVP4GI59TcpaH1EYDlqTvZPM49FTrDKt6c4f3IblUZQ5Gwcig3GVYDb1nThq_Co6W3iyNhDk7M0r0CH8vRiMTXCaiY-xH9WhG7vuDBOgo8Ol0dOMvNbU0ek6IaIiIH9CN5FCLtEWC8QKUc/s320/20230916_113617.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mortara cathedral (built 1375-1380)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4rLkRRG4hSyQpc7w63jPu8n4fklHGwLY6leUS9MXzQZfgJVH2rZlctCddOpH9Zqr__gd5bAjkt-N4d0u2RB28HPDlITUj94qvqCdWCHGibwd7R5PAf8MGcWibRqhAxv2UVu-S6l3bTiAg7HAht1zmmPJeHBBObnWiQD-nlmQdtjCTtyaS0WvPYII7_1U/s4624/20230916_113723.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4rLkRRG4hSyQpc7w63jPu8n4fklHGwLY6leUS9MXzQZfgJVH2rZlctCddOpH9Zqr__gd5bAjkt-N4d0u2RB28HPDlITUj94qvqCdWCHGibwd7R5PAf8MGcWibRqhAxv2UVu-S6l3bTiAg7HAht1zmmPJeHBBObnWiQD-nlmQdtjCTtyaS0WvPYII7_1U/s320/20230916_113723.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bricks from the four holy gates of Rome </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn55s-h1lXq4XEhuE1V6DZMqNhjvLsf_3KiDKJWh7dPdseGrwVZV9vOC6P0NMgpMN9C1YtgIRSyujGYqCnaeZ1g8Yw2tg-DbQQUOHl8hrFDPUN2VsKZgcgfeMel3RGrhPTathR4HG5hiwqf0ikASpkqDGQzj0KqZK4NOak17h3P3NiGwQy0bS5sbSfTiiQ/s4624/20230916_113958.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn55s-h1lXq4XEhuE1V6DZMqNhjvLsf_3KiDKJWh7dPdseGrwVZV9vOC6P0NMgpMN9C1YtgIRSyujGYqCnaeZ1g8Yw2tg-DbQQUOHl8hrFDPUN2VsKZgcgfeMel3RGrhPTathR4HG5hiwqf0ikASpkqDGQzj0KqZK4NOak17h3P3NiGwQy0bS5sbSfTiiQ/s320/20230916_113958.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Rocco, patron saint of pilgrims (and the sick)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I then found a café, took a book from their book exchange shelf, and ordered a tuna sandwich and an ice cream while I waited for my train back home. I will now be taking a week off from the Via Francigena to get back to family and work... </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hope to see you back here when I start walking again!!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgocgkqItxdY78NdC688WJKroPZW3zLnDp3sPRhCQEB1gVnV39USnH2IEG5AkE6pZgFVW9emlbicZruMtsFdZ40yIG06O58pBj0U4RkBSrfyt69RG3kPtzcBmYPC6osgrz8nCGR-_EAD5uKdi2kAKJ2F1ZvKnu4NpbaF1Pd2iDyJYObo3pw-s0bzOnIqSdP/s2400/Screenshot_20230916_111552_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgocgkqItxdY78NdC688WJKroPZW3zLnDp3sPRhCQEB1gVnV39USnH2IEG5AkE6pZgFVW9emlbicZruMtsFdZ40yIG06O58pBj0U4RkBSrfyt69RG3kPtzcBmYPC6osgrz8nCGR-_EAD5uKdi2kAKJ2F1ZvKnu4NpbaF1Pd2iDyJYObo3pw-s0bzOnIqSdP/s320/Screenshot_20230916_111552_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Robbio - Mortara 15 km</div>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-58292169233755432132023-09-15T19:36:00.007+02:002024-01-09T14:25:15.656+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 72: Vercelli - Robbio<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>A</i><i>lla mattina appena alzata</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><i>o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao, ciao, ciao</i></div><div><i>alla mattina appena alzata</i></div><div><i>in risaia mi tocca andar.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>E fra gli insetti e le zanzare</i></div><div><i>o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao</i></div><div><i>e fra gli insetti e le zanzare</i></div><div><i>un dur lavoro mi tocca far.</i></div><div><br /></div><div><i><div>Il capo in piedi col suo bastone</div><div>o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao</div><div>il capo in piedi col suo bastone</div><div>e noi curve a lavorar.</div><div><br /></div><div>O mamma mia, o che tormento!</div><div>o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao</div><div>o mamma mia o che tormento</div><div>io t'invoco ogni doman.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ma verrà un giorno che tutte quante</div><div>o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao</div><div>ma verrà un giorno che tutte quante</div><div>lavoreremo in libertà.</div></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>- </i>original lyrics of <i>Bella ciao</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWTSd2Zwnc49n2wqvhr5GHw5nyYcATusBzNl_g0a6PMXQ8U3cvbQfFtRAvFwd9aZgRKK-07iJaQ4s9ACNV0QFTf-41tti-MIcl9Rgxyzsqf14nJBn393WXpSmvaUn0vju9B0u6qMp7oUcK_7BhIwwyQcoW-dxLdH-s42mPbc9j6C1L7BB0D3u43yzAarq/s4624/20230915_133858.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWTSd2Zwnc49n2wqvhr5GHw5nyYcATusBzNl_g0a6PMXQ8U3cvbQfFtRAvFwd9aZgRKK-07iJaQ4s9ACNV0QFTf-41tti-MIcl9Rgxyzsqf14nJBn393WXpSmvaUn0vju9B0u6qMp7oUcK_7BhIwwyQcoW-dxLdH-s42mPbc9j6C1L7BB0D3u43yzAarq/s320/20230915_133858.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrPZyozsgpb5rZi7oHbxT6lFZdN7vXSVgzFFaC_5P2H_9BzqFQFCaXnJynU3h22gYq7yOT64qP3p3P_AzicCg_ufb6J4Ad7d1HigycKbYlxli-3JhI74Bl7YZAATlBrq0wK1ztQK41bqMofivOajHNcM73ckToyEFHlSovLDfY4EyiUX9S_YiWDKaPsl1/s4624/20230915_100321.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrPZyozsgpb5rZi7oHbxT6lFZdN7vXSVgzFFaC_5P2H_9BzqFQFCaXnJynU3h22gYq7yOT64qP3p3P_AzicCg_ufb6J4Ad7d1HigycKbYlxli-3JhI74Bl7YZAATlBrq0wK1ztQK41bqMofivOajHNcM73ckToyEFHlSovLDfY4EyiUX9S_YiWDKaPsl1/s320/20230915_100321.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWE_xvtOm3DCqUn7vLAy9aAZ0gZWmXHc3t2Z4DxjSXLmF9DjEwtGLnRj6UcDjrlbX0CM454q797h2_cULNlDDHG8jJ6PYUylNVeNPssQzXYAuA0fv8qI0khEYtQpNgV0tFfecVYM3sCOsWsj9yLW3XvHl6d2sGaPoUQyBr-mpo9YNN01xqkkDRDi5LIx5B/s4624/20230915_134208.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWE_xvtOm3DCqUn7vLAy9aAZ0gZWmXHc3t2Z4DxjSXLmF9DjEwtGLnRj6UcDjrlbX0CM454q797h2_cULNlDDHG8jJ6PYUylNVeNPssQzXYAuA0fv8qI0khEYtQpNgV0tFfecVYM3sCOsWsj9yLW3XvHl6d2sGaPoUQyBr-mpo9YNN01xqkkDRDi5LIx5B/s320/20230915_134208.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The days when the rice paddies were full of women working bent over double, singing as they weeded the rice, are over, thank goodness, and the big old farm buildings with their dormitories for migrant workers stand empty and decaying in the damp. But has the day yet come when we are all "working in freedom", as the women wished for in the last verse of the song? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1DRQQjdAdtg3CraikTleyr4FPDedwBm08_SMU6KvnpytHgJeOzNpbsDOo6BWFo1u_C5g7W4FSejKQCh3-dxwPjTOWaI69TcPi2whlYVHlSm1uE1h0qVGQHdhJQTh8OOt63SEhvh8XpcndpliXYOxLxEwDwHHmVq31R3lGuppNP1trc8Ie_grO31aXEmc/s4624/20230915_172715.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1DRQQjdAdtg3CraikTleyr4FPDedwBm08_SMU6KvnpytHgJeOzNpbsDOo6BWFo1u_C5g7W4FSejKQCh3-dxwPjTOWaI69TcPi2whlYVHlSm1uE1h0qVGQHdhJQTh8OOt63SEhvh8XpcndpliXYOxLxEwDwHHmVq31R3lGuppNP1trc8Ie_grO31aXEmc/s320/20230915_172715.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monument to the <i>mondine </i>in Robbio town hall</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJr1shlKcUj83_jlNZuxy_iHzOmzQEUzN_8-O8qx5LvMp6zxxdefDFPZG3aI0Fw0yBYamliNLscwCc2c44FiLNPhOEcTQfhMtyIsWTu5LLtTUlRWVNaZxYAfGtLtk9haQuVFG_GTdpVXbQLdysucl4REDddcos03lQvqfOWJljfWKqH-upaK27RFjv_4s1/s4624/20230915_093815.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJr1shlKcUj83_jlNZuxy_iHzOmzQEUzN_8-O8qx5LvMp6zxxdefDFPZG3aI0Fw0yBYamliNLscwCc2c44FiLNPhOEcTQfhMtyIsWTu5LLtTUlRWVNaZxYAfGtLtk9haQuVFG_GTdpVXbQLdysucl4REDddcos03lQvqfOWJljfWKqH-upaK27RFjv_4s1/s320/20230915_093815.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Leaving Vercelli behind, I walked eleven kilometres along a gravel road on the top of an embankment among the rice paddies to Palestro.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZyGaZd-eMQB4O_GQNSyZRXpQgMYrKcRxSrbD9ZGSRO9VPr58pv22PxLGXcxQjKonISPC2OiltEmGc-j4O3Mhj1CTlv9n_-SRGjMVF_08_flS8-jjUC2oPnRgwoilE8pMYA7L-NtXAqxsbP8WTxoaBQR-N8SjRMWG6eY69YhLMwPQwAcq_GsL2PRtKaZLy/s4624/20230915_110214.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZyGaZd-eMQB4O_GQNSyZRXpQgMYrKcRxSrbD9ZGSRO9VPr58pv22PxLGXcxQjKonISPC2OiltEmGc-j4O3Mhj1CTlv9n_-SRGjMVF_08_flS8-jjUC2oPnRgwoilE8pMYA7L-NtXAqxsbP8WTxoaBQR-N8SjRMWG6eY69YhLMwPQwAcq_GsL2PRtKaZLy/s320/20230915_110214.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I stopped for a bite to eat in this small town - after which numerous streets in Italian cities are named, because of the importance of the Battle of Palestro in the wars of unification of Italy. On 30–31 May 1859, the combined forces of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont and France defeated the forces of the Austrian Empire, in what is believed to be the last ever battle with the direct participation of a European sovereign, King Vittorio Emanuele II.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixgLuN-eA3wvjJzfifEbSP7RvttFoVMqD1XnyYyH8FmmRZm1ysT42EnhzcQ1O0_ltivgpgQFF0PcK1aSQSS37Dx4Pvl7iIHYlMWm1G8PA7JoLPJ6rJ57Av87jsoY6EREWKYMBgrWyBbHPQ6mjctUwpKzN1TqYPg7ZYdjmAZw9i5c7BN9jdy0On_gsLlRbF/s800/Vittorio%20Emanuele%20e%20gli%20zuavi%20a%20Palestro.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixgLuN-eA3wvjJzfifEbSP7RvttFoVMqD1XnyYyH8FmmRZm1ysT42EnhzcQ1O0_ltivgpgQFF0PcK1aSQSS37Dx4Pvl7iIHYlMWm1G8PA7JoLPJ6rJ57Av87jsoY6EREWKYMBgrWyBbHPQ6mjctUwpKzN1TqYPg7ZYdjmAZw9i5c7BN9jdy0On_gsLlRbF/s320/Vittorio%20Emanuele%20e%20gli%20zuavi%20a%20Palestro.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Depiction of the battle by Luigi Norfini</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">But Palestro today is a peaceful, even a sleepy little town. It was raining gently as I arrived, and so I sat in the church listening to the organist rehearsing. Then I found a sports clubhouse with a bar and ordered a cheese and tomato sandwich. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCRF9KRM0oJEqG2JKQW3xC6iOFQYegeiqCDOQG9g4d0PJ7NY8aOVhXVv_WwsO5OX59qE881eOVdWKl1ZFoGUsTYKoyPIwib8PsnVgZ38i0QDq8jzfxuc4lOBP3D363fGdUdEsHSNaIz-cMxbSCXBazvNefzYEd5On9MkdO3llEjH0Rf4WYAhbB-1_4MK-S/s4624/20230915_110837.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCRF9KRM0oJEqG2JKQW3xC6iOFQYegeiqCDOQG9g4d0PJ7NY8aOVhXVv_WwsO5OX59qE881eOVdWKl1ZFoGUsTYKoyPIwib8PsnVgZ38i0QDq8jzfxuc4lOBP3D363fGdUdEsHSNaIz-cMxbSCXBazvNefzYEd5On9MkdO3llEjH0Rf4WYAhbB-1_4MK-S/s320/20230915_110837.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSl2PJUUN_rL575_qwV3ohSmeMXaCwmL7eRnYXOlNvEA0pMhis6Srm_tBB4BUzgkKTIsYLtCTaYAvwuBfH6Yk8GujuLIyK7_UMYpk6W3KiplJ6--_NEdQ5g5fd9u57kC7vANlfS-ABnsVYUFLfMlIrVeV169-88pMErlXkDr9geitgN1ZMpupWX5nraWW/s4624/20230915_113103.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSl2PJUUN_rL575_qwV3ohSmeMXaCwmL7eRnYXOlNvEA0pMhis6Srm_tBB4BUzgkKTIsYLtCTaYAvwuBfH6Yk8GujuLIyK7_UMYpk6W3KiplJ6--_NEdQ5g5fd9u57kC7vANlfS-ABnsVYUFLfMlIrVeV169-88pMErlXkDr9geitgN1ZMpupWX5nraWW/s320/20230915_113103.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyic0v_0d8zoQ7jpykER61bfM5rNswpAgAl8Tnr-inw7Ynd2R_XtX7Oc2tuP14zwQpD-oMFE8AxR3g88hi6EzmDUgekF1E2TlkulHCCBTOyFStRoS8XAa_AtDcRK-FMe0_fE3V8tEbwJAB3x43Ywc3fSTJN-LpE1JmdoLcwh0lqElpJqQ4ESHyS1IXiOj/s4624/20230915_122743.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyic0v_0d8zoQ7jpykER61bfM5rNswpAgAl8Tnr-inw7Ynd2R_XtX7Oc2tuP14zwQpD-oMFE8AxR3g88hi6EzmDUgekF1E2TlkulHCCBTOyFStRoS8XAa_AtDcRK-FMe0_fE3V8tEbwJAB3x43Ywc3fSTJN-LpE1JmdoLcwh0lqElpJqQ4ESHyS1IXiOj/s320/20230915_122743.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rain had stopped by the time I left the town centre to return to the Via Francigena, which runs around the outside of the town and then crosses a number of irrigation channels before heading back out into the fields. This section was not on a gravel road but on a narrow, somewhat overgrown trail skirting the edges of the fields.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUD_tbIf9rq-Ctg6WrxaKdny-kbiMApbUAh8MxIKd7eIkuOuCQU29Ci50gakaPbRGkBWSZMxreIlf4rvR_Xsqt-owtxL2-Nk5cJX7A1VnapuZ9ZXmiJoRsFdy5pxdVNk2HvYO5uD-jNNkvIBoKGx6yWt5enZWei8-3IIL8v2sMSXXg2mEqA0vd_OI1UNO/s4624/20230915_123031.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUD_tbIf9rq-Ctg6WrxaKdny-kbiMApbUAh8MxIKd7eIkuOuCQU29Ci50gakaPbRGkBWSZMxreIlf4rvR_Xsqt-owtxL2-Nk5cJX7A1VnapuZ9ZXmiJoRsFdy5pxdVNk2HvYO5uD-jNNkvIBoKGx6yWt5enZWei8-3IIL8v2sMSXXg2mEqA0vd_OI1UNO/s320/20230915_123031.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBcWA8VLDGJ0-LkeXVd2OQMo8bjvIp4yhpvDkGeeBK-jBpjJnuT1302GisY4-YWjFzBESmy8QmJhTXuTXo39WqOyMlMqsl8MKVysDwJh3Pi6n8OX-5pTBRIJmeNWAB5vY4KosKHDzWSNuYJRe64Ck72QSwkQFeGSsTONg1pKYhkXgJsK3_Ic1BoPOsVXcs/s4624/20230915_123119.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBcWA8VLDGJ0-LkeXVd2OQMo8bjvIp4yhpvDkGeeBK-jBpjJnuT1302GisY4-YWjFzBESmy8QmJhTXuTXo39WqOyMlMqsl8MKVysDwJh3Pi6n8OX-5pTBRIJmeNWAB5vY4KosKHDzWSNuYJRe64Ck72QSwkQFeGSsTONg1pKYhkXgJsK3_Ic1BoPOsVXcs/s320/20230915_123119.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYE-kKCFVD06HETBbh83b44wZ3nypXyGl4d6g73c3PU_fncyDgpfCVvqqJFq6HVA-_OK3YQ_h8G43ceqS6pMKukVvX-SxLD6LPMIxI6xqFxHrIoEj67FDuHLXE2zI0lLBud0uz2w6NudWor-Mgb1JNd87-8aNthcQE7iczUHhxUGSZzDm3GSj7Dxb3jvf9/s4624/20230915_125107.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYE-kKCFVD06HETBbh83b44wZ3nypXyGl4d6g73c3PU_fncyDgpfCVvqqJFq6HVA-_OK3YQ_h8G43ceqS6pMKukVvX-SxLD6LPMIxI6xqFxHrIoEj67FDuHLXE2zI0lLBud0uz2w6NudWor-Mgb1JNd87-8aNthcQE7iczUHhxUGSZzDm3GSj7Dxb3jvf9/s320/20230915_125107.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiS0od2N-_22BfM__w3RzlX4JjnjKzgSIJgWKxQ6O3f0B6EIuvQ7FwYe5JRe1g-AV4AHXOhNW5yOuX3-6QNi1l4N7EcVpmUKdn1rT8Klk91HiiwroHqQZMQMzmFAdMfCACMTmSlAju81P4m1zcxHjSKtd6QAOXP6KHGi_U5kbSjf0yg9Ll3XZW7YWFxpYy/s4624/20230915_131937.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiS0od2N-_22BfM__w3RzlX4JjnjKzgSIJgWKxQ6O3f0B6EIuvQ7FwYe5JRe1g-AV4AHXOhNW5yOuX3-6QNi1l4N7EcVpmUKdn1rT8Klk91HiiwroHqQZMQMzmFAdMfCACMTmSlAju81P4m1zcxHjSKtd6QAOXP6KHGi_U5kbSjf0yg9Ll3XZW7YWFxpYy/s320/20230915_131937.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nine kilometres further along I reached Robbio, my destination for the evening. I called the number for the one-room municipal hostel and Anna, the volunteer, came to meet me in front of the town hall with the keys. My two Dutch roommates from last night were already in the room resting and recovering from the day's exertions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDM-2K9RTK_wIHWSHHrMdMJux0gvrCWf33smoZPsXGCd8dNvgUcdyxygxT42ksVAPsPSSU8HhH8eTrQEjoLItpe5TANMGsA1SG-q_9nfD08Td2-_7D5tFHnbAcTaxfVE91U49p64pi4tc9VkSRflVwuO5siUX2cp33cygoEZUyE7F7u-UES_kHjmT2Qx87/s4624/20230915_142323.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDM-2K9RTK_wIHWSHHrMdMJux0gvrCWf33smoZPsXGCd8dNvgUcdyxygxT42ksVAPsPSSU8HhH8eTrQEjoLItpe5TANMGsA1SG-q_9nfD08Td2-_7D5tFHnbAcTaxfVE91U49p64pi4tc9VkSRflVwuO5siUX2cp33cygoEZUyE7F7u-UES_kHjmT2Qx87/s320/20230915_142323.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdcuD-XsLXUOfN6QhqkOOijsWx5Nu-AFJ-zNBfUJ_nXe5GRjP6DqWfuitpGpXOShkFf4vZX4rVL8ahO5vuCeDu7avGcZDC5qawj1zzv4UzQdKRs48V6p36bxGP1N9G6LpjhquxRgCTNDYptMzXQQ_NjuC1ITe3m7AbEwmnGKpi7BslveDWL3fglUo78PK/s4624/20230915_143541.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdcuD-XsLXUOfN6QhqkOOijsWx5Nu-AFJ-zNBfUJ_nXe5GRjP6DqWfuitpGpXOShkFf4vZX4rVL8ahO5vuCeDu7avGcZDC5qawj1zzv4UzQdKRs48V6p36bxGP1N9G6LpjhquxRgCTNDYptMzXQQ_NjuC1ITe3m7AbEwmnGKpi7BslveDWL3fglUo78PK/s320/20230915_143541.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqmEV78GAWw54FJiYAHQtIM00RV5QcMF4X88ixBeJbLUqZKybknOfNLc27vuta_tt1wxuJ3cQsOLCYVjGFFRMshmGlL-WkCGW2BFLYVjvjj-BwBd3gAjMgdeopijpYNPmh_tSFHru5QhAeV9NgnhWW5NPOBhElGx3NxTGAkrY6DRn2fSAN5Mufm1ecgeE/s4624/20230915_172752.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqmEV78GAWw54FJiYAHQtIM00RV5QcMF4X88ixBeJbLUqZKybknOfNLc27vuta_tt1wxuJ3cQsOLCYVjGFFRMshmGlL-WkCGW2BFLYVjvjj-BwBd3gAjMgdeopijpYNPmh_tSFHru5QhAeV9NgnhWW5NPOBhElGx3NxTGAkrY6DRn2fSAN5Mufm1ecgeE/s320/20230915_172752.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP3unVqIELu46EWEmiOSnpwrREMWeF_MWByPtVFgOvsg16J4Qea7WxHBWA7GwJXclwEH-Vtk0y9CSntRvj9EGeREW0bB9-Q0oHQ-0Fh8WwHVsqnY47wtxFxSNjyYl6H5l0l3HSPvVf1C7gNSx519ipjWi5qVie0G0yWsfXq8cNFWRdsvSZBJCPGgu3J04r/s4624/20230915_172659.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP3unVqIELu46EWEmiOSnpwrREMWeF_MWByPtVFgOvsg16J4Qea7WxHBWA7GwJXclwEH-Vtk0y9CSntRvj9EGeREW0bB9-Q0oHQ-0Fh8WwHVsqnY47wtxFxSNjyYl6H5l0l3HSPvVf1C7gNSx519ipjWi5qVie0G0yWsfXq8cNFWRdsvSZBJCPGgu3J04r/s320/20230915_172659.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're in the back buildings of the town hall complex</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFGsk3aysmIOQqP9850P-aRmL073thtnKHqGbc3f3IW_jTOa6D6YjW21NHg9QN_jbccZ8UoTxJ4Kg7fG2LK_A3NmVR9zyaaJW6grExb2E2x7WZYVcCxSXHnvMO4DNIaPh64QVV_ydspjOYZAIzlG9vIaEd9j9hxaEtCEcBjS1zquS2-E9oEXjYbFIa0AxC/s4624/20230915_150211.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFGsk3aysmIOQqP9850P-aRmL073thtnKHqGbc3f3IW_jTOa6D6YjW21NHg9QN_jbccZ8UoTxJ4Kg7fG2LK_A3NmVR9zyaaJW6grExb2E2x7WZYVcCxSXHnvMO4DNIaPh64QVV_ydspjOYZAIzlG9vIaEd9j9hxaEtCEcBjS1zquS2-E9oEXjYbFIa0AxC/s320/20230915_150211.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I did the same, and then ventured out to see what the town had to offer. The two medieval churches, San Pietro and San Michele, were both closed, so I could only admire their brick exteriors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqf3XJjp8yQVSAMHgxMiBv0t5folpeNPzHAqSIPx1u5Iyn_GoXIIM1IXW23t6IdrGKjCOEntTaDAir7C0wUiaMzmXLmYB2270XVzYTilIAHy2VzXcmZok-4WfwILmBNYKWjxsSCOYfDgo3sWh5kUtu-dGOsTM3CUWIEe_eRDNfU42T0bU_uqCvCKJVsd8K/s4624/20230915_143213.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqf3XJjp8yQVSAMHgxMiBv0t5folpeNPzHAqSIPx1u5Iyn_GoXIIM1IXW23t6IdrGKjCOEntTaDAir7C0wUiaMzmXLmYB2270XVzYTilIAHy2VzXcmZok-4WfwILmBNYKWjxsSCOYfDgo3sWh5kUtu-dGOsTM3CUWIEe_eRDNfU42T0bU_uqCvCKJVsd8K/s320/20230915_143213.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've already arrived in Piazza San Pietro 😄</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_s0icK-GmtJHWpRdmiVTWBYgwjrFGfY28eAvNt-9Gtdr84KuKavIbHFn3k3RuPbuoZbVgGUTrqbG0BW37o6YSnLXTPpr1ue3mhEhTvEw4er6vtlRABELlqfXxoA3VKVMS-NQjH8eZAK4ZMLuYB4o-wPnlUZproO2-Htm9JI2WcE_xQJT6mHxcTtG9l_hy/s4624/20230915_173233.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_s0icK-GmtJHWpRdmiVTWBYgwjrFGfY28eAvNt-9Gtdr84KuKavIbHFn3k3RuPbuoZbVgGUTrqbG0BW37o6YSnLXTPpr1ue3mhEhTvEw4er6vtlRABELlqfXxoA3VKVMS-NQjH8eZAK4ZMLuYB4o-wPnlUZproO2-Htm9JI2WcE_xQJT6mHxcTtG9l_hy/s320/20230915_173233.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Pietro </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho16GXFGaXdMObFYoW5ogl_iW_Rat6tEvf8qEsY9dXB8nUFbmIpCfOzI5lwf9yX177jr5kFkFY2-1YgdbTSWsj_LQQ32DHOwg9WBF5qOUa50DHwXLNuZ_ggdljyfEo_-WWdcpXyH9TOcEc8xtjn2MmvLUt69W7mUTWzBILlPNVq94DDiRUHqzlpKNvb5nw/s4624/20230915_174954.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho16GXFGaXdMObFYoW5ogl_iW_Rat6tEvf8qEsY9dXB8nUFbmIpCfOzI5lwf9yX177jr5kFkFY2-1YgdbTSWsj_LQQ32DHOwg9WBF5qOUa50DHwXLNuZ_ggdljyfEo_-WWdcpXyH9TOcEc8xtjn2MmvLUt69W7mUTWzBILlPNVq94DDiRUHqzlpKNvb5nw/s320/20230915_174954.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Decorated brick door of San Michele</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The only church that was open was the parish church of Santo Stefano, the one that interested me the least, because it "only" dates back to 1795 - very new, by Italian standards! But inside was a 16th-century altarpiece by Giovenone, the painter whose works I have kept seeing over the past few days.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiFA80BSxiC1OfDxck7vH-DOuLO6P0bSkYk8IU3IY9M_i_W9-jKobVhUAJ3aKorrpxWGPPsjIwW6hqnPURvo3-X8khdRPF48p-cSQCs4dHRd13yt7P_fKnGEoJyQod_GmWIzhzc0jPnWK9VCw1JRpIXHMmKNnHpL9Xbj5OKXJVIaznlPj0yzIIZ6P1G-u/s4624/20230915_181224.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiFA80BSxiC1OfDxck7vH-DOuLO6P0bSkYk8IU3IY9M_i_W9-jKobVhUAJ3aKorrpxWGPPsjIwW6hqnPURvo3-X8khdRPF48p-cSQCs4dHRd13yt7P_fKnGEoJyQod_GmWIzhzc0jPnWK9VCw1JRpIXHMmKNnHpL9Xbj5OKXJVIaznlPj0yzIIZ6P1G-u/s320/20230915_181224.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Robbio also has a castle, originally 14th-century but rebuilt in the 16th century and "restored" with a heavy hand in the late 19th and early 20th century. However the outbuildings are now private homes, and the main part of the castle is closed for renovation/restoration work, so there was not much to see there, either!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdY9gQWHSiBqYSmvoiaDjeIOr-j2pkJGWTWrmFFGo-LpLK567uBYhIMEYnIQllf-MBAN_cQwuqF8Lkp3oQJPMxr_BPsSNxnxH689FvHyPxiz9_0vjvqIWjliSIhTM3qdIh0FKqeMBbp_DKw0R4uN-tmW9WOzoD32o9qtzZC4KT_Ar8vMACDtLZMllZMXqC/s4624/20230915_175555.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdY9gQWHSiBqYSmvoiaDjeIOr-j2pkJGWTWrmFFGo-LpLK567uBYhIMEYnIQllf-MBAN_cQwuqF8Lkp3oQJPMxr_BPsSNxnxH689FvHyPxiz9_0vjvqIWjliSIhTM3qdIh0FKqeMBbp_DKw0R4uN-tmW9WOzoD32o9qtzZC4KT_Ar8vMACDtLZMllZMXqC/s320/20230915_175555.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGP2p_FUBm0IzJD7rnmsuHcUi972ZlrC0HMxgfWWugLkk9bZlwGjFJXP24OXMzxpd5ZVyBrqADG1NRV5yfoe9zUTg8oP8Lr2nHq9ze1ifWK8OkUYVYw0b15ItlgPAGHbKr4x_uGqdbpt8pbWdkmipKqOvEh0GWX3AtR2pdYXP1bm2MQHOm1OSXDuganeeX/s4624/20230915_175629.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGP2p_FUBm0IzJD7rnmsuHcUi972ZlrC0HMxgfWWugLkk9bZlwGjFJXP24OXMzxpd5ZVyBrqADG1NRV5yfoe9zUTg8oP8Lr2nHq9ze1ifWK8OkUYVYw0b15ItlgPAGHbKr4x_uGqdbpt8pbWdkmipKqOvEh0GWX3AtR2pdYXP1bm2MQHOm1OSXDuganeeX/s320/20230915_175629.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8A4aRWKyaUS9DmsTNJY0bx5pVlNOv_Wn00IdyKIt-JNr7ypPS8wQGNCr8bkSkC1gz7J3FnSy_fDvI93sFOWnHz9WnY0ZGhoI2XK7bxEMA028ZLpIEh2m9uFIT2bv0KgD5cXd0dmYQhLHInSaaZ1EbEZvXq_CYPdRTsMnlAl6tbfK1mhUZJ8x2_9ptct8/s4624/20230915_175820.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8A4aRWKyaUS9DmsTNJY0bx5pVlNOv_Wn00IdyKIt-JNr7ypPS8wQGNCr8bkSkC1gz7J3FnSy_fDvI93sFOWnHz9WnY0ZGhoI2XK7bxEMA028ZLpIEh2m9uFIT2bv0KgD5cXd0dmYQhLHInSaaZ1EbEZvXq_CYPdRTsMnlAl6tbfK1mhUZJ8x2_9ptct8/s320/20230915_175820.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I returned to the hostel to put on long trousers - as protection against mosquitoes, not cold - and then headed out to a café for some dinner.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPv5WqozzFfaY4P78WHS4zG_J2D6s0jcbg8g6DTzMfjKJZVPDictgI1itfEqGoYWH_wAI_9PuAlpDACqw6weYIcvv_x-9vL2SFv-fKVctLFTInVABmWmE2Yv7UQvkyDkYU_cmnuLT3WG2Ice1ZcU16o0elZUFk0wp5f76-NrUDSv0NCob85HH8QxG8yrGt/s4624/20230915_192316.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPv5WqozzFfaY4P78WHS4zG_J2D6s0jcbg8g6DTzMfjKJZVPDictgI1itfEqGoYWH_wAI_9PuAlpDACqw6weYIcvv_x-9vL2SFv-fKVctLFTInVABmWmE2Yv7UQvkyDkYU_cmnuLT3WG2Ice1ZcU16o0elZUFk0wp5f76-NrUDSv0NCob85HH8QxG8yrGt/s320/20230915_192316.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gnocchetti with red pepper sauce and toasted hazelnuts 😋</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfM7KkL-ltYEpWJLSWkt1zHWaUOmH02rPeBHaL1H1E_ZGnhEERD4AfnWFOaCH1JesQsqIvH_Ujd1R3Ab3jGCbsqTaBtWH5Mt4kM5jVi4U_itAeiBx_nECC24HR5Wj-8epKtNlGXHnEs-xMC_7Awrqj8iXwSXSLZNieCnh3xQO-qVRRX9iDo9WKKoY0lSvQ/s2400/Screenshot_20230915_143834_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfM7KkL-ltYEpWJLSWkt1zHWaUOmH02rPeBHaL1H1E_ZGnhEERD4AfnWFOaCH1JesQsqIvH_Ujd1R3Ab3jGCbsqTaBtWH5Mt4kM5jVi4U_itAeiBx_nECC24HR5Wj-8epKtNlGXHnEs-xMC_7Awrqj8iXwSXSLZNieCnh3xQO-qVRRX9iDo9WKKoY0lSvQ/s320/Screenshot_20230915_143834_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Vercelli - Robbio 21 km (including detour to Palestro town centre)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div><br /></div></div><p></p>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-20296037139984177752023-09-14T22:10:00.022+02:002024-01-09T14:25:19.629+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 71: San Germano Vercellese - Vercelli<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>May I be no one’s enemy, and may I be a friend of that which is eternal and abides. May I never quarrel with those nearest me: and if I do, may I be reconciled quickly. May I love, seek and attain only that which is good. </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">- prayer by Saint Eusebius of Vercelli (283 - 371)</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixo5Jpzc95JWaklnu7d2wVFPa2m2zE_PYG6oXQIcBJAmCiHTCC1GMVMa09_CDENKHrBfdDuiGwOoPJJfUHwQZBkxiXw4BwrXGlURmw5Nt_B3LUijvNphURsJiliWoOBcl4xhq7PF0G4u7STjfnS2l6MomWUgh6AiZABdhvceRYQCNLNHOge-z_Mwjtsllq/s4624/20230914_085100.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixo5Jpzc95JWaklnu7d2wVFPa2m2zE_PYG6oXQIcBJAmCiHTCC1GMVMa09_CDENKHrBfdDuiGwOoPJJfUHwQZBkxiXw4BwrXGlURmw5Nt_B3LUijvNphURsJiliWoOBcl4xhq7PF0G4u7STjfnS2l6MomWUgh6AiZABdhvceRYQCNLNHOge-z_Mwjtsllq/s320/20230914_085100.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">For four minutes I enjoyed the thrill of speeding through the landscape at 70 kilometres an hour rather than four kilometres an hour, on a regional train back to San Germano Vercellese, where I stopped walking yesterday. San Germano looked nicer in the morning sunshine, and was somewhat less of a ghost town: the bakery was open, and I bought a cake to eat along the way.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But the highlight of San Germano at this time in the morning, for me, was a café on the way out of the town, which I hadn't spotted the day before, where I was served a cup of coffee made by a hundred-year-old espresso machine (1922)! The café, across from the village primary school, also has a collection of ventriloquist's dolls in a glass case, and a clean (modern) washroom - an important feature for pilgrims!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGafrdjxO0cenjZ1bYBsTf6EwtXvWbtCULheq_NYVcpgpKLbcqpospV8bGViBI1Edcrnc3m0JpUHhqTvV5P5TtjdHYLq7c8kLn4SsGLDcQuyiuiRgFXn2UEAkmH38idKrKM1wvR5FU8dqm6gdrVcqXwijVUBs5blvdh7mTvZZPJlZaopo9d0OKlx0jG_I/s3771/20230914_083631.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3771" data-original-width="2828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGafrdjxO0cenjZ1bYBsTf6EwtXvWbtCULheq_NYVcpgpKLbcqpospV8bGViBI1Edcrnc3m0JpUHhqTvV5P5TtjdHYLq7c8kLn4SsGLDcQuyiuiRgFXn2UEAkmH38idKrKM1wvR5FU8dqm6gdrVcqXwijVUBs5blvdh7mTvZZPJlZaopo9d0OKlx0jG_I/s320/20230914_083631.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steampunk espresso machine (1922)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvHRl6GKcLfmBxbFG53ZiLmMI5VPRU1Gu7SU6wldkJ_QTz0yKDHRboyRH8IDktkmw1T0C2esgw6qNJQUTGUwd6_KMaQf3spj-KqUmlxyB5Vo7k7Wu6kgToiG-U_kDmIcDH7wv17E8VPf9hv3FqLgaKo2XevcJA3bD3cnLyv53V8E8WCeeVAgnvdqtrQu4/s4624/20230914_084255.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvHRl6GKcLfmBxbFG53ZiLmMI5VPRU1Gu7SU6wldkJ_QTz0yKDHRboyRH8IDktkmw1T0C2esgw6qNJQUTGUwd6_KMaQf3spj-KqUmlxyB5Vo7k7Wu6kgToiG-U_kDmIcDH7wv17E8VPf9hv3FqLgaKo2XevcJA3bD3cnLyv53V8E8WCeeVAgnvdqtrQu4/s320/20230914_084255.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The confluence of two irrigation canals at San Germano </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFPx0NxqKIWKUs9nohBvTraZ3uWK20YwWHXK2WOsDhyyjKx-8mfcyfFfg7qHDnL3hO0QCZ0Iao5DizjH5hXXv24qYW-i12uGKaq-yDwcq7MyR8vzhB6brqXlo-tvSYRPlNhV_Gdl0VI6zyJfuLBX1DfkDnlweOA_0RqAb6HMO04P25ZsBk-f8Khl3nIyX/s4624/20230914_084452.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFPx0NxqKIWKUs9nohBvTraZ3uWK20YwWHXK2WOsDhyyjKx-8mfcyfFfg7qHDnL3hO0QCZ0Iao5DizjH5hXXv24qYW-i12uGKaq-yDwcq7MyR8vzhB6brqXlo-tvSYRPlNhV_Gdl0VI6zyJfuLBX1DfkDnlweOA_0RqAb6HMO04P25ZsBk-f8Khl3nIyX/s320/20230914_084452.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtiCKUy-tyYYzywLtDovHjjCguPKCDW38eB-zAkKbkxAFd-Nur5dKJhlkgvNyQ42LIrUn8Hd9It1JBYuH-mqsdGxfiKp3U728Bmjw8dRT8FF4_t59aisR8swoZBBdQ6ZtUQjXtp73avp6ym2ypttOA9z4ZblJwWKTE9f_NjVrje9C95iEZTyyIKNjjEgcb/s4000/20230914_085126.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtiCKUy-tyYYzywLtDovHjjCguPKCDW38eB-zAkKbkxAFd-Nur5dKJhlkgvNyQ42LIrUn8Hd9It1JBYuH-mqsdGxfiKp3U728Bmjw8dRT8FF4_t59aisR8swoZBBdQ6ZtUQjXtp73avp6ym2ypttOA9z4ZblJwWKTE9f_NjVrje9C95iEZTyyIKNjjEgcb/s320/20230914_085126.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pilgrim buddies</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMfTfXFWZUt2enm_FUl3sjTZXGuzcRwxiYWTHrsMkrsSKFmsDN3PAAwDUVpOeJmbSE_8B1LEDUnbFegXqCwk6VldY32cgjscxnX6v83o6Sjta6mmrahREgKH45DfSF0fbu6NLOvZT5njewodoef1soB5-M0HtUrd58mWL0GYpiPP7xf0ciqdCTJqPy3u3U/s4624/20230914_085428.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMfTfXFWZUt2enm_FUl3sjTZXGuzcRwxiYWTHrsMkrsSKFmsDN3PAAwDUVpOeJmbSE_8B1LEDUnbFegXqCwk6VldY32cgjscxnX6v83o6Sjta6mmrahREgKH45DfSF0fbu6NLOvZT5njewodoef1soB5-M0HtUrd58mWL0GYpiPP7xf0ciqdCTJqPy3u3U/s320/20230914_085428.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Into the rice paddies </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCeeR8maasmzAv_OhWFcI1XooVpCz_k6WcZpQkdxGTzZsGjmPKSxysaiI0a5jUDhV9MpNIpM3sPFlP1TsykMFbkWY2TH7_29gXeSH95YaA4kQyP9szQF4Nl7QJnF0y9eVmsvTsu83c8zfSyhn_JTAUjs4IHtV255AzCKnqIvesRfZXl2jvOrNE_yQsU86t/s4624/20230914_090300.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCeeR8maasmzAv_OhWFcI1XooVpCz_k6WcZpQkdxGTzZsGjmPKSxysaiI0a5jUDhV9MpNIpM3sPFlP1TsykMFbkWY2TH7_29gXeSH95YaA4kQyP9szQF4Nl7QJnF0y9eVmsvTsu83c8zfSyhn_JTAUjs4IHtV255AzCKnqIvesRfZXl2jvOrNE_yQsU86t/s320/20230914_090300.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is no shade on the stage between Santhià and Vercelli, and the humidity rises from the rice paddies. I cannot imagine walking it in summer, when mosquitoes are also a problem! But today, the only challenge was the mud puddles left by yesterday's rainstorm. </div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3c0fYOA9VaJzBZ5-PlWnMVoPLm8-dajV7DDMfpmGz2fDBsaDnkdbhglt9PVFV6XMMw5rU71VoLiShMA_C5thrbgeSwGHzbJDXVthk0fz8gXPumhi-_OaP1QuRTf1yYS9KW53biOFe30E2XEADHXp2ObH-A7r139iK_QGcZK0rRLqAJ_ifGgFLemDt9F0/s4624/20230914_090800.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3c0fYOA9VaJzBZ5-PlWnMVoPLm8-dajV7DDMfpmGz2fDBsaDnkdbhglt9PVFV6XMMw5rU71VoLiShMA_C5thrbgeSwGHzbJDXVthk0fz8gXPumhi-_OaP1QuRTf1yYS9KW53biOFe30E2XEADHXp2ObH-A7r139iK_QGcZK0rRLqAJ_ifGgFLemDt9F0/s320/20230914_090800.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5lpiTjEQ80vjrEMCMcvuXtzkNvEOfEfYZZWI2dDgiX8PdIPbTSkuVuBKyHUG6aXU2dUaeEYqujbadnvU08TYBzSnzzHdkQ7FudcjZuEtgZVJPYhz7veLUzSCk4kmyKJxFR-KjUFQt9Mo4lLKbQFnVfzaf1nd75P2U2AbI1qaz-v2WhuHLL5U4zZilUU6/s4624/20230914_091212.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5lpiTjEQ80vjrEMCMcvuXtzkNvEOfEfYZZWI2dDgiX8PdIPbTSkuVuBKyHUG6aXU2dUaeEYqujbadnvU08TYBzSnzzHdkQ7FudcjZuEtgZVJPYhz7veLUzSCk4kmyKJxFR-KjUFQt9Mo4lLKbQFnVfzaf1nd75P2U2AbI1qaz-v2WhuHLL5U4zZilUU6/s320/20230914_091212.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fresh snow was visible on the Alps in the distance behind me, and here and there patches of rice had been flattened in the storm.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYELiXbdmkjhjtnqMjnGCMCfgmqvWgcm1kVqox4N83vzI_7DAFLfP6dD7ivGkLAtPzeHzeCSXTpNXEOWIpfv9_7kB-si5EE3_f7DqWY4DahelkzuDrwgr12HetT6ktxNsVQyEz9GOpw_ZjlH8c4YU1II0dQZ1JYe_Xw3gvHD6WRcDNOWwc3_Nsl0NX62HT/s4624/20230914_092619.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYELiXbdmkjhjtnqMjnGCMCfgmqvWgcm1kVqox4N83vzI_7DAFLfP6dD7ivGkLAtPzeHzeCSXTpNXEOWIpfv9_7kB-si5EE3_f7DqWY4DahelkzuDrwgr12HetT6ktxNsVQyEz9GOpw_ZjlH8c4YU1II0dQZ1JYe_Xw3gvHD6WRcDNOWwc3_Nsl0NX62HT/s320/20230914_092619.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The Via Francigena follows a dirt road through the fields parallel to the railway tracks, then veers off past an irrigation pond to Castellone, a yellow plaster and brick farm complex where a group of farming families would have lived and worked in past centuries. It is still a working farm, and the Rotary Club of Vercelli has set up a picnic table just outside for pilgrims on the Via Francigena. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKIuoJKjU8twjUec2sqG-9FFZNENUjZSwD5tmRErQkASeeehmMuoImwv9HjyFaLoF9HPaL03Me8p9BRud7YBXjy9YaLvBudRcJGrcZ3WG0ab2VDEk2owhWTflqeaNNlV9tguDbXcSjM6MnyH6DZW5h-8qZ0brs3fbjupziFAfkbRHiIvNPjqb2sgD9-LTe/s4624/20230914_093009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKIuoJKjU8twjUec2sqG-9FFZNENUjZSwD5tmRErQkASeeehmMuoImwv9HjyFaLoF9HPaL03Me8p9BRud7YBXjy9YaLvBudRcJGrcZ3WG0ab2VDEk2owhWTflqeaNNlV9tguDbXcSjM6MnyH6DZW5h-8qZ0brs3fbjupziFAfkbRHiIvNPjqb2sgD9-LTe/s320/20230914_093009.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7k4LmEKnUufaV1CdgnDdwhFKZQ1DwVthnlUMVvRl-3p4GMWKrLoRWzsQHUb5pbdDtmNBQqW458PM5V57OH62Fg7gKnMCzaIEM_ioWehNKthsyg517BmXUmrsdCw5P0FFnVFdR1IIV1aeharEfJPu0IPne9fCdgyBk7lszX8qBnQvdM7_jwsDNIwXDdFo-/s4624/20230914_093750.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7k4LmEKnUufaV1CdgnDdwhFKZQ1DwVthnlUMVvRl-3p4GMWKrLoRWzsQHUb5pbdDtmNBQqW458PM5V57OH62Fg7gKnMCzaIEM_ioWehNKthsyg517BmXUmrsdCw5P0FFnVFdR1IIV1aeharEfJPu0IPne9fCdgyBk7lszX8qBnQvdM7_jwsDNIwXDdFo-/s320/20230914_093750.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4V7ycYfuAzCNIo-zSYdsosQObRKrVpZvah5VNQYD-VYUSWoa055_mTkYjH5Y7MNYhRy5blueBGrikvzOmz58fhuVoLcS63CGG4lIy4HQk0NQvBBxDIP3zB4-k45mh2xr0ntsZnzIp2YmWF3z1dK2_6ZstxWN8AqN_S1I6GYa6GwSU1KS6z8S_3NflJjG/s4624/20230914_094820.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4V7ycYfuAzCNIo-zSYdsosQObRKrVpZvah5VNQYD-VYUSWoa055_mTkYjH5Y7MNYhRy5blueBGrikvzOmz58fhuVoLcS63CGG4lIy4HQk0NQvBBxDIP3zB4-k45mh2xr0ntsZnzIp2YmWF3z1dK2_6ZstxWN8AqN_S1I6GYa6GwSU1KS6z8S_3NflJjG/s320/20230914_094820.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnrNOZeiJy_gzx5uG1R7k-QF3ByUKiDrYQVImOgjxi2vOoj0ikUK7K4fRk_hV13r2gkH_8ucyWkSF0wzxZ5W6UpCIvYPOTW89Ouv525zsQMc3INirRblYpxmes4ZpnAgdmsnIe6moNE-Uv4GY1zMTcrArhqY0w1gji9qPq0HOW8qE_kIcR4R4SATuVoBFK/s4624/20230914_095411.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnrNOZeiJy_gzx5uG1R7k-QF3ByUKiDrYQVImOgjxi2vOoj0ikUK7K4fRk_hV13r2gkH_8ucyWkSF0wzxZ5W6UpCIvYPOTW89Ouv525zsQMc3INirRblYpxmes4ZpnAgdmsnIe6moNE-Uv4GY1zMTcrArhqY0w1gji9qPq0HOW8qE_kIcR4R4SATuVoBFK/s320/20230914_095411.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF21p98hw2FZCh6ntfY-Sx_yo_BrjCpv860aEVJYZxOKEEm3kIcN1RNMiHNclXd0gKBFmgJrLNkUI36fKBGLb6JQZwz283Wbh4dUIrnN3WZnaax4B_ho71Qu1pJw8mRE7CzV0c0_OPQuUjT3AzEbF7rENPytSTVXwCaLqkoqJUPjaDlXHpnRpRFRTysQ34/s4624/20230914_100546.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF21p98hw2FZCh6ntfY-Sx_yo_BrjCpv860aEVJYZxOKEEm3kIcN1RNMiHNclXd0gKBFmgJrLNkUI36fKBGLb6JQZwz283Wbh4dUIrnN3WZnaax4B_ho71Qu1pJw8mRE7CzV0c0_OPQuUjT3AzEbF7rENPytSTVXwCaLqkoqJUPjaDlXHpnRpRFRTysQ34/s320/20230914_100546.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back towards the Alps</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiFBeduE3baOsW54gUjCpIWaEZRBrac8UWiyx22SfLqp4_91Ts7-OfPDah7Vbg2ebYOU5lJLQgoPWW8C-6jG7meUnEKZYRNy69SjTkSC2rU_DSEixYdl4eMSkIknsfr2qhwdPcQnQewxkVOxuteJFlBsILJSjsb3fa04VfusmNMVQAbx4tn6kFt0FBkcT/s4624/20230914_100641.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiFBeduE3baOsW54gUjCpIWaEZRBrac8UWiyx22SfLqp4_91Ts7-OfPDah7Vbg2ebYOU5lJLQgoPWW8C-6jG7meUnEKZYRNy69SjTkSC2rU_DSEixYdl4eMSkIknsfr2qhwdPcQnQewxkVOxuteJFlBsILJSjsb3fa04VfusmNMVQAbx4tn6kFt0FBkcT/s320/20230914_100641.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Castellone</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafXuYXNpNPQm-MT2oQw17X9czF-AMXxQzoXwayIqAdensch-Ok00mBJrcClJZZq5pYMKvX6v_ziXd9brshQ8NrZC2JB9Uy9Tj0yxN84sEu-jsRO4kUkoTAJDj3ZXKwmxFKykIdXiNwcLpxXrP9bsLNt4e6WhARCcolbfrSTbafPVBgmwTssU3DGMsLE8B/s4624/20230914_100855.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafXuYXNpNPQm-MT2oQw17X9czF-AMXxQzoXwayIqAdensch-Ok00mBJrcClJZZq5pYMKvX6v_ziXd9brshQ8NrZC2JB9Uy9Tj0yxN84sEu-jsRO4kUkoTAJDj3ZXKwmxFKykIdXiNwcLpxXrP9bsLNt4e6WhARCcolbfrSTbafPVBgmwTssU3DGMsLE8B/s320/20230914_100855.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3cU0UHwP-elL5ImMDM9258vroLbDBaD146eY9WV0VSmhie79y_gFfOc5O2DeNdAGmMWGPL7jXJhDGXrLHgsV6OXXplxrj4BDjeXdYKte9CaeAXwu3OWJDTMAuIfcRXPax8eurGyAVDi57i-88_2vb4Il8QQI5bk9EKBR5JN0XmsGX1XjghV_d2dBhkayH/s4000/20230914_101036.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3cU0UHwP-elL5ImMDM9258vroLbDBaD146eY9WV0VSmhie79y_gFfOc5O2DeNdAGmMWGPL7jXJhDGXrLHgsV6OXXplxrj4BDjeXdYKte9CaeAXwu3OWJDTMAuIfcRXPax8eurGyAVDi57i-88_2vb4Il8QQI5bk9EKBR5JN0XmsGX1XjghV_d2dBhkayH/s320/20230914_101036.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQckbL-YXjUBdLbO0sGLnAQ4TAEM8m07rx2w93QlZOxNU-ZE0-ZQB9saIOHcA5N6ORNQOmXrbPkFZRa8rJt6rCFGlsVHJP1e7ao-r5bDwKEmUxCXWjf3wQVR4GaJnujFjddcyPAXvtNtrFnEf9hMGNaGUoNiMM9PmPqFC_1JbPDUWTdM1j2YA1X4lIujt/s4624/20230914_104915.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQckbL-YXjUBdLbO0sGLnAQ4TAEM8m07rx2w93QlZOxNU-ZE0-ZQB9saIOHcA5N6ORNQOmXrbPkFZRa8rJt6rCFGlsVHJP1e7ao-r5bDwKEmUxCXWjf3wQVR4GaJnujFjddcyPAXvtNtrFnEf9hMGNaGUoNiMM9PmPqFC_1JbPDUWTdM1j2YA1X4lIujt/s320/20230914_104915.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmbOXKr6IiAM2l3_OwpSyPAY5apR9x9FE2DHHd8ZYIhoQVElntM-rzmL6SJ_IRMAZWeM1CSX317Rep974ZxUYLs8hqYXpmQHTNWNcQXsz8YXrVnya7oC4mXK8IWnNd4ZcIvDS_wNe71rGocTXkQZ6iTphOMdVBQEk1i6OCc0q0mvq4KDM28Haofj9i7B5/s4624/20230914_105721.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmbOXKr6IiAM2l3_OwpSyPAY5apR9x9FE2DHHd8ZYIhoQVElntM-rzmL6SJ_IRMAZWeM1CSX317Rep974ZxUYLs8hqYXpmQHTNWNcQXsz8YXrVnya7oC4mXK8IWnNd4ZcIvDS_wNe71rGocTXkQZ6iTphOMdVBQEk1i6OCc0q0mvq4KDM28Haofj9i7B5/s320/20230914_105721.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5R-xtdw63FChVzqPwCsPZV0G_OSHgd8i5kl2tO-kxZ_oOCJP26jNZtCXRuB5RqAvzKscFxasJySLX-S-pe8y5D_p9vZqto3o3fYLpfWlZepYry13AVh0PUONMGNcoL-mfQbAq8a4xryMHInglzAhP65bD6wWJ5IyguWD_Hmi3rn6UPfGmqKKCoRWMvjY/s4000/20230914_112219.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5R-xtdw63FChVzqPwCsPZV0G_OSHgd8i5kl2tO-kxZ_oOCJP26jNZtCXRuB5RqAvzKscFxasJySLX-S-pe8y5D_p9vZqto3o3fYLpfWlZepYry13AVh0PUONMGNcoL-mfQbAq8a4xryMHInglzAhP65bD6wWJ5IyguWD_Hmi3rn6UPfGmqKKCoRWMvjY/s320/20230914_112219.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rest stop in the shade</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Important information for walkers: detour!</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is a detour in effect with respect to the official route of the Via Francigena between Montonero and Vercelli, due to a landowner deciding that he no longer wants people walking through his estate. He has barred the way. At this point, walkers have three choices: </p><p style="text-align: justify;">1. Walk past the barrier- and risk getting shot at by the landowner </p><p style="text-align: justify;">2. Walk on the side of a busy highway - and risk getting run over</p><p style="text-align: justify;">3. Be sensible and follow the alternative route waymarked by the "friends of the Via Francigena" of Vercelli!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You can either pick up the alternative route right after Montonero, or take it from Cascina Strà and save one kilometre. This is what I did. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">A sign behind Santa Maria del Cammino, the yellow chapel shown in the last picture above, warns of the change in the route. A few hundred metres later, the old official route turn right, but to take the new route, you walk through Cascina Strà, right between the abandoned farm buildings, cross the highway and the canal and walk a short way northwards, that is, back in the direction you came from, but on the other side of the highway; you then make a right turn and walk eastwards, parallel to the mountains, a short way before finally turning right and starting to walk in the direction of Vercelli, which you can see in the distance. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It may look on the map like you ought to be able to take a shortcut, but you can't because of the canal. </p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZ3WQKJyz8AvEuFhIOimArkAnYw72W8kn4EzdncATKxeclyGMVQy5NdaKGt5jD14fC6-6trjXYneB5cx4jpZ5Fz0eaGqTEodQpd-YiZ0I7jA0CUhZcYYMk-KsnfdpCfkmbUvbK9sPdazSWyS-2Vn_4mEHDQBXj7LE8HxZZ2HCmNXzNHlmdqkiXy5zgqHp/s2400/Screenshot_20230914_152850_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZ3WQKJyz8AvEuFhIOimArkAnYw72W8kn4EzdncATKxeclyGMVQy5NdaKGt5jD14fC6-6trjXYneB5cx4jpZ5Fz0eaGqTEodQpd-YiZ0I7jA0CUhZcYYMk-KsnfdpCfkmbUvbK9sPdazSWyS-2Vn_4mEHDQBXj7LE8HxZZ2HCmNXzNHlmdqkiXy5zgqHp/s320/Screenshot_20230914_152850_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new route through Cascine Strà</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu18LRWOA63RtVN_V87A3MC41L2BGY8tl_R_fB7HaZ7KC-cHm6QJfa5bR7N7ism69_WjLjtCj4BZiZR7D8iorkrO2izqyTYw5-lPkBZRPfV6Qs7xUgAvroMKsA3sgTICqy1X98CISnSLGA_4R9kZYXRlg1BQX1WNwYMzQMrLkAxia6k3_J3P-ZVSG1nFA8/s2400/Screenshot_20230914_152829_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu18LRWOA63RtVN_V87A3MC41L2BGY8tl_R_fB7HaZ7KC-cHm6QJfa5bR7N7ism69_WjLjtCj4BZiZR7D8iorkrO2izqyTYw5-lPkBZRPfV6Qs7xUgAvroMKsA3sgTICqy1X98CISnSLGA_4R9kZYXRlg1BQX1WNwYMzQMrLkAxia6k3_J3P-ZVSG1nFA8/s320/Screenshot_20230914_152829_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new route (thicker green line above) vs. the old route (thinner yellow line below)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Le mondine</i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's interesting to walk through Cascina Strà, among the old dormitories from the days before tractors, when the back-breaking labour in the rice paddies was done by hand, by seasonal migrant workers from other parts of northern Italy, mostly women: the <i>mondine, </i>who transplanted the rice and then weeded the rice paddies during the flooding of the fields, between the months of April and June. They worked bent over double and up to their knees in water, wearing shorts and broad-brimmed hats with scarves to protect themselves against the sun and the mosquitoes. Their world was immortalised in Giuseppe De Santis' 1949 film <i><a href="https://www.raiplay.it/programmi/risoamaro" target="_blank">Riso Amaro</a></i>, starring Silvana Mangano and Doris Dowling, considered a masterpiece of neo-realist cinema. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y68Zl22e_TI" width="320" youtube-src-id="y68Zl22e_TI"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The long hours and atrocious conditions led to dissatisfaction and rebellion: it was the <i>mondine </i>who first sang the song <i>Bella ciao, </i>a song of protest against the bosses and landowners which was popularised by Yves Montand in the 1963 Spoleto festival and subsequently adopted as an anthem of protest movements all over the world. Contrary to popular opinion, however, the song was rarely if ever sung by Resistance fighters during the second World War. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6CW6l-A1rnk" width="320" youtube-src-id="6CW6l-A1rnk"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgigkkHeirdVqT1WUnbuNe7BF1R9tVlkla_RZS1GetZu_yv7UCTr6EhO7Fv6alKIY5xe6Dkx8l9bqR1HZvVKgDrpmLWB4HEVyuYAHvXAOZDrKVRsv3rxXYN60GdTFfa6lLjTdNIFwVpuMDGgExSWV4WkjQWwD5MCDJ0qBxcwe-Nk2iAkIVS3ktVcwadY4/s4624/20230914_114813.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgigkkHeirdVqT1WUnbuNe7BF1R9tVlkla_RZS1GetZu_yv7UCTr6EhO7Fv6alKIY5xe6Dkx8l9bqR1HZvVKgDrpmLWB4HEVyuYAHvXAOZDrKVRsv3rxXYN60GdTFfa6lLjTdNIFwVpuMDGgExSWV4WkjQWwD5MCDJ0qBxcwe-Nk2iAkIVS3ktVcwadY4/s320/20230914_114813.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjmuFNuwVANQxbnwZ-5dHWhaO5e18Y4Q_soYEPRIthmu775Nu5DU3t6VspVNk_ECJ_AwNHkpgx-rxdzOT6UhAK3s4Zy74VCn7LXWL4u_PpAl6Win8cz019ALF1B1lD5EfFtcw1Vwl3yAD5OSEmm9pCW5xgDex2KgypSFBpdESp0Bpv5wNUS9WytbjdORPL/s4624/20230914_115333.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjmuFNuwVANQxbnwZ-5dHWhaO5e18Y4Q_soYEPRIthmu775Nu5DU3t6VspVNk_ECJ_AwNHkpgx-rxdzOT6UhAK3s4Zy74VCn7LXWL4u_PpAl6Win8cz019ALF1B1lD5EfFtcw1Vwl3yAD5OSEmm9pCW5xgDex2KgypSFBpdESp0Bpv5wNUS9WytbjdORPL/s320/20230914_115333.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br style="text-align: left;" /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2xj0C4nyPUaqiS7zTBqV7cyuMB3rQ4AWqfAglSnxtX69-WNq422ejz2OHTsZqaaBot56v26y7AaQSdb-XON7bAn2kVwv8oyqiy4XGKb8l4TbQhzTgPspt9k7_ve1B692FoBnzSAdqDhsCjJq8y_R54Mj7tMsjd4_ZAZB1eOL9C_2U4EKzBdKjJ7yA8Ie/s2576/20230914_110508.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2576" data-original-width="1932" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2xj0C4nyPUaqiS7zTBqV7cyuMB3rQ4AWqfAglSnxtX69-WNq422ejz2OHTsZqaaBot56v26y7AaQSdb-XON7bAn2kVwv8oyqiy4XGKb8l4TbQhzTgPspt9k7_ve1B692FoBnzSAdqDhsCjJq8y_R54Mj7tMsjd4_ZAZB1eOL9C_2U4EKzBdKjJ7yA8Ie/s320/20230914_110508.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grains of rice</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rice paddies today are, thankfully, worked by tractors, but they are still full of life, as I realised when I stopped moving and sat down on the grass by the path to eat my lunch. Once the sound of my movements fell silent, the frogs started chirping, the birds sang, and a nutria (coypu) wandered out of the irrigation ditch and onto the path. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzdRAaMNUlHt-z2lGRGP46YRtJQ4TsSBFfj6-sXhAQdltXtiaCpwkOm9iwR3gQ_PUZHZNhS0kvgEKOt65hj05062-Roao-WjK1K7TRHFal2lf74IwPVF-S_p8IUrcnnwWdph4hm11sF23gJiaWl-kXWnM8T6raiGEAAYvFFTosePB_VQLxtf2mP6AtNjc/s4624/20230914_140245.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzdRAaMNUlHt-z2lGRGP46YRtJQ4TsSBFfj6-sXhAQdltXtiaCpwkOm9iwR3gQ_PUZHZNhS0kvgEKOt65hj05062-Roao-WjK1K7TRHFal2lf74IwPVF-S_p8IUrcnnwWdph4hm11sF23gJiaWl-kXWnM8T6raiGEAAYvFFTosePB_VQLxtf2mP6AtNjc/s320/20230914_140245.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The new route of the Via Francigena takes you right from the rice paddies into the light industries and big box stores of the outskirts of Vercelli. Including my favourite big box store - in fact, the only one that interests me these days: the sporting goods store Decathlon! I stopped by to look for a new hat, as I realised yesterday that my old one is not only faded and floppy but less waterproof than it used to be! However they were all out of rain hats, so I settled for an electrolyte drink and a new shirt instead.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLoGYjmZ1htnOyRJ0nypdKipMrGH_OSsuJT7jbADaNEO2veVzDIfrIN6lUXQSx-GO9Vkf-23K87g0Zes3k3MwlEl2OvEy9vNYfOEqHFFnsHzQ2agYXs9_vvPE8ClvzKmuUhfFw7UVIOffl49BWbe2GqSfAzEmio5RnUsJGs6ovowW7G6ukJN6KBu621lm/s4624/20230914_144716.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLoGYjmZ1htnOyRJ0nypdKipMrGH_OSsuJT7jbADaNEO2veVzDIfrIN6lUXQSx-GO9Vkf-23K87g0Zes3k3MwlEl2OvEy9vNYfOEqHFFnsHzQ2agYXs9_vvPE8ClvzKmuUhfFw7UVIOffl49BWbe2GqSfAzEmio5RnUsJGs6ovowW7G6ukJN6KBu621lm/s320/20230914_144716.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The yellow pilgrim has also popped in for some electrolytes!</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Through the outskirts of Vercelli and a multi-ethnic neighbourhood of kebab sellers, Chinese shops and restaurants, a Romanian grocery store and an African hairdresser... I eventually came to the central square.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnve1SR6uPdE7K93B_HhRL7bWiXDbepqD9UDNF_bX1CXG0oslVf5XoFQd8PDHYWoiHwrjw5F-bnoOdZ44-2ez4xlpJc3_tv_AEhciN5WnYDAT0bzEsBAYN4IpygCkDcDXXRwanQZpp4tccfkTBan_AxVUW6gCAUPC1IfqY1pDAPD8NQ6G5oKETBadRiyEH/s4624/20230914_150749.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnve1SR6uPdE7K93B_HhRL7bWiXDbepqD9UDNF_bX1CXG0oslVf5XoFQd8PDHYWoiHwrjw5F-bnoOdZ44-2ez4xlpJc3_tv_AEhciN5WnYDAT0bzEsBAYN4IpygCkDcDXXRwanQZpp4tccfkTBan_AxVUW6gCAUPC1IfqY1pDAPD8NQ6G5oKETBadRiyEH/s320/20230914_150749.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DsomGBG_bSJOsNr8OpNObBUIxRgQ6NVgxJuwMCaP_PgQXTUO0BGqG7MJGnFeD4aMGMfRIds7bD6DPM6ixCaGtsy7rBuC6jUOjnOltax8UaQTSexS2rQOrbZGZ0fq9j14FRew6nt9RgBoDFsNUpoc_mvFoX6AGD-TjvbT70vtWfvXT6F49LawYoKQz3mx/s4624/20230914_151705.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DsomGBG_bSJOsNr8OpNObBUIxRgQ6NVgxJuwMCaP_PgQXTUO0BGqG7MJGnFeD4aMGMfRIds7bD6DPM6ixCaGtsy7rBuC6jUOjnOltax8UaQTSexS2rQOrbZGZ0fq9j14FRew6nt9RgBoDFsNUpoc_mvFoX6AGD-TjvbT70vtWfvXT6F49LawYoKQz3mx/s320/20230914_151705.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had one more stop to make before heading for the hostel: <a href="http://www.langolodelgustovercelli.it/" target="_blank">my favourite ice cream parlour in Vercelli</a>, hidden in an alleyway off the square in the photo below!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvxQUFFN-6zWBDFxePNrNeP7LAwW1BJEuesEI658rye6lImSNUm27-T4nmGgdVgVtCFyK-GNhO5iXTS56bh5MQUI5Ngu5gbTesQQGBdHY0Qb2iVCIzakCBNQUzlple8ylU8u8zZyLKFeGhMtsr7gWP-TJ-eMrBFgy8Y2r3duH8hnqoCyO976w03fHrl4I/s4000/20230914_152532.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvxQUFFN-6zWBDFxePNrNeP7LAwW1BJEuesEI658rye6lImSNUm27-T4nmGgdVgVtCFyK-GNhO5iXTS56bh5MQUI5Ngu5gbTesQQGBdHY0Qb2iVCIzakCBNQUzlple8ylU8u8zZyLKFeGhMtsr7gWP-TJ-eMrBFgy8Y2r3duH8hnqoCyO976w03fHrl4I/s320/20230914_152532.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecr1xEfXJkOPHAiAT1ncG6zvPFEAV9u7LqimmUzwD86dm6lzgS5Xdbogphq_Vaa9XjxYndHxXXJBDhXv7AAyCMY-JadX43Oe-caIdcVmk3CU8eXvdxdInqVqlFGUV27UlVqfA-SAZbRbKQNAlGLNKwBW-j7RireyKVrmZqFiq9e4Jc_y4Zl0rya7Km32E/s4624/20230914_152938.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecr1xEfXJkOPHAiAT1ncG6zvPFEAV9u7LqimmUzwD86dm6lzgS5Xdbogphq_Vaa9XjxYndHxXXJBDhXv7AAyCMY-JadX43Oe-caIdcVmk3CU8eXvdxdInqVqlFGUV27UlVqfA-SAZbRbKQNAlGLNKwBW-j7RireyKVrmZqFiq9e4Jc_y4Zl0rya7Km32E/s320/20230914_152938.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hospitale Sancti Eusebio</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwc6dxuofO368wsZqsFJYwXdwJRXfwScGW3O73PPtbIMbZo6WL2KQesKAleDsWOjkSmt8Ukh8987DfcHUckflrdQBMeFD9Sy5hLCGhZLQ2ceXfvJNQ2ExohrTmZOB5z4IYeyEf1abaH8rkrK2ASyewoJU4FvnUHjkhlIz1vIJ4K_7iol8pV_BRZhwr9r2t/s4624/20230914_153001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwc6dxuofO368wsZqsFJYwXdwJRXfwScGW3O73PPtbIMbZo6WL2KQesKAleDsWOjkSmt8Ukh8987DfcHUckflrdQBMeFD9Sy5hLCGhZLQ2ceXfvJNQ2ExohrTmZOB5z4IYeyEf1abaH8rkrK2ASyewoJU4FvnUHjkhlIz1vIJ4K_7iol8pV_BRZhwr9r2t/s320/20230914_153001.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8_5nEoID2weyDZJ6xLUWIcbDJzyWm0qGSqtMyPT2IASmR6Atc0jK9BLZQJ_wiAHfMHfgTab8_JFJciJMR3XSwVE5h0MQkMmm3VCHTaGTGNRnpkuNtFB5ejUgPyUpw8au_KbRs6YsfRN0w-odcUleya54JcJBssl4cDsZya9PGQYUlWHRhj0k-8su_PTe/s3043/20230915_083143.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3043" data-original-width="2282" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8_5nEoID2weyDZJ6xLUWIcbDJzyWm0qGSqtMyPT2IASmR6Atc0jK9BLZQJ_wiAHfMHfgTab8_JFJciJMR3XSwVE5h0MQkMmm3VCHTaGTGNRnpkuNtFB5ejUgPyUpw8au_KbRs6YsfRN0w-odcUleya54JcJBssl4cDsZya9PGQYUlWHRhj0k-8su_PTe/s320/20230915_083143.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Vercelli</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I am no stranger to the town of Vercelli: in February 2019 I spent a weekend learning to be a pilgrim host with <i><a href="https://www.accoglienzapellegrina.org/en/home-page-english/" target="_blank">Accoglienza Pellegrina/Hospitaleros Voluntarios</a></i>, and twice since then I have volunteered at the town's pilgrim hostel. On my first two visits I stayed a few days longer to visit with my good friend and walking buddy Mariella, whose home is just around the corner from the hostel. So I didn't feel the need to tour all the city's sights, which definitely make it worth spending an extra day in town, if you are looking for somewhere to take a day off walking on the Via Francigena!</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtNiH8AH8qo5MyZInqwqudDq9p7r636erHeatDDoPbIkhLV825-GfUGZz1Z6YYsQQfDMZIfal8X_0oY1sv7K8UWj8pnPFnvjmMjgYwUmhpjSkDwfTGiYQ7Gvg5bRG-_KWnrHmX3ELFCXUxsgzKoP9J9xzofAG3RHvE00Qj_ORoIZ7ZDsJg882ORaTvXfAM/s4624/20230729_093643.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtNiH8AH8qo5MyZInqwqudDq9p7r636erHeatDDoPbIkhLV825-GfUGZz1Z6YYsQQfDMZIfal8X_0oY1sv7K8UWj8pnPFnvjmMjgYwUmhpjSkDwfTGiYQ7Gvg5bRG-_KWnrHmX3ELFCXUxsgzKoP9J9xzofAG3RHvE00Qj_ORoIZ7ZDsJg882ORaTvXfAM/s320/20230729_093643.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoU8-vkYkAMXi2lATj35i10HEbOn7hz6yvQXw_g_VwuJ1Axlz8RihI_2GaVkzL8g_8FklxyWlvHnwILe2lCab8Vi3yglcd-p0CHmj6BigqaMKlO3piCPWwr20NJshaPINejqIc2P64QSNvg4zjo-v4zJXdovPv--KQag0Z0wrPtv7jTn065Q3WzCWUlvQ/s4624/20230729_142514.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoU8-vkYkAMXi2lATj35i10HEbOn7hz6yvQXw_g_VwuJ1Axlz8RihI_2GaVkzL8g_8FklxyWlvHnwILe2lCab8Vi3yglcd-p0CHmj6BigqaMKlO3piCPWwr20NJshaPINejqIc2P64QSNvg4zjo-v4zJXdovPv--KQag0Z0wrPtv7jTn065Q3WzCWUlvQ/s320/20230729_142514.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVc1ccgSJq97BrTyuXsv_4yjOoRp8Tc0ZKDTpSGNxL6li76ZSZKnvDOCE8ziOFy2VHMyMGU0dIqwsgPxTtYg3jV-ZuLyMtnJsLujmaUIGNm4fn9NGEWpyRz6zivlZbDCyPujiIYmykp3QSQZDZjWt2c_WTkSOpjHnv8kx5EZ5srHf3EdEP1UCQeKknoHOC/s4000/20230730_105530.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVc1ccgSJq97BrTyuXsv_4yjOoRp8Tc0ZKDTpSGNxL6li76ZSZKnvDOCE8ziOFy2VHMyMGU0dIqwsgPxTtYg3jV-ZuLyMtnJsLujmaUIGNm4fn9NGEWpyRz6zivlZbDCyPujiIYmykp3QSQZDZjWt2c_WTkSOpjHnv8kx5EZ5srHf3EdEP1UCQeKknoHOC/s320/20230730_105530.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basilica di Sant'Andrea </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0MOgDz9VF3dd6X-10bpXtGo2lTcZq4-87MLy5b9w9hzEbYFBc5lDKYQ11TJK_sKM7U6S6r4W0U22_p6OSnRQ1ucTYxSq0SDgFjv2eH_y2MQbdnaZ9wbPyAuh59rloZtkXf_ThCOKANyJkaqwK5nLpLg5GbFHJchk6IhjsoOULwyZlR1tpdVlClo1nBcxF/s4000/20230730_105706.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0MOgDz9VF3dd6X-10bpXtGo2lTcZq4-87MLy5b9w9hzEbYFBc5lDKYQ11TJK_sKM7U6S6r4W0U22_p6OSnRQ1ucTYxSq0SDgFjv2eH_y2MQbdnaZ9wbPyAuh59rloZtkXf_ThCOKANyJkaqwK5nLpLg5GbFHJchk6IhjsoOULwyZlR1tpdVlClo1nBcxF/s320/20230730_105706.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The historic pilgrim hostel (no longer used for the purpose)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FbvA4W_AEGnuOTkQB0lZ-jXYJea0ur2z3w51dEcnFhMcsUFm-MLFkR4iTGYG4C_cNB5rUxRNUKR7Eyal-N27vM761x6xYW3aojg9PBn8t6pf27JcoOq2_eqGfmm8x9mY8MQVRqRe0jNE-w83lkr5YTKE-rtNr2iW0gwcXx68VJRqvArrUVE9yE3WAgBd/s4624/20230730_105723.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FbvA4W_AEGnuOTkQB0lZ-jXYJea0ur2z3w51dEcnFhMcsUFm-MLFkR4iTGYG4C_cNB5rUxRNUKR7Eyal-N27vM761x6xYW3aojg9PBn8t6pf27JcoOq2_eqGfmm8x9mY8MQVRqRe0jNE-w83lkr5YTKE-rtNr2iW0gwcXx68VJRqvArrUVE9yE3WAgBd/s320/20230730_105723.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1aAed1C80d3eMGup1DisF_t-ISGkU62kmXgbBGtF3XWmBNXHkfT5FjXvJGm1gdhlagyeYLM9eUXwUuMT1Da8KdTKTahN0XnaK2XypW3lh6ckN2QayCXLUmyL_KQD07NB1JDSegxe6lY22lN8b90CrWlrhKZlTbXbhdOSxRORE3JgEmBDfBp8Olt-3mkRQ/s4624/20230915_080312.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1aAed1C80d3eMGup1DisF_t-ISGkU62kmXgbBGtF3XWmBNXHkfT5FjXvJGm1gdhlagyeYLM9eUXwUuMT1Da8KdTKTahN0XnaK2XypW3lh6ckN2QayCXLUmyL_KQD07NB1JDSegxe6lY22lN8b90CrWlrhKZlTbXbhdOSxRORE3JgEmBDfBp8Olt-3mkRQ/s320/20230915_080312.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowvTSm-bDupwXNsRwqjKO9CdgTla2lW0p0WDONajcMyWc6c2KWnlSWtOKboCYgL_-YDHvQNC9bsRXlZ0JEw8o3V4DtVfYxh8ptqsxJ_5z3loWeiVPEjL9hqdcyAKwMH1bSMVYz5WGrb7tYXaLkRa6Y30vgaa1eE4oCSQEAuC7qgFxHC2U8y-Eq4NczQpy/s4624/20230915_080341.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowvTSm-bDupwXNsRwqjKO9CdgTla2lW0p0WDONajcMyWc6c2KWnlSWtOKboCYgL_-YDHvQNC9bsRXlZ0JEw8o3V4DtVfYxh8ptqsxJ_5z3loWeiVPEjL9hqdcyAKwMH1bSMVYz5WGrb7tYXaLkRa6Y30vgaa1eE4oCSQEAuC7qgFxHC2U8y-Eq4NczQpy/s320/20230915_080341.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">16th-century frescoes in the church of San Cristoforo</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyG0ouDK0iYZ4h1z1CYqZj7LapbSFHx7WFNGhZSIUyszKTMhmcRBclp6YRS5ZqVsMA-MjvEWcxKV1G5T6kSj1xvsST2g_nOokmAXrmEE0orrDDoO4X3FvLHIMOrt-4_wIsr9RxQ9vUpPE_y7XQNLnt1UoZuGYeBLCJo4q7OkHSO1YWMsG3NjafYOl9XCVj/s4624/20230914_181732.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyG0ouDK0iYZ4h1z1CYqZj7LapbSFHx7WFNGhZSIUyszKTMhmcRBclp6YRS5ZqVsMA-MjvEWcxKV1G5T6kSj1xvsST2g_nOokmAXrmEE0orrDDoO4X3FvLHIMOrt-4_wIsr9RxQ9vUpPE_y7XQNLnt1UoZuGYeBLCJo4q7OkHSO1YWMsG3NjafYOl9XCVj/s320/20230914_181732.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsFxm55Pevn9AD6bBCXIY5qdByar8AJG-K8QL5RdiRMnVVkg6-dbhR7GtjS1BwQHqokrpjeL6OTiE9XpiKZrR2KzW095Dllxg-PROfLGgAUq-VCrHfBZeyjHCfhy0PNGvIIc24whMNlhAptZZu2tooaKbay95-rp45g2FGYcXSIJfTuNphCWJS-itCg4o/s4624/20230915_081208.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsFxm55Pevn9AD6bBCXIY5qdByar8AJG-K8QL5RdiRMnVVkg6-dbhR7GtjS1BwQHqokrpjeL6OTiE9XpiKZrR2KzW095Dllxg-PROfLGgAUq-VCrHfBZeyjHCfhy0PNGvIIc24whMNlhAptZZu2tooaKbay95-rp45g2FGYcXSIJfTuNphCWJS-itCg4o/s320/20230915_081208.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">On this visit I decided to dedicate some attention to the city's cathedral, which I felt I had neglected on my previous visits in favour of the Cistercian Basilica of Sant'Andrea. The cathedral is no longer the original one, but has been reconstructed and enlarged between the 16th and 19th centuries; however its great treasure is a 10th-century silver and gold plated crucifix. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1BYmTVCfwBxWSjcqk22IgNOkC4jW4plyHjapdvDZlverlbRXtPZsx2Fpeyo6uSx_2pxpeB_LCrZV0axgy1T119aDggd8jCsyWI3SfLGrxgv6FPKxo8YH6g3Tm_AZp80koERpSENW9eX0H7s-6_l1KObbLWXxB-zOsrWvHq6wWEdtD7JkQOhsBcQmUfnOM/s4624/20230914_173822.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1BYmTVCfwBxWSjcqk22IgNOkC4jW4plyHjapdvDZlverlbRXtPZsx2Fpeyo6uSx_2pxpeB_LCrZV0axgy1T119aDggd8jCsyWI3SfLGrxgv6FPKxo8YH6g3Tm_AZp80koERpSENW9eX0H7s-6_l1KObbLWXxB-zOsrWvHq6wWEdtD7JkQOhsBcQmUfnOM/s320/20230914_173822.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I sat for some time in the cathedral listening to a choir rehearsing polyphonic early Baroque music, Palestrina perhaps, in the side chapel dedicated to Saint Eusebius. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJft_p-OuQeoVcguNWhhu-mj0yRIY9ZW-u4JqZ2GZ_B9LbdyvVcGdiWEphvOJlTk1OpdipFawUtcEq-xPiAWkRdXwPocAQJrsGBGh-MpuWKNRlOI_pz35wnxUoI5pMkgQGsFMru1h1_IgMCdE58BDE1_gEEkVQlu9m3FRjArPIO5dDOPXAiiOq7GRO8LcX/s4000/20230914_181203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJft_p-OuQeoVcguNWhhu-mj0yRIY9ZW-u4JqZ2GZ_B9LbdyvVcGdiWEphvOJlTk1OpdipFawUtcEq-xPiAWkRdXwPocAQJrsGBGh-MpuWKNRlOI_pz35wnxUoI5pMkgQGsFMru1h1_IgMCdE58BDE1_gEEkVQlu9m3FRjArPIO5dDOPXAiiOq7GRO8LcX/s320/20230914_181203.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><b>Saint Eusebius of Vercelli </b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Saint Eusebius, the first bishop of Vercelli, was born on or about March 2, 283, in Sardinia and died on August 1, 371, in Vercelli. During his very long life he had occasion to travel far and wide, though not always as a matter of choice. He was in fact exiled first to Syria, then to Cappadocia and Egypt between the years 355 and 360 by the Roman Emperor Constantius II, who supported the Arian version of Christianity and exiled all bishops who refused to agree with what later came to be known as the Arian heresy, which basically denies the divinity of Christ. This non-trinitarian theology holds that Christ is not eternal like God, but was made or begotten by him at a later point, and that the Son is therefore subordinate to the Father. As Arius stated, "if the Father begat the Son, then he who was begotten had a beginning in existence, and from this it follows there was a time when the Son was not."</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ordinary people didn't understand what the controversy was about, because, then as now, they didn't bother themselves to think too hard about such fine distinctions of theology. But the Arian belief system was adopted by a number of Roman emperors, and by Goth and Vandal warlords upon their conversion to Christianity. By 325, the theological dispute had become significant enough that the Emperor Constantine called an assembly of bishops, the First Council of Nicaea, which condemned Arius's doctrine and formulated the original Nicene Creed of 325. But Constantine's son Constantius II encouraged the Arians and attempted to reverse the Nicene creed, exiling bishops who adhered to it such as Eusebius of Vercelli. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Upon the death of Constantius in 361, his successor Emperor Julian rehabilitated the bishops who had been exiled, and Eusebius was able to return to his post in Vercelli, where he served as bishop for another ten years, until his death.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>The Codex Vercellensis and the Vercelli Book </b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6bnPcK7Q03kTvN4bgzUw5QPGaJW-YGaZG69jm4YjkIvnnyOAeI-C1-bWPIaZWmoxNghlKKIzy28BvwF7riW0JhR68MduA0KYhCusd5j6DdfhhreryacktxEAPQRqPzig9HXGJYQlVjs7IvPgbNYFdZVEEsP8JNgnanHFZI9LRLIMAgpaL2_UctfwTpDJj" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1052" data-original-width="1289" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6bnPcK7Q03kTvN4bgzUw5QPGaJW-YGaZG69jm4YjkIvnnyOAeI-C1-bWPIaZWmoxNghlKKIzy28BvwF7riW0JhR68MduA0KYhCusd5j6DdfhhreryacktxEAPQRqPzig9HXGJYQlVjs7IvPgbNYFdZVEEsP8JNgnanHFZI9LRLIMAgpaL2_UctfwTpDJj" width="294" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvKO5J49kTQyeOLtgcrZ-se9MYls5DbYay7qB1qi7_ixmtAzn1Qr9BbRrW1QU0u7ySvCzCClJnaE2WGfxtm-0qZPNNgXyG1DD9QEsoOU4AqX25jEv4Z1L98L9F9fugZ35oxypC9nWa-Gb0-rjvhbdu8bwCaqBuXcaBXzHQaWhonQBpQh_HF6DPXBrVgBl/s4624/20230914_170738.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvKO5J49kTQyeOLtgcrZ-se9MYls5DbYay7qB1qi7_ixmtAzn1Qr9BbRrW1QU0u7ySvCzCClJnaE2WGfxtm-0qZPNNgXyG1DD9QEsoOU4AqX25jEv4Z1L98L9F9fugZ35oxypC9nWa-Gb0-rjvhbdu8bwCaqBuXcaBXzHQaWhonQBpQh_HF6DPXBrVgBl/s320/20230914_170738.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">10th-century gilded silver cover of the <i>Codex Vercellensis, </i>in the cathedral museum</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The <i><a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/story/codex-vercellensis-evangeliorum/TgKSdG9TdAajLA" target="_blank">Codex Vercellensis Evangeliorum</a></i> is the oldest existing manuscript of the Old Latin gospels, dated between 345 and 371, and is believed to have been produced on the order of Bishop Eusebius. Most of the pages are in poor condition and scarcely legible, as the book was used for swearing oaths in medieval times, so people kept putting their hands on it! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The volume is now kept in the <i>Biblioteca Capitolare, </i>the library of the Cathedral of Vercelli, one of the most prestigious in Italy, which also houses the Vercelli Book, a late 10th-century parchment manuscript produced in southeast England. A collection of 23 sermons and six poems in the Anglo-Saxon language, the manuscript was most likely brought from England to the Hospitale di Santa Brigida, a hostel in Vercelli founded in the 11th century specifically for British pilgrims on the Via Francigena. Books were rare and valuable, and the Vercelli Book may well have been a part of the "treasure" donated to the church by one Bishop Ulf of Dorchester in order to obtain pardon for his shortcomings in the fulfilment of his official duties.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzadVz3yRKVkdksrnwjAMVUFxDoz3C09NfF7FtG2ZyhQQmctSkOPk8OIzzF62hac-6hO3xffKCZOMt2a9DozOXtThbBiN60J5a_mXj4-s1BWCDim05exkxwVKzJUFRX4dFq6sRSDGXk8Cw3ado79cwu7yfKkogwGCx_JmFqEBVmFr4G7qVpVCjhawWDrDq/s4624/20230914_165052.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzadVz3yRKVkdksrnwjAMVUFxDoz3C09NfF7FtG2ZyhQQmctSkOPk8OIzzF62hac-6hO3xffKCZOMt2a9DozOXtThbBiN60J5a_mXj4-s1BWCDim05exkxwVKzJUFRX4dFq6sRSDGXk8Cw3ado79cwu7yfKkogwGCx_JmFqEBVmFr4G7qVpVCjhawWDrDq/s320/20230914_165052.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copy of the Vercelli Book on display in the cathedral museum</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijgbEbMbEZ8Ve3sDns3ORf7B5WMMJy6T6FuNZprvY2j84UR-1ldRGOKLFAG1sJcdBrLJJvfEO_91YiglAFR1VZzUXCtzosqsLdU2fOundiUtvZpdG86gipWQzp2XblQKIRQX72xLFIOvP9GmT_8aaSVur1xxJeREuFmjK86flbRyqtu8cJEZSAiP4IAQfE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijgbEbMbEZ8Ve3sDns3ORf7B5WMMJy6T6FuNZprvY2j84UR-1ldRGOKLFAG1sJcdBrLJJvfEO_91YiglAFR1VZzUXCtzosqsLdU2fOundiUtvZpdG86gipWQzp2XblQKIRQX72xLFIOvP9GmT_8aaSVur1xxJeREuFmjK86flbRyqtu8cJEZSAiP4IAQfE" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sorry about the length of this post, but it barely scratches the surface of all that there is to see in Vercelli, a city of great historical importance in relation to pilgrimage routes, located at the confluence of the Via Francigena and the Camino de Santiago!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1UN5JED_H_bI3ixbc42eYgFEKuDsSkCGqp-TQRKipKGsaPz-0nOShxLqufy6fFAgf_3clgHvfcgh7_1tHAeb5juGJkktr2ju3aNxTeOrwhi8ScJt57czbCboFWpVhyev5idasqLlq78m8Wf5wK1Cn1OWIRUxKEyGmw14yb9wuhJt6ZuDi37SB_ETwWBL/s2400/Screenshot_20230914_155149_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1UN5JED_H_bI3ixbc42eYgFEKuDsSkCGqp-TQRKipKGsaPz-0nOShxLqufy6fFAgf_3clgHvfcgh7_1tHAeb5juGJkktr2ju3aNxTeOrwhi8ScJt57czbCboFWpVhyev5idasqLlq78m8Wf5wK1Cn1OWIRUxKEyGmw14yb9wuhJt6ZuDi37SB_ETwWBL/s320/Screenshot_20230914_155149_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">San Germano Vercellese - Vercelli 21.5 km</p></div>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-29740436706654953662023-09-13T19:13:00.024+02:002024-01-09T14:25:24.013+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 70: Cavaglià - San Germano Vercellese<p style="text-align: justify;"><i style="text-align: left;">Sing, and walk onwards.</i></p><div>- Saint Augustine, Sermo 256</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTuM-ES8GXCvI6ZB6MzWTvAItIQhL0im0SivJcJaa490ccTNMzyQUNdb-3jDrE3GgbdNoJ2yvBtCu3azLprLZJR21x4NUtciRNYM-0-a2AhQObYAHvcxdHfK2he8gRrjgxjsBo5vmM3i3jHGXReo3Juy_PzSKEZi_rOSoqQohS48frrkBFI4_eIl7xcoa/s4624/20230913_125458.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTuM-ES8GXCvI6ZB6MzWTvAItIQhL0im0SivJcJaa490ccTNMzyQUNdb-3jDrE3GgbdNoJ2yvBtCu3azLprLZJR21x4NUtciRNYM-0-a2AhQObYAHvcxdHfK2he8gRrjgxjsBo5vmM3i3jHGXReo3Juy_PzSKEZi_rOSoqQohS48frrkBFI4_eIl7xcoa/s320/20230913_125458.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today is day 8 since starting again in Aosta, day 70 since Calais, and day 100 overall walking from my birthplace in Leeds, England towards my home in Italy! A very special day!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was the only one staying in the one-room hostel in Cavaglià last night. When I woke up in the morning it was still dark - and I assumed that was just because the shutters were closed. But when I opened the door to leave I got a real shock: it seemed that summer had ended overnight and autumn had arrived! The sky was dark, and the streets were wet with rain!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I crossed the road to return the key and have breakfast at the café, and while I was in there it began to rain quite hard. I read the newspaper and waited until the rain slowed to a gentle patter, then donned my rain jacket and hat, slung my backpack over my shoulders and headed out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the way out of Cavaglià I passed the cemetery church of Santa Maria di Babilone, towering high above the cornfields.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-Bbi0xq-NgAxfj6rHDvT0_tXY__-M0NYvn1hgxwnTlqpDNXiBeRP2LwVqxnd-4d7r_-AHhlpAEV6tgqqkDU8w7mf4V19UJABPP-0PLZLeu2qFvLLS84fHPzJJd-xiN8tU_HQSEgxbu0bzP0Z37tI0scvtISkZQVJf4O5huyrzanxJA7jc_dCCO9_abDw/s3116/20230913_080617.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2338" data-original-width="3116" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-Bbi0xq-NgAxfj6rHDvT0_tXY__-M0NYvn1hgxwnTlqpDNXiBeRP2LwVqxnd-4d7r_-AHhlpAEV6tgqqkDU8w7mf4V19UJABPP-0PLZLeu2qFvLLS84fHPzJJd-xiN8tU_HQSEgxbu0bzP0Z37tI0scvtISkZQVJf4O5huyrzanxJA7jc_dCCO9_abDw/s320/20230913_080617.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before I had been walking long, the rain began to fall harder again. I sheltered under the eaves of a barn in the hamlet of Maiole for a few minutes, watching the rain fall. Eventually I decided to keep walking, and the rain soon let up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xW_SxVKDmRU1Afy4gDX7H6asyT-jKpmVOfwXRugBmFpxfHEl94qm_WlB_mwbZGkiZZncd_WSvz3KLPyueIHAv0jOtDcy4aep0NaRrscBds-rKCLoL4pWHeGYRJ1L-p11nYag2khtgu922bHfMexwZvoCEY3tqVR6v1gcL3ibZOYIYX5Ol4JtsdJm1eYi/s4624/20230913_082552.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xW_SxVKDmRU1Afy4gDX7H6asyT-jKpmVOfwXRugBmFpxfHEl94qm_WlB_mwbZGkiZZncd_WSvz3KLPyueIHAv0jOtDcy4aep0NaRrscBds-rKCLoL4pWHeGYRJ1L-p11nYag2khtgu922bHfMexwZvoCEY3tqVR6v1gcL3ibZOYIYX5Ol4JtsdJm1eYi/s320/20230913_082552.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKnWNwKQEwT2ckc753OcjwRo8Q8bHtz7Tcm3jVYWQlQw7s_lKpEeHCBrsEdukqqcOIwbATYSBAke0FmwyIiOQNt10IyaAStwgg5EgIsI6_lTXFf88XdV-ZMxVhFkIGikxZyciGx73NkiH-fVuUwldegMJK1QP976gAF1qPsN614oIU1hzdvPj8S5VPNG9/s4624/20230913_091600.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtKnWNwKQEwT2ckc753OcjwRo8Q8bHtz7Tcm3jVYWQlQw7s_lKpEeHCBrsEdukqqcOIwbATYSBAke0FmwyIiOQNt10IyaAStwgg5EgIsI6_lTXFf88XdV-ZMxVhFkIGikxZyciGx73NkiH-fVuUwldegMJK1QP976gAF1qPsN614oIU1hzdvPj8S5VPNG9/s320/20230913_091600.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First rice paddies!</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie_YfoFgZAFUiT77ymGFWKyh2Osnn9xzgvHXy0kVv_g-KOuJ0cD1CetISxNRlJv2Z6_M1tOq0Li_DJm78FYD84ikSu7m5bSX6Scf0XhPOkn8qBr7AzsXrpoPcU1I3-jxWfRXnxrwxvvS3_V0-0GAdtBSpiCOAXdzRnM79QRgW-clZtdle5jXNtrsHFGRn1/s4624/20230913_091854.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie_YfoFgZAFUiT77ymGFWKyh2Osnn9xzgvHXy0kVv_g-KOuJ0cD1CetISxNRlJv2Z6_M1tOq0Li_DJm78FYD84ikSu7m5bSX6Scf0XhPOkn8qBr7AzsXrpoPcU1I3-jxWfRXnxrwxvvS3_V0-0GAdtBSpiCOAXdzRnM79QRgW-clZtdle5jXNtrsHFGRn1/s320/20230913_091854.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the farms along the way had set up a pilgrim rest area with a picnic table, but I didn't stop as it was all wet! I carried on through fields of corn, rice and soy, bordered by irrigation channels.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFpkEVVCmpHIaXjoid637BvOoz7Zzu3xTqzh1MACYqyD1ckClHzkkGHqh01vTI5G4yPip6Z5ftJMCjuwYMbIZzk1eG0iVB9K1p-vxs-_eQT_h060-m8brdEVT8ZMD5ZD8ejG14DTsGxcc4o726XERyaRMMvc83-av60mepsi3NpAZETkC0EWN-47w5uyB/s4624/20230913_092159.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFpkEVVCmpHIaXjoid637BvOoz7Zzu3xTqzh1MACYqyD1ckClHzkkGHqh01vTI5G4yPip6Z5ftJMCjuwYMbIZzk1eG0iVB9K1p-vxs-_eQT_h060-m8brdEVT8ZMD5ZD8ejG14DTsGxcc4o726XERyaRMMvc83-av60mepsi3NpAZETkC0EWN-47w5uyB/s320/20230913_092159.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqcjm3HwtrLTT1ylnCnGLNYaQjLjwZeOMpYtYwVA1SV-o4Ta9Q0kkhdymFbLBxcrBwVa_WAS32OqfqePEA289WwEnfQPdZ1R63znkC5qEq7blMY-lmcX0Ym9NMyx7kl-1xv8RxGca5rks1zUNw15z3VW3XlAQSStdBrutiPOvepXaMg2jm8m2TkD5GT0eR/s4624/20230913_092355.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqcjm3HwtrLTT1ylnCnGLNYaQjLjwZeOMpYtYwVA1SV-o4Ta9Q0kkhdymFbLBxcrBwVa_WAS32OqfqePEA289WwEnfQPdZ1R63znkC5qEq7blMY-lmcX0Ym9NMyx7kl-1xv8RxGca5rks1zUNw15z3VW3XlAQSStdBrutiPOvepXaMg2jm8m2TkD5GT0eR/s320/20230913_092355.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMPhhQzB1Av02FjEy-MKPh7KftKxnATUJ7lwdd_bxqI06n-SBGLHLm1D_6BDEKbmk3fZjOoOAjHJRYV661kAZo8yY7UqfBhQSMbDYdTv28lbHs2Zuh3Gjr6HfI9kfpFAvP217M1XYUHuhGuTcISMkObd4rcMbyu3EKKo0zU40kPPRqK1AKbol4rrhmSoEv/s4624/20230913_092454.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMPhhQzB1Av02FjEy-MKPh7KftKxnATUJ7lwdd_bxqI06n-SBGLHLm1D_6BDEKbmk3fZjOoOAjHJRYV661kAZo8yY7UqfBhQSMbDYdTv28lbHs2Zuh3Gjr6HfI9kfpFAvP217M1XYUHuhGuTcISMkObd4rcMbyu3EKKo0zU40kPPRqK1AKbol4rrhmSoEv/s320/20230913_092454.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The life cycle of corn...</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysCSpUuVsOg9_Z8eYAWiaCqoBspkVIJ80vQKDPSacw-nQNL7u3d3jSEA8UYXMsEiyZOwwn3df2HSMZ5IWhRcnMCgC-HYcYVKv6RvzhX4FEPnX0Dg1UyCO9gtQrit_4IeGZUqL9Q7t9gyGqdMGt6PId2zwcgAqu2SSeCl48YLhTJpvZKItPHXv8q1B3NVv/s4624/20230913_093056.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysCSpUuVsOg9_Z8eYAWiaCqoBspkVIJ80vQKDPSacw-nQNL7u3d3jSEA8UYXMsEiyZOwwn3df2HSMZ5IWhRcnMCgC-HYcYVKv6RvzhX4FEPnX0Dg1UyCO9gtQrit_4IeGZUqL9Q7t9gyGqdMGt6PId2zwcgAqu2SSeCl48YLhTJpvZKItPHXv8q1B3NVv/s320/20230913_093056.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdE50eBXtv0SfDz1NZugrFJ6FiUh6xIk0ZrjJKe7cijX68AnHAW7CQnev9bvAn-oVx1x9RZbOVI1FIYJp--ItBV4gtBkpB8ysnMACR6jNkTbb_R49AwLyKzT_aIM-abAS0FFLPD9-e0hOdwJ6CH2lhSz-yPAerH7BsJTtvu2_a5TixhUDSovC9jpzQTpO9/s4624/20230913_092741.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdE50eBXtv0SfDz1NZugrFJ6FiUh6xIk0ZrjJKe7cijX68AnHAW7CQnev9bvAn-oVx1x9RZbOVI1FIYJp--ItBV4gtBkpB8ysnMACR6jNkTbb_R49AwLyKzT_aIM-abAS0FFLPD9-e0hOdwJ6CH2lhSz-yPAerH7BsJTtvu2_a5TixhUDSovC9jpzQTpO9/s320/20230913_092741.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2bG63WVufPEchxooUZXz-ehkoLO0Gg5Bgot5NVQ6m4EY3WPQeiJ-SIVUSuAjt-3EReBHiJ5U-K0X3e8SSHb08YbG3jn0-ud8yYdjsM4s05Wnlr2eUyDy2dPPZ7vjyjaU0La5q8wCIbSu9zyU-0PBvBe5R1TjZ7tbilucQSIEBYGAND19UtUYBuF742sl/s4624/20230913_093115.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2bG63WVufPEchxooUZXz-ehkoLO0Gg5Bgot5NVQ6m4EY3WPQeiJ-SIVUSuAjt-3EReBHiJ5U-K0X3e8SSHb08YbG3jn0-ud8yYdjsM4s05Wnlr2eUyDy2dPPZ7vjyjaU0La5q8wCIbSu9zyU-0PBvBe5R1TjZ7tbilucQSIEBYGAND19UtUYBuF742sl/s320/20230913_093115.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It seems even the husks are used for something!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It's harvest time for corn (maize), and some of the fields had already been cut; machines could be heard grinding corn in farm buildings, and once or twice I had to step off the track to make way for an enormous combine harvester. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9yIncOMrigQRZIxSHFjqjnk2ehndQl1LZDkyFvqN93CSHcJLbNYSMFM6v5tY2y8y33nJx8BKnBSzSrjkJ1Uuvq2HDAtggImmF2qA8Cpgqgxi8hfVQzP81fOY5lZQP878u8nAmrR2Pr79qUJLuU9w3s1hySvGJialaX_Fx4yYXJU2gmqsBFf7HcRzyMYH/s4624/20230913_093943.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9yIncOMrigQRZIxSHFjqjnk2ehndQl1LZDkyFvqN93CSHcJLbNYSMFM6v5tY2y8y33nJx8BKnBSzSrjkJ1Uuvq2HDAtggImmF2qA8Cpgqgxi8hfVQzP81fOY5lZQP878u8nAmrR2Pr79qUJLuU9w3s1hySvGJialaX_Fx4yYXJU2gmqsBFf7HcRzyMYH/s320/20230913_093943.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I came to the point where the motorway A4, the main highway between Turin and Milan, cuts right across the ancient route of the Via Francigena, which now has to make a crazy zigzag path to get across the motorway and under a high-speed railway line. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Y_PX-GhFPYpPLALa0Jy0UEHo6UCZKC9h1Kc1Uz8P70Lc_XcyGtclT5VKJmhwPEGRoJqowvfqsmXbmvZ-yBeVeEKq8KswT2uy9zyrdbxDLp5T1gXT_d4EIYmrxST7t3hCQsxi9_OdRdPTzF4lRbmrxNefYs-sAKa0DSjhRfd3mRFsfkbaUuJ70KbPyAQx/s2400/Screenshot_20230913_092921_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Y_PX-GhFPYpPLALa0Jy0UEHo6UCZKC9h1Kc1Uz8P70Lc_XcyGtclT5VKJmhwPEGRoJqowvfqsmXbmvZ-yBeVeEKq8KswT2uy9zyrdbxDLp5T1gXT_d4EIYmrxST7t3hCQsxi9_OdRdPTzF4lRbmrxNefYs-sAKa0DSjhRfd3mRFsfkbaUuJ70KbPyAQx/s320/Screenshot_20230913_092921_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQzzHTCafFnepP4IFyhaQLBJuFJOa0XiJyDos5MMkbYKslP0ptBpLcXerELyq6SookBJIY5VrTvD8Pik0skiH-DamPSMGktrEYy-iH0FgzefdeCzhZmKfH4ArrUFnHg1u_tEJEZJsQ0xZmFxcTJhcxSx3WuHRTBBGqSOfwYvBu9SHiQZGTwHM6fpepHbN/s2400/Screenshot_20230913_094055_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQzzHTCafFnepP4IFyhaQLBJuFJOa0XiJyDos5MMkbYKslP0ptBpLcXerELyq6SookBJIY5VrTvD8Pik0skiH-DamPSMGktrEYy-iH0FgzefdeCzhZmKfH4ArrUFnHg1u_tEJEZJsQ0xZmFxcTJhcxSx3WuHRTBBGqSOfwYvBu9SHiQZGTwHM6fpepHbN/s320/Screenshot_20230913_094055_MyTrails.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6H7Sjq17bvp-Ffi5ftXiiMdw-9exV6I5Ubq7pj2osbtCQN3rnfqeWfR9HY4AjUuSRHOqct-zam9Q_LIlvGLjpOgKcNqrW6J4tMLKnCbifJozi5nERs7sJxen6mB5V9q-fbaS9fZLyASAJpnsu29xNYx7nJMw4N6VpOyAoHQ-HLEAiTJhfmTnmmVH3XYl/s4624/20230913_094237.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6H7Sjq17bvp-Ffi5ftXiiMdw-9exV6I5Ubq7pj2osbtCQN3rnfqeWfR9HY4AjUuSRHOqct-zam9Q_LIlvGLjpOgKcNqrW6J4tMLKnCbifJozi5nERs7sJxen6mB5V9q-fbaS9fZLyASAJpnsu29xNYx7nJMw4N6VpOyAoHQ-HLEAiTJhfmTnmmVH3XYl/s320/20230913_094237.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All this backtracking had tired me out, so I accepted the invitation posted outside a farmhouse and sat down to take a break on one of the chairs on their lawn, miraculously dry thanks to the shelter afforded by a magnolia tree.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjstcAhJoTvs9bbz17lj20lJ43JvMevujU76cZ1VXj1dPVJ2zz-alYfZhGqgb7UFbbcy8FnX36hGKPaPHUZC0slCER3T-_u3J4sXsjzyl7ADCWcKZVaVLuu1wVeXf5LalBVMqHARu6pXqxqxFaOasDdB2kHwrz5Zf0nSkttDmpAyViV8HzTUDVNr5uPmivP/s4624/20230913_095554.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjstcAhJoTvs9bbz17lj20lJ43JvMevujU76cZ1VXj1dPVJ2zz-alYfZhGqgb7UFbbcy8FnX36hGKPaPHUZC0slCER3T-_u3J4sXsjzyl7ADCWcKZVaVLuu1wVeXf5LalBVMqHARu6pXqxqxFaOasDdB2kHwrz5Zf0nSkttDmpAyViV8HzTUDVNr5uPmivP/s320/20230913_095554.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I started walking again and crossed the Canale Cavour: an 83 kilometre long canal dug between 1863 and 1866 to take water from the Po river at Chivasso and carry it across the plains for agricultural use irrigating the fields before discharging into the Ticino river at Galliate. </div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxDzQjlaALEXx-hVApk3GCO_G_88CtvZmK-7IGcG9g_TYzbMGjK6tI-zupJdJXZUHUez6c0caG5dgJrAuwXUlad6dDOWiarv-w3159vcxlxINCTjIovkLDExlBnyTSttfU5gtQY177lcAKwUwpKZtMyqL6t2DTh_KSRkQ7RrntcaboVhnJvAQylTKkn3e/s4624/20230913_100754.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxDzQjlaALEXx-hVApk3GCO_G_88CtvZmK-7IGcG9g_TYzbMGjK6tI-zupJdJXZUHUez6c0caG5dgJrAuwXUlad6dDOWiarv-w3159vcxlxINCTjIovkLDExlBnyTSttfU5gtQY177lcAKwUwpKZtMyqL6t2DTh_KSRkQ7RrntcaboVhnJvAQylTKkn3e/s320/20230913_100754.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canale Cavour</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Smaller irrigation channels ran through the ditches by the roads I walked on, creating an environment much appreciated by wildlife; I spotted a rabbit, a red squirrel, herons and egrets, and heard frogs croaking and leaping into the water, though I didn't actually see any.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSxMcEbccInksYGqYdt4VTOzo2dvGapGy9K-JwAAfz87wiVjrrqB6rKlQFLsfhJM-KwfI9nATBS8ZLMkUxIFPUkNlbDIY68rksHxl5rXfJRP5J_mPpeROlps0XRzJbzcQFD-DE2NgxLskBWUmUNveJQrWGL80JKnHFEgH2tbErt6EHdd-OU83ZBAAZZsTk/s4624/20230913_102604.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSxMcEbccInksYGqYdt4VTOzo2dvGapGy9K-JwAAfz87wiVjrrqB6rKlQFLsfhJM-KwfI9nATBS8ZLMkUxIFPUkNlbDIY68rksHxl5rXfJRP5J_mPpeROlps0XRzJbzcQFD-DE2NgxLskBWUmUNveJQrWGL80JKnHFEgH2tbErt6EHdd-OU83ZBAAZZsTk/s320/20230913_102604.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The houses on the outskirts of Santhià began to appear, and soon I was standing under the 13th-century bell tower of the town's main church, the Collegiata di Sant'Agata, the name Santhià actually being a corruption of "Sant'Agata".</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuURxy9sf7svet2WbL4ejnSkMfFjL_iW-wYrleh1PQbgAH0uCY3Qofu2jElsPDmA83Xpk604nwhOjuglrd0aVY7dxFWgCe2zGQLGc3VktTQdCr8uNhShK9mrMImpTqYmPAUinyawV4AMlTnHl_g2QWo_CH2S0EbKvuODsDAFbZcVQ2594VRBNRhEOvbLs8/s4000/20230913_105002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuURxy9sf7svet2WbL4ejnSkMfFjL_iW-wYrleh1PQbgAH0uCY3Qofu2jElsPDmA83Xpk604nwhOjuglrd0aVY7dxFWgCe2zGQLGc3VktTQdCr8uNhShK9mrMImpTqYmPAUinyawV4AMlTnHl_g2QWo_CH2S0EbKvuODsDAFbZcVQ2594VRBNRhEOvbLs8/s320/20230913_105002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Inside the church is a 16th-century polyptych depicting several saints, by Gerolamo Giovevone.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhDL934x1k0IR3TXAL1g2Ww6uzxjRoileEZ6PPqj6-M-8uINwyRKuGncczDwZp4H9-8VYvy8A1nNUVcdnkJFgohpJnk08n-0RHVM445q2MFWEhWl7TDvjUr18LIGkbdjLwyJ_0E1eq0uVLTL_jg0UcXOTZVZEdid7FYqvuWfdEnpTllYXuwtETRIqRlPr/s4000/20230913_105545.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhDL934x1k0IR3TXAL1g2Ww6uzxjRoileEZ6PPqj6-M-8uINwyRKuGncczDwZp4H9-8VYvy8A1nNUVcdnkJFgohpJnk08n-0RHVM445q2MFWEhWl7TDvjUr18LIGkbdjLwyJ_0E1eq0uVLTL_jg0UcXOTZVZEdid7FYqvuWfdEnpTllYXuwtETRIqRlPr/s320/20230913_105545.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGgMpyFneSG6Uwbr_QG9_Nsl0Pvu2Pm3_GbAiCzZ-YO-xu0I9nQYnSWKiIMyAuei2eATgera4IO0kz92P1DzkHj6rS1a7Y7tpZE-_Fm0tdGwDxjVUJPdvEhpc8bxdvr9KNUvZ6_ljFzMWuCGddF9SyLkroeHbTksfAmTnP_TmbjKICCbjmyTfEt6ndLgK/s4624/20230913_105556.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGgMpyFneSG6Uwbr_QG9_Nsl0Pvu2Pm3_GbAiCzZ-YO-xu0I9nQYnSWKiIMyAuei2eATgera4IO0kz92P1DzkHj6rS1a7Y7tpZE-_Fm0tdGwDxjVUJPdvEhpc8bxdvr9KNUvZ6_ljFzMWuCGddF9SyLkroeHbTksfAmTnP_TmbjKICCbjmyTfEt6ndLgK/s320/20230913_105556.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The crypt below, along with the bell tower, is all that remains of the original 12th-century church. Behind the apse is another church and the decrepit "Royal Carabinieri" barracks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBZgFBjsdTr4Utbmq4-1uy23AYdHPnCzU_XP4Fum6dqHs6QpUbLZlcBvz1pVQCvN3p2Jq4C_xJO3p1Xf5egTRqb6jrHVaoszQcD3URa5Onpv0W8T9s7iZ8DCmMPgQXgOg95EKsaNLJZPHbYgsarhACAd2mz_ehpKX3UQy2V80P5CQjWGfdVadlw_YZBJv/s4000/20230914_073656.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBZgFBjsdTr4Utbmq4-1uy23AYdHPnCzU_XP4Fum6dqHs6QpUbLZlcBvz1pVQCvN3p2Jq4C_xJO3p1Xf5egTRqb6jrHVaoszQcD3URa5Onpv0W8T9s7iZ8DCmMPgQXgOg95EKsaNLJZPHbYgsarhACAd2mz_ehpKX3UQy2V80P5CQjWGfdVadlw_YZBJv/s320/20230914_073656.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CzIpGSIqQmxINHMacgbhB1bkt0Qh0c5GT7Gl8T2xvQAnhEu9XQs-FciU9t76JPvXAcDiZqIQVUY9z_bcHssEL0p8lKj3eEOhCqSS12Fs5BjJtBtdLY2y9Gm8hDtAWPD6m2A8gGZQNreVM2rL1-n7WtgZcmQYZalYQn2CNdW3hU5u5nV05rNLWys8ARfB/s4000/20230914_073712.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CzIpGSIqQmxINHMacgbhB1bkt0Qh0c5GT7Gl8T2xvQAnhEu9XQs-FciU9t76JPvXAcDiZqIQVUY9z_bcHssEL0p8lKj3eEOhCqSS12Fs5BjJtBtdLY2y9Gm8hDtAWPD6m2A8gGZQNreVM2rL1-n7WtgZcmQYZalYQn2CNdW3hU5u5nV05rNLWys8ARfB/s320/20230914_073712.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWObWg3HU8oQYAEgsjLYShO-WY210ygMOgB49EZj7KXvAQ6YhfWyGlfL4y5j9nZXBHv34IshIWAwA_QrVW4aMr4j4nFwEob1YYgJqdUHuEyD6ofBIXjwAGc8T2RzUbSLJsLId89aU5dzdhEnqQaRoco7XcVwCUYBnyzMiTzp0WY84yRUWjncP89TkHQlY/s4000/20230914_074231.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWObWg3HU8oQYAEgsjLYShO-WY210ygMOgB49EZj7KXvAQ6YhfWyGlfL4y5j9nZXBHv34IshIWAwA_QrVW4aMr4j4nFwEob1YYgJqdUHuEyD6ofBIXjwAGc8T2RzUbSLJsLId89aU5dzdhEnqQaRoco7XcVwCUYBnyzMiTzp0WY84yRUWjncP89TkHQlY/s320/20230914_074231.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another sight of interest in Santhià is a house with a round 14th-century tower. It was part of the structure that housed the court of the Dukes of Savoy when they took refuge in Santhià during the 1630 outbreak of plague in the big city of Turin. It is still an ordinary house, and in fact there are mailboxes in the tower, and garbage bins outside! 😆</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-Zl9NJXgIMmh_MphwgS2ocDjwqF3Yv7Uq-i9cW9GBS_9LP-90mJFZY3h-P-AhWTF-sOGzCmKJGcRLg3SKCQhFGG3c8aGmfziDuJgdvWdvFFRldhKvaTSJJ1FliLJaRS_JV_7rPhezRG37fSnH0Cci4Ofc2TUXpGslajFIvzXNcF9HOXrp_YCiJcMHmrc/s4000/20230913_154050.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-Zl9NJXgIMmh_MphwgS2ocDjwqF3Yv7Uq-i9cW9GBS_9LP-90mJFZY3h-P-AhWTF-sOGzCmKJGcRLg3SKCQhFGG3c8aGmfziDuJgdvWdvFFRldhKvaTSJJ1FliLJaRS_JV_7rPhezRG37fSnH0Cci4Ofc2TUXpGslajFIvzXNcF9HOXrp_YCiJcMHmrc/s320/20230913_154050.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQkXeOJiszINbFFeOwyvlk6gAUJgBWidh5qMYvhW8aHMsj7jJSxGcB-SuMI0lPgi3mbCONClW6cTD0h2Ml-rRVh4h4lHr2Jp7KhcCIQ-99hnKDhFnPwSmd88notvhB1xp5o9xdle4Wy7X0iO4eA9DnvgJrq9qvdGdHZzlCJinVtTDGce4TeUaA9TOU5Go/s4624/20230913_154059.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQkXeOJiszINbFFeOwyvlk6gAUJgBWidh5qMYvhW8aHMsj7jJSxGcB-SuMI0lPgi3mbCONClW6cTD0h2Ml-rRVh4h4lHr2Jp7KhcCIQ-99hnKDhFnPwSmd88notvhB1xp5o9xdle4Wy7X0iO4eA9DnvgJrq9qvdGdHZzlCJinVtTDGce4TeUaA9TOU5Go/s320/20230913_154059.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After a short break in Santhià to eat some fruit and cheese and give my feet a rest, I carried on along the town's main pedestrian street toward the train station, crossed over the railway tracks via an overpass, and followed the main road and the canal out of town, passing a little chapel dedicated to the patron saint of pilgrims, San Rocco.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zxfWH8OYCbPz6jo5hWRDaZA_Pn58tdgHhJct3xmiUM2ayk-zDeiBU1xQz7Qk3TYodQBaOQy0hZmCvEmX2j3sYgYWd2i1r1jlhI_TtO8iQcgdfYG4NuPuC_ZMkh5O-X4-7KehllzLDUaztDjjUa8QsU4NG62NX9fxV-GiLUVXDn1c4g5Ir2i1GwZKWtP6/s4624/20230913_105925.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zxfWH8OYCbPz6jo5hWRDaZA_Pn58tdgHhJct3xmiUM2ayk-zDeiBU1xQz7Qk3TYodQBaOQy0hZmCvEmX2j3sYgYWd2i1r1jlhI_TtO8iQcgdfYG4NuPuC_ZMkh5O-X4-7KehllzLDUaztDjjUa8QsU4NG62NX9fxV-GiLUVXDn1c4g5Ir2i1GwZKWtP6/s320/20230913_105925.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbE6DmykaQy25avgVDVjhpM0P2APrjImxot--0NhO7xKnQ56pkId430FZR4ZG8JnO9rTX75uecebXYUfqSED16-TeX1pQ-FB1Zy8LLXcLpk-b0ZIqJGIeEz9SAgEXpIO_6N5Rc5PSiaNTpT0lp2Yui-YcOzIFur_VS_T_JcmLdCUBb1IKKcZVofWCBAaMW/s4624/20230913_122406.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbE6DmykaQy25avgVDVjhpM0P2APrjImxot--0NhO7xKnQ56pkId430FZR4ZG8JnO9rTX75uecebXYUfqSED16-TeX1pQ-FB1Zy8LLXcLpk-b0ZIqJGIeEz9SAgEXpIO_6N5Rc5PSiaNTpT0lp2Yui-YcOzIFur_VS_T_JcmLdCUBb1IKKcZVofWCBAaMW/s320/20230913_122406.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3SKQjO6EGku_bEp9edqb5peu3UnIMzZWHt_sw-QY73eC7XHCe4zF9na9HnhyxP17CapkAcpxDXkzWWqIPRe5uKxlOJ6v__vZXWvD2XTFkIvKt_iLwrYrdiDtPlax19eoQpB8j0Pw7NiUpuqimY21pFkYmYEjKnHFDBoCHdPfncCNVfUoBj71otmHVfpv/s4624/20230913_123102.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3SKQjO6EGku_bEp9edqb5peu3UnIMzZWHt_sw-QY73eC7XHCe4zF9na9HnhyxP17CapkAcpxDXkzWWqIPRe5uKxlOJ6v__vZXWvD2XTFkIvKt_iLwrYrdiDtPlax19eoQpB8j0Pw7NiUpuqimY21pFkYmYEjKnHFDBoCHdPfncCNVfUoBj71otmHVfpv/s320/20230913_123102.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I continued through fields of rice and corn, along country roads, for a couple more hours, crossing the Cavour canal again and passing a traditional <i>cascina </i>or walled farm complex of the type once common in the Po Valley, where big extended families of farmers lived together and worked the land. This one had been abandoned in favour of a mid-twentieth-century concrete house constructed beside it, no doubt much more convenient to live in, and cheaper to heat in winter!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlkEWrjBHSKoEVyhWY43DmfVNovLphW5rkd-l7yWilQDnusnj0jYbEuXcHG8Sg5wettcz9i8cEPR53PfYTKuXquruD2aag_BjAhCh3O2EVFxGdRzw2jIdx79QWMIQ7VXZSqDSswFb-3tWvU7dDH-XL9HGDDN53WRrfXFExkk_5wYnbovz1_bD79p1E5dc/s4000/20230913_125851.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlkEWrjBHSKoEVyhWY43DmfVNovLphW5rkd-l7yWilQDnusnj0jYbEuXcHG8Sg5wettcz9i8cEPR53PfYTKuXquruD2aag_BjAhCh3O2EVFxGdRzw2jIdx79QWMIQ7VXZSqDSswFb-3tWvU7dDH-XL9HGDDN53WRrfXFExkk_5wYnbovz1_bD79p1E5dc/s320/20230913_125851.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYrOEj02zm4zdy7XBJC2HmIZB8tIArPZZC7nXRmQR206dZn1snoJHjpr5HbGaykbaVOkYQZis-qWsrcnl3jZSitMzJyMLSQPe0Mx0JnaIB-xfDFFTsMAsmzdwUPPlypSo5SVG1h1zUA7k3r7EqynaJPfym6_ZITG7VQ0I6-ONda3QkTY73p_ERCsm80dr/s4542/20230913_130456.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3406" data-original-width="4542" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYrOEj02zm4zdy7XBJC2HmIZB8tIArPZZC7nXRmQR206dZn1snoJHjpr5HbGaykbaVOkYQZis-qWsrcnl3jZSitMzJyMLSQPe0Mx0JnaIB-xfDFFTsMAsmzdwUPPlypSo5SVG1h1zUA7k3r7EqynaJPfym6_ZITG7VQ0I6-ONda3QkTY73p_ERCsm80dr/s320/20230913_130456.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj3i-4gx5V5ut21n1bil8A8dQTgin3pxu8tKpnetvuZ53MudNqZSNMgaKAm4CSkPMFKUrOabChgZc5W5PG7t34UW0Gvg7thEJ5nVkCfz6p8IvynBBWbnK0S7VphGk8i3RNKizUvGqSP2q3v7-3U0unAVTGoZ_6-qASfkrZNOp2ololq4MUoA6p0vnGJErO/s4624/20230913_130753.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj3i-4gx5V5ut21n1bil8A8dQTgin3pxu8tKpnetvuZ53MudNqZSNMgaKAm4CSkPMFKUrOabChgZc5W5PG7t34UW0Gvg7thEJ5nVkCfz6p8IvynBBWbnK0S7VphGk8i3RNKizUvGqSP2q3v7-3U0unAVTGoZ_6-qASfkrZNOp2ololq4MUoA6p0vnGJErO/s320/20230913_130753.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-NkM9FA3Kxjmrhxb06mHBuzlycnZzkNE1D9_qMqBR0boApAZCSXxJLjsNza-yDnRiolNlER7Ggk3SJjWlUGWKZyHUoqdkw0hrIEx3Xhyjh2KcZSan7wAotmSzl015d31QqF-qlJrhjdzSR12db_p27KR4XdXvDKpmuuElEuUTbbrbiLCgZtwilACN46Gh/s4624/20230913_131158.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-NkM9FA3Kxjmrhxb06mHBuzlycnZzkNE1D9_qMqBR0boApAZCSXxJLjsNza-yDnRiolNlER7Ggk3SJjWlUGWKZyHUoqdkw0hrIEx3Xhyjh2KcZSan7wAotmSzl015d31QqF-qlJrhjdzSR12db_p27KR4XdXvDKpmuuElEuUTbbrbiLCgZtwilACN46Gh/s320/20230913_131158.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGB7mXim775rBeou41UKlKuRFbODXDLv-W5sVIXVdo9ikp-gpkQiJv3m6qNNYFbuIZ0rkkuCHgxFcSe2PA-NqR06FQutvH14AXzYvCKhYi9EdSYlSb5-gNUBxgftgNOMKwixW4X8fDJjFI7wR-_RUdyiJkVowlgeEaSnSFt8_rcX_38zVg_Nr-cqhqjNhy/s4624/20230913_132817.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGB7mXim775rBeou41UKlKuRFbODXDLv-W5sVIXVdo9ikp-gpkQiJv3m6qNNYFbuIZ0rkkuCHgxFcSe2PA-NqR06FQutvH14AXzYvCKhYi9EdSYlSb5-gNUBxgftgNOMKwixW4X8fDJjFI7wR-_RUdyiJkVowlgeEaSnSFt8_rcX_38zVg_Nr-cqhqjNhy/s320/20230913_132817.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjxzQakxVsc51WpLmawNH8ofpTzBHQVHMDXnWNGgiodBl6RloVJuH8XrraJY9OeYMZWQOMnAoXU4sTtjlXXlNp-uhinV1mOWgaPkGSlqGsVKYWlh8CKIjOWU_d8_SFFP5ttyi40Cv5aoWxNxbHE2qJI4PqnkObARreQaCN4Ibo3azARGB1EeDznbkk6T9/s4624/20230913_132903.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjxzQakxVsc51WpLmawNH8ofpTzBHQVHMDXnWNGgiodBl6RloVJuH8XrraJY9OeYMZWQOMnAoXU4sTtjlXXlNp-uhinV1mOWgaPkGSlqGsVKYWlh8CKIjOWU_d8_SFFP5ttyi40Cv5aoWxNxbHE2qJI4PqnkObARreQaCN4Ibo3azARGB1EeDznbkk6T9/s320/20230913_132903.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CBwPdg2JDVfdr__JRggzLWeoHDVe3tlhyapy14m3cVr3HfjTffr6Vf9H9ZAbKMnB8hCxYrEk2x-TIUQibNRNTTAIBOuwYoMhpqxHJpPNKYTnvQWtxm_IDf3BTvofESU0y95JPK3y3U7jk0gSd9YHmDzZ5I_s6_fsR7aBaRwolyvmf2j_tMptWS4g_L8c/s4624/20230913_135009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CBwPdg2JDVfdr__JRggzLWeoHDVe3tlhyapy14m3cVr3HfjTffr6Vf9H9ZAbKMnB8hCxYrEk2x-TIUQibNRNTTAIBOuwYoMhpqxHJpPNKYTnvQWtxm_IDf3BTvofESU0y95JPK3y3U7jk0gSd9YHmDzZ5I_s6_fsR7aBaRwolyvmf2j_tMptWS4g_L8c/s320/20230913_135009.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The yellow pilgrim cutout told me I was arriving in San Germano Vercellese, and in fact the dome of the town's church had been visible for some time. I was glad to get there before the dark rainclouds that I could see in the distance! A sort of rainbow effect edged the clouds on the side of the sky opposite the sun, not very visible in the photos!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I passed under the train station and into the centre of the town, visiting the church of San Germano, known for its fine pipe organ built in 1775. The church and a nearby clock tower which was originally a part of the town's fortifications are the only historic monuments in the town.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLXF3cZX5NN7-rChh0ZBHPKmXJjWg4o09msYlS0DWxIyYQ64CHbHAw-xHcD4M0GPiEXEj8SyfU5fitZLUxM73aQD_Gq1XjiYaLYUzn2kn5gvbVslaalIiJPfzacwAuQchlEwoM4tw4GLZU9bBstKeTNgTjzsJLrzeE0SdAkCjSiz5dATHgGl2AzSjJD_Ne/s4000/20230913_140613.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLXF3cZX5NN7-rChh0ZBHPKmXJjWg4o09msYlS0DWxIyYQ64CHbHAw-xHcD4M0GPiEXEj8SyfU5fitZLUxM73aQD_Gq1XjiYaLYUzn2kn5gvbVslaalIiJPfzacwAuQchlEwoM4tw4GLZU9bBstKeTNgTjzsJLrzeE0SdAkCjSiz5dATHgGl2AzSjJD_Ne/s320/20230913_140613.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1WAadQ-JYsH1WQUNjTVZ_9XzRxtce9aFCj7ZF8q2JoxQw7EdMs35mOFzQe53dgAk3L4W70aBIdCsMPjpjmZh3NE-KQFt_xYNkplHsW_dhRWRWuMs1Hxgcdwy75HeROWXd0-HuyK0YCC5U-EwwOwCxe41VnbfUtIhzTmNwOd5XdN2U03od0rse9llHSOUx/s4624/20230913_140806.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1WAadQ-JYsH1WQUNjTVZ_9XzRxtce9aFCj7ZF8q2JoxQw7EdMs35mOFzQe53dgAk3L4W70aBIdCsMPjpjmZh3NE-KQFt_xYNkplHsW_dhRWRWuMs1Hxgcdwy75HeROWXd0-HuyK0YCC5U-EwwOwCxe41VnbfUtIhzTmNwOd5XdN2U03od0rse9llHSOUx/s320/20230913_140806.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht54SdRwf8z3Qcl15dVZe6VB8hHJg0T7A33sjX1vQY4LUJMfme_iECcw5_m8lx8crlBn-C4YLoMJu4-pbfFjmqtdqI5wgZ6uLYVc-uMx_ZGc1e25jmRJ154iR_u8Jujxl-UVN4V7qaAQn015kHluaHaKLS4NKgFIUZjhbOSqhIPSS1p_9K7lj1heTpK4vu/s4624/20230913_140645.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht54SdRwf8z3Qcl15dVZe6VB8hHJg0T7A33sjX1vQY4LUJMfme_iECcw5_m8lx8crlBn-C4YLoMJu4-pbfFjmqtdqI5wgZ6uLYVc-uMx_ZGc1e25jmRJ154iR_u8Jujxl-UVN4V7qaAQn015kHluaHaKLS4NKgFIUZjhbOSqhIPSS1p_9K7lj1heTpK4vu/s320/20230913_140645.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97Ag8p5KIHbpJZoiZSg_KtnSidyQ-LFOMwyQp86zLwpwcY-_RqFkXrVKTLe8_GLJmsjZaUs27UCsFVTQiJYIrkcEypxlMuDr8-BNg-9v_upOmUNK5pcA9vhKvITJ06FnijreFHbiMaxipgCgNjQmD4Czh4CtAtxfaiRmhmJ5QEkyMopoXTe0Yue7QtuAZ/s4624/20230913_141036.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97Ag8p5KIHbpJZoiZSg_KtnSidyQ-LFOMwyQp86zLwpwcY-_RqFkXrVKTLe8_GLJmsjZaUs27UCsFVTQiJYIrkcEypxlMuDr8-BNg-9v_upOmUNK5pcA9vhKvITJ06FnijreFHbiMaxipgCgNjQmD4Czh4CtAtxfaiRmhmJ5QEkyMopoXTe0Yue7QtuAZ/s320/20230913_141036.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPd3sYanuqCKKE3TxqTp4hqQTRtjsdBQpcNqs6g_KMst0zqiH-SG7YnnhHNT4xtFxAvdbbLItgwYEmOAOBE50foUntTXkLoW69mKYEnE1d82hIN0mO5zJO5cSxFGUkO1EspRTcbiZ_VlKi-m8kz5xn2-8f1-LPszSbrfzU62d5MyDdtk0rG9QAzyYfcKd/s4624/20230913_140524.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPd3sYanuqCKKE3TxqTp4hqQTRtjsdBQpcNqs6g_KMst0zqiH-SG7YnnhHNT4xtFxAvdbbLItgwYEmOAOBE50foUntTXkLoW69mKYEnE1d82hIN0mO5zJO5cSxFGUkO1EspRTcbiZ_VlKi-m8kz5xn2-8f1-LPszSbrfzU62d5MyDdtk0rG9QAzyYfcKd/s320/20230913_140524.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">San Germano Vercellese appeared to be something of a ghost town, at least at two o'clock in the afternoon. I had been hoping to get an ice cream, or some kind of snack, but the town had only a couple of cafés and one restaurant, and they were all closed and dark inside. Many of the houses stood empty and abandoned. Perhaps San Germano Vercellese shouldn't have closed its pilgrim hostel, making it impossible for walkers to stay overnight and patronise the local places of business? The walkers on the Via Francigena may not seem very influential at the moment - but neither did the walkers on the Camino de Santiago, twenty years ago! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As it is, there is nowhere to stay in San Germano, and so I walked back through empty streets lined with crumbling buildings to the train station, and travelled four minutes on the train back to Santhià. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1_o_TJcHVQTfLphzakb2FYl0bMRYX1JaQSno9MrXV4i3Ce0dLmubDtguk_CsHRSorC352fm5nuYnr245xnphSa7mbXtHPMGCVKifZFMyzgt9EDvXl_VvrAGY9rDe7XqsfhBo_vI7O5TD7bJGg6xXZH00xdIh3e-A2lSASIgMVCAGNC2-rg1FiwXMzb_G/s4624/20230913_140219.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1_o_TJcHVQTfLphzakb2FYl0bMRYX1JaQSno9MrXV4i3Ce0dLmubDtguk_CsHRSorC352fm5nuYnr245xnphSa7mbXtHPMGCVKifZFMyzgt9EDvXl_VvrAGY9rDe7XqsfhBo_vI7O5TD7bJGg6xXZH00xdIh3e-A2lSASIgMVCAGNC2-rg1FiwXMzb_G/s320/20230913_140219.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-yhbCGs0djMJB6KDZKpfWmj4teAV99pxukFp5XD32x28hSan6cETWtuppTmTKb0EmFf_S-kjQAL5M_oMIgfiIZY0af9RwAIsc5lu5Ib3nv9zT_Ip6GGTsY_Cc8btd44Ff1OYvPzuQKqBVZ09XPr8_iZJEXmJIu4eotY-rUSNQYgplfagBPZqG9V9Z4QO/s4624/20230913_141143.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-yhbCGs0djMJB6KDZKpfWmj4teAV99pxukFp5XD32x28hSan6cETWtuppTmTKb0EmFf_S-kjQAL5M_oMIgfiIZY0af9RwAIsc5lu5Ib3nv9zT_Ip6GGTsY_Cc8btd44Ff1OYvPzuQKqBVZ09XPr8_iZJEXmJIu4eotY-rUSNQYgplfagBPZqG9V9Z4QO/s320/20230913_141143.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEevmH2wrF5me1K-dM-RWtXXr3cShPFXJ50wEeQfiun3VkoNKrHt-09Ll9oqUj5wGmACjKo7qj8A8jnyDG99gBZtSBlwaOmfeOLe7lhXNbhlRQrFV2ZmFypwAd0_1J6yLKzrCdLq1zkDN5P0qDBeK4AqVXRLoYAdXccYeLEvxwnEv5wT-RngHVpYxjcAXF/s4624/20230913_141228.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEevmH2wrF5me1K-dM-RWtXXr3cShPFXJ50wEeQfiun3VkoNKrHt-09Ll9oqUj5wGmACjKo7qj8A8jnyDG99gBZtSBlwaOmfeOLe7lhXNbhlRQrFV2ZmFypwAd0_1J6yLKzrCdLq1zkDN5P0qDBeK4AqVXRLoYAdXccYeLEvxwnEv5wT-RngHVpYxjcAXF/s320/20230913_141228.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLLay1D7kxU-6rLww19UBy5u_97qgHJujGKEXmrJvULfnSa1PAV20UUTomabWzGaERfiJZ-snWJXPtUpztZDABLSDxtoDPHOmmqRDMOAwOJYN7WowM8NHs7pR4Wxm3KxK-oUQCvylI6pEJfbq9acJ-tY8NPe48Db-a4qzgR9xSyl5Z1u4AEEcE4e0AaAk/s4624/20230913_141407.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLLay1D7kxU-6rLww19UBy5u_97qgHJujGKEXmrJvULfnSa1PAV20UUTomabWzGaERfiJZ-snWJXPtUpztZDABLSDxtoDPHOmmqRDMOAwOJYN7WowM8NHs7pR4Wxm3KxK-oUQCvylI6pEJfbq9acJ-tY8NPe48Db-a4qzgR9xSyl5Z1u4AEEcE4e0AaAk/s320/20230913_141407.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deserted streets of San Germano</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Zl9GScVYSImqX6nDLzWqyouXwhhKybEgSMkn2yoQdyXJe_-yIJpC0GIBCLzyVNGhT_WAuh49vJwAZfipUavazIBi0BFBpdcynAsPSZ5fEx-g9_p330t861XN1vQPhgJxZtgz_-3eUdeILdtqn5ivQBjd81_xW0QVkfpsMrVK1Ae3VYlexF9AYJGzgTiQ/s4624/20230913_135905.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Zl9GScVYSImqX6nDLzWqyouXwhhKybEgSMkn2yoQdyXJe_-yIJpC0GIBCLzyVNGhT_WAuh49vJwAZfipUavazIBi0BFBpdcynAsPSZ5fEx-g9_p330t861XN1vQPhgJxZtgz_-3eUdeILdtqn5ivQBjd81_xW0QVkfpsMrVK1Ae3VYlexF9AYJGzgTiQ/s320/20230913_135905.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looks like the yellow pilgrim also took the train! 😄</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had actually checked into the pilgrim hostel in Santhià when I passed through the town at lunch time. There was a volunteer on duty at the information point for the Via Francigena and the Cammino di Oropa on the main pedestrian street, Via Nuova Italia, and he stamped my pilgrim credential, took down my details and assigned me a room - or rather, an apartment! The pilgrim hostel in Santhià is made up of a number of little apartments, each with its own dormitory, sitting room, WC, shower and laundry room, and, as Giancarlo pointed out to me, they don't put strangers together, but assign each group of walkers their own apartment. I booked on my own, so I got my very own flat! All on a by-donation basis: you pay what you think it's worth, or what you can afford. In the true spirit of pilgrim hospitality!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKBRMYZr2eO7h1yEC5NlU4SsIvDrNpQjXo_BpnmQAJ9pzw6xVa4IMYCL6pSWvtoMr2FqXiJCS7aHhCsm-6X9D0PUwETdPefxeX8SEJbMd5h6sX7N8g2gkFpurqKbt1qGpO0k0Y3rlcAkR0i8i-QmriiMYFb1ZAw7K3FoTJDBD9KHFXbw5Oh3y-18JVorW/s4624/20230913_105922.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKBRMYZr2eO7h1yEC5NlU4SsIvDrNpQjXo_BpnmQAJ9pzw6xVa4IMYCL6pSWvtoMr2FqXiJCS7aHhCsm-6X9D0PUwETdPefxeX8SEJbMd5h6sX7N8g2gkFpurqKbt1qGpO0k0Y3rlcAkR0i8i-QmriiMYFb1ZAw7K3FoTJDBD9KHFXbw5Oh3y-18JVorW/s320/20230913_105922.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pilgrim information office</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0BLFXy77mgqUX0jhVEMQPDrwBAX0elaxiyv6bjnVw7ciQEguso-mz0J_9d_4Zz1HM4rvp14JhVgAjRjBd-lZd6RLmwehKcL9hLZY25wvHSu4Wm8Y50f6tEVyqsqLQBGUg6d5Vp-iiWzKRlcxwzDKLKkcqhxk1hk8_4pVeKJXJwX3U7J745Xret5Bu1SY_/s4000/20230913_121306.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0BLFXy77mgqUX0jhVEMQPDrwBAX0elaxiyv6bjnVw7ciQEguso-mz0J_9d_4Zz1HM4rvp14JhVgAjRjBd-lZd6RLmwehKcL9hLZY25wvHSu4Wm8Y50f6tEVyqsqLQBGUg6d5Vp-iiWzKRlcxwzDKLKkcqhxk1hk8_4pVeKJXJwX3U7J745Xret5Bu1SY_/s320/20230913_121306.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thr hostel is right at the foot of the bell tower</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CJdvkchSHvZ849EjeFmErL9KizPPVpOFCJD4Nb8XCnidPHECW274HEU8BEGF1abdkcHP_YZ5CDlaZc8_7ZYFFsqUxfB1flM9X5i410U8ixxkdrwnC3q3m2bFR2BbzzYEoM9JBaLKTiyE9mdghUGI0Hs62WusUPDSKzuPgPLuz-E17RId_YkG1mPC4vXA/s4624/20230913_121321.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CJdvkchSHvZ849EjeFmErL9KizPPVpOFCJD4Nb8XCnidPHECW274HEU8BEGF1abdkcHP_YZ5CDlaZc8_7ZYFFsqUxfB1flM9X5i410U8ixxkdrwnC3q3m2bFR2BbzzYEoM9JBaLKTiyE9mdghUGI0Hs62WusUPDSKzuPgPLuz-E17RId_YkG1mPC4vXA/s320/20230913_121321.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to the hostel</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHDNDVnDuajBnncYePbBasSIPBPCbPEFu4fbAcqdbeCY1WlHCVt1fwKVRrOdposu0C5S2HPvkE5XNJDq-EJVwgdYbIakOB73eFAhqPmRacvrOoBqCLlt6Kr5eToYr7VCOlzDGxGumg9DshplwjBJT9GoI1pR77q1Yyl8C-G_73rOfTP-gT6ildc6NuI4Z8/s4000/20230913_112846.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHDNDVnDuajBnncYePbBasSIPBPCbPEFu4fbAcqdbeCY1WlHCVt1fwKVRrOdposu0C5S2HPvkE5XNJDq-EJVwgdYbIakOB73eFAhqPmRacvrOoBqCLlt6Kr5eToYr7VCOlzDGxGumg9DshplwjBJT9GoI1pR77q1Yyl8C-G_73rOfTP-gT6ildc6NuI4Z8/s320/20230913_112846.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgux0hkdrh9ZRszXzcL3HR8RDhtze1dBVKmx9Op_ALmc9XfzEem4KJf4jZhHBifMMdQgA2-1dMV9z6kTvHV-Y0QJsrKWcyFEE9Aux2APzRl-u2rBsZ1OUv4xGBackbJjbB5VJ_G45KrcsoqYIxqqW7ZzuNtXvk4I9QnTYEWkM6umuiC_6doF0Td3FvBHLA6/s4000/20230913_120931.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgux0hkdrh9ZRszXzcL3HR8RDhtze1dBVKmx9Op_ALmc9XfzEem4KJf4jZhHBifMMdQgA2-1dMV9z6kTvHV-Y0QJsrKWcyFEE9Aux2APzRl-u2rBsZ1OUv4xGBackbJjbB5VJ_G45KrcsoqYIxqqW7ZzuNtXvk4I9QnTYEWkM6umuiC_6doF0Td3FvBHLA6/s320/20230913_120931.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhldM5WmfZeWevPnC06xV3QfNeUu7n9QgX30iVeW99-pcNCrR626E38qvjnOsx4ieKs0pDZXqxSL2JGs1ZpiG8y9-sR_2AHslMuSn7XJGqaxetLSZN9rR9HSdEXXB3ytnoGZYJ-WbeptdGbbA3acY0yiwUizkqQ-Jy_fTFmGD8UJIB9iSjB2p3MYxOA0ok1/s4624/20230913_164420.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhldM5WmfZeWevPnC06xV3QfNeUu7n9QgX30iVeW99-pcNCrR626E38qvjnOsx4ieKs0pDZXqxSL2JGs1ZpiG8y9-sR_2AHslMuSn7XJGqaxetLSZN9rR9HSdEXXB3ytnoGZYJ-WbeptdGbbA3acY0yiwUizkqQ-Jy_fTFmGD8UJIB9iSjB2p3MYxOA0ok1/s320/20230913_164420.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Laundry is normally hung outside, but it keeps raining on and off! I got stuck inside the supermarket in a rainstorm and had to wait until it stopped to come back to the hostel... fortunately I got enough food for dinner, in case it starts again!</div></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9W7XYyxlT4ZXclwRZMYMqq4PSlXzJbsP6s_6CSuotzMEOAdowc0gNoVBbFmsgGCcgVP7AHcDGSPxw6jOPGhNnKgsUYeLSBHORPhDm2t01koOuBdupR3TY6Qtq4O8mYUT4G5c2qoopuYubycTjzX0IXkQ80Ct6F0_QPf3a7MAAA-6IpD2txwJ0pXu9vlt5/s2400/Screenshot_20230913_142308_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9W7XYyxlT4ZXclwRZMYMqq4PSlXzJbsP6s_6CSuotzMEOAdowc0gNoVBbFmsgGCcgVP7AHcDGSPxw6jOPGhNnKgsUYeLSBHORPhDm2t01koOuBdupR3TY6Qtq4O8mYUT4G5c2qoopuYubycTjzX0IXkQ80Ct6F0_QPf3a7MAAA-6IpD2txwJ0pXu9vlt5/s320/Screenshot_20230913_142308_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Cavaglià - San Germano Vercellese 21 km</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-78510886607392413362023-09-12T18:40:00.008+02:002024-01-09T14:25:30.469+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 69: Bollengo - Cavaglià<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Declining from the public ways, walk in unfrequented paths.</i></p><div style="text-align: justify;">- Pythagoras</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnIYqHC967tNEM9E4ovNBXVmvU74GfR52vEmfDrk-RXaScjCpbTvgF6Jah2OQqpnv-leCAQd8_-C7OBl-a7wqCj0VqoOwUcIxG2FYKKuedFdsHVx0GrBnLgzvv4ml-YIat7f6OvnmnhLy5LoAK7YecyTsf-3fSb1as_P4TS7TU28Ox6_n2ROFKjrVXS98j/s4624/20230912_134401.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnIYqHC967tNEM9E4ovNBXVmvU74GfR52vEmfDrk-RXaScjCpbTvgF6Jah2OQqpnv-leCAQd8_-C7OBl-a7wqCj0VqoOwUcIxG2FYKKuedFdsHVx0GrBnLgzvv4ml-YIat7f6OvnmnhLy5LoAK7YecyTsf-3fSb1as_P4TS7TU28Ox6_n2ROFKjrVXS98j/s320/20230912_134401.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I haven't met any more pilgrims since Sunday. Partly because many people choose to walk only the most scenic sections of the Via Francigena, doing a week in Tuscany, or in Valle d'Aosta - definitely among the prettiest parts. But also because I left Pont-Saint-Martin late on Sunday morning, after spending the weekend in Valtournenche: knowing that I wouldn't resume walking on the Via Francigena until 11, I had planned a short stage, to San Germano. This means I am now staying off-stage, in villages that are halfway between the classic stopping points.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today, however, I met several walkers doing the <a href="https://camminodioropa.it/" target="_blank">Cammino di Oropa</a>, a route that is very popular because it is easily accessible from the major northern population centres of Milan and Turin and can be completed in only three or four days. On this stage, the two routes coincide. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwCQqHXbkiBbgwjuY9V3m9RiyysgVY1UFJSIFRaON8QvJdFh24iUhH6K64yijkwJDkBY9IMh0jfBuvG1NP1eJYGocVHeIh4HKQ694FaIXSdmOuKEkrpUxNFq7ZIObm8v6_YDZMn0cSaWXywa7Vj0UiCVzynb_SEAjgT-gx2S7IITZ_CygEbDtFGkjTq1ac/s4624/20230912_131851.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwCQqHXbkiBbgwjuY9V3m9RiyysgVY1UFJSIFRaON8QvJdFh24iUhH6K64yijkwJDkBY9IMh0jfBuvG1NP1eJYGocVHeIh4HKQ694FaIXSdmOuKEkrpUxNFq7ZIObm8v6_YDZMn0cSaWXywa7Vj0UiCVzynb_SEAjgT-gx2S7IITZ_CygEbDtFGkjTq1ac/s320/20230912_131851.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioERx6gdWo1yze_Cxot1j5hIxOSh2ht7Fv21OrmLbBxZZcEi3GkPonRXze20IikT4A8uiVpbN4d0JpS4v-EZNwt8-BLOlG9gtQo0vPMxL8Co6pn-T3yjlKIkMcr0_ggv1aj-CrghcrUdSgxzVprBI7Y6AqTXKAiEJNdCvU9h9WEJro8PIuodB_EvbwPGa_/s4624/20230912_132100.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioERx6gdWo1yze_Cxot1j5hIxOSh2ht7Fv21OrmLbBxZZcEi3GkPonRXze20IikT4A8uiVpbN4d0JpS4v-EZNwt8-BLOlG9gtQo0vPMxL8Co6pn-T3yjlKIkMcr0_ggv1aj-CrghcrUdSgxzVprBI7Y6AqTXKAiEJNdCvU9h9WEJro8PIuodB_EvbwPGa_/s320/20230912_132100.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not having to wait for breakfast in my self-catering accommodation, I set off early in the morning, heading uphill from Bollengo to the 12th-century Romanesque church of San Pietro.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcIE1UbR4p3WB83tyw5zlECHaVZ8kkjOgYCG2s846IVOFwwbasqi8Kea6KSIdCxO6b-lq9a_2R-0w2uh2q2S4uGgs8UsioFmFOZxrO_j4L5igarOhxBaUHHW0q_Rvw-sRX2TLPR7KqidEgNz04KTm4u6dj3ERitMA5TR58nnaWMC6CeNxDyGXfz54DYdI/s4624/20230912_072147.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcIE1UbR4p3WB83tyw5zlECHaVZ8kkjOgYCG2s846IVOFwwbasqi8Kea6KSIdCxO6b-lq9a_2R-0w2uh2q2S4uGgs8UsioFmFOZxrO_j4L5igarOhxBaUHHW0q_Rvw-sRX2TLPR7KqidEgNz04KTm4u6dj3ERitMA5TR58nnaWMC6CeNxDyGXfz54DYdI/s320/20230912_072147.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftjyxbjgKYJtxEayUxlXvAXGSk9V2D7lZuYs2cRkXbzvULOFcjZcXmkziI_eG8PTpcao3VZz-16UTLajaIZLGRvMFjfaF7xQKaFPFbSdFnmX3W6S7pPKCM369chDfm31qodMl_qWTIVEMNgqMvTpEDattUUGJQtv3qP9DFITOyTnIpuXxHJ-NubdearqK/s4000/20230912_072034.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftjyxbjgKYJtxEayUxlXvAXGSk9V2D7lZuYs2cRkXbzvULOFcjZcXmkziI_eG8PTpcao3VZz-16UTLajaIZLGRvMFjfaF7xQKaFPFbSdFnmX3W6S7pPKCM369chDfm31qodMl_qWTIVEMNgqMvTpEDattUUGJQtv3qP9DFITOyTnIpuXxHJ-NubdearqK/s320/20230912_072034.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4XYsYvjxGAm4r9ZbQ6F76oLwlMSJY1yiufeBM_RkiNoWmO1gbbbsm_640ClKQe1epWDI2UpbN97_vZ8r8mc80mWE629Heo98uvEbJH8Psni3oDrE1KYX9dMJiK3CmWoOGhvze-xrkR78FZvSWyQiY-uXrMobMbwEgErL0inoi31AwCIhufZbp2htx7qq/s4000/20230912_072317.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4XYsYvjxGAm4r9ZbQ6F76oLwlMSJY1yiufeBM_RkiNoWmO1gbbbsm_640ClKQe1epWDI2UpbN97_vZ8r8mc80mWE629Heo98uvEbJH8Psni3oDrE1KYX9dMJiK3CmWoOGhvze-xrkR78FZvSWyQiY-uXrMobMbwEgErL0inoi31AwCIhufZbp2htx7qq/s320/20230912_072317.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From here the Via Francigena continued along the side of the hill - still the same morenic ridge as I had been walking towards and under all day yesterday - to Palazzo Canavese. On the way I passed an abandoned roadside chapel and a small shrine to San Rocco, or Saint Roch, patron saint of pilgrims.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW99dDkCPSc1BTyM7snljtGjeBcrltCDNrhnEu3MEZIzzVALAZYxLj26FFmWnJyEcFkbz9gefKv_xSDaJ4AWxy2EWIi3ApeNuteeDRDnUazHvVxc1grvD3CpPUvz3ZwEH9NJVqs05X7Kf95KeIeNGitC64AT0jEak_ZkRIe8NQ64Dyxf1NGsr4Uao7LVoo/s4624/20230912_073603.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW99dDkCPSc1BTyM7snljtGjeBcrltCDNrhnEu3MEZIzzVALAZYxLj26FFmWnJyEcFkbz9gefKv_xSDaJ4AWxy2EWIi3ApeNuteeDRDnUazHvVxc1grvD3CpPUvz3ZwEH9NJVqs05X7Kf95KeIeNGitC64AT0jEak_ZkRIe8NQ64Dyxf1NGsr4Uao7LVoo/s320/20230912_073603.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4aUbpZIJGcvGN-_qFmKucERd35R1Kqtb_s27YcJJtuG_jyUXasKZUxPJbRJtnu4_4JfsTehmFutuXZFC5SlWiB9lk6lcbdAAdPICgrKTjqCALBq6Zna32ymyilkf62pa5_TwJTOvskK91-l6rrWL6DQ_u4t-OfaiE1d1nYZL2c3nA9wTDB0730PdIRICs/s4624/20230912_074534.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4aUbpZIJGcvGN-_qFmKucERd35R1Kqtb_s27YcJJtuG_jyUXasKZUxPJbRJtnu4_4JfsTehmFutuXZFC5SlWiB9lk6lcbdAAdPICgrKTjqCALBq6Zna32ymyilkf62pa5_TwJTOvskK91-l6rrWL6DQ_u4t-OfaiE1d1nYZL2c3nA9wTDB0730PdIRICs/s320/20230912_074534.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0t4cmXfIyABZr_ujgHSkL_pAkKEcRT-WMNk6si--RxuJb4Cn1K54YC_WlqRrHqLbcLvqBCW6ISUs6RFzLyry4bWommPSnYjGTQHBAOpkRWUZnKNxyT5oAApH_c_7XeFPTmBqiIdY_AKprh_TCkhEx-X19AxgkDN35rRXUxsMXWRmTQFFnmV9lQI1nqWq/s4624/20230912_075147.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0t4cmXfIyABZr_ujgHSkL_pAkKEcRT-WMNk6si--RxuJb4Cn1K54YC_WlqRrHqLbcLvqBCW6ISUs6RFzLyry4bWommPSnYjGTQHBAOpkRWUZnKNxyT5oAApH_c_7XeFPTmBqiIdY_AKprh_TCkhEx-X19AxgkDN35rRXUxsMXWRmTQFFnmV9lQI1nqWq/s320/20230912_075147.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I paused at a bench and pilgrim rest area which has its own stamp for the pilgrim credential, provided by a certain Duilio. I wrote him a thank you note and a description of my walk on one of the forms provided, in a waterproof case: Duilio's is a very well-organised rest stop!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In fact, I have been finding this whole section of the Via Francigena to be particularly well-cared-for, with plentiful trail markings, benches and rest stops. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dJGbbknUT2UziLr1oXOo_YLBbl79Bva47Rr-mVPBBkHha-sItE7iZRRfKo_d17Woil8k9yh-voQ_588IzuSli_p7u71WRSwukAjUyNGgDd3IUrjD-kXfXpVKuyUlSzxn0XPH2r7ulYUzebSy98yNqvGkJnVCQcmmg6fpgyvoJwPky1PA8yMZnteREdSL/s4624/20230912_075237.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dJGbbknUT2UziLr1oXOo_YLBbl79Bva47Rr-mVPBBkHha-sItE7iZRRfKo_d17Woil8k9yh-voQ_588IzuSli_p7u71WRSwukAjUyNGgDd3IUrjD-kXfXpVKuyUlSzxn0XPH2r7ulYUzebSy98yNqvGkJnVCQcmmg6fpgyvoJwPky1PA8yMZnteREdSL/s320/20230912_075237.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I passed through the village of Palazzo Canavese, with its tall brick clock tower and houses with the wooden balconies and wide wooden eaves typical of traditional homes in the area.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1alGw5LFi8CQkHqz2377ufgClN9-7lHLzCYa-qi_Vw99kGrgcBmZNNpc-v3wXAUaUeoM2tANWrgUl2z4wdVq_xeT12GBM_sPBqVLKHcxZDpCxnpHJTimjs8lHzeQNiq0LIu6Ytc2mocQrEqhZeUaE3U5lDaZZoWCbQWxQuZ3TvrkhGlI65F3Xd3EW_HfD/s4624/20230912_080924.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1alGw5LFi8CQkHqz2377ufgClN9-7lHLzCYa-qi_Vw99kGrgcBmZNNpc-v3wXAUaUeoM2tANWrgUl2z4wdVq_xeT12GBM_sPBqVLKHcxZDpCxnpHJTimjs8lHzeQNiq0LIu6Ytc2mocQrEqhZeUaE3U5lDaZZoWCbQWxQuZ3TvrkhGlI65F3Xd3EW_HfD/s320/20230912_080924.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7qExLo52V15qZePLC9QHM9f4uebPJQZw6L7nL3-_dq8Xv_v8hinjUnN9WWcfkgQvwTBB8JCqT4Ib6iFPiX_cbdpdhW_3D1kdK5ODHSOBwkzS2iJBYOBWWGl0fvdxceJ8zeIhwCFQ9pPYUXkLIcBohkmg8JWOMhUtlgYzlh67MpZAtNhCXuUyC1ln0O8L/s4624/20230912_080902.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7qExLo52V15qZePLC9QHM9f4uebPJQZw6L7nL3-_dq8Xv_v8hinjUnN9WWcfkgQvwTBB8JCqT4Ib6iFPiX_cbdpdhW_3D1kdK5ODHSOBwkzS2iJBYOBWWGl0fvdxceJ8zeIhwCFQ9pPYUXkLIcBohkmg8JWOMhUtlgYzlh67MpZAtNhCXuUyC1ln0O8L/s320/20230912_080902.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieosPJe4x93_QNbbNVpsTUF44OOkv94j3CxoCOdcVwTLUc2moPNLokRqwlJnM29H6YwrGIC-1ruH2B1AzUVEc6vdWBw4GvN-1SXyLSbUcJDYOBp1UC7bRHbW-b_4aA7pbmHPa0upDiD0v7YwkLgqz3pm_qakZohUUKxJqQxNtRUKuGz6uowvsi2RAin7Z8/s4000/20230912_081125.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieosPJe4x93_QNbbNVpsTUF44OOkv94j3CxoCOdcVwTLUc2moPNLokRqwlJnM29H6YwrGIC-1ruH2B1AzUVEc6vdWBw4GvN-1SXyLSbUcJDYOBp1UC7bRHbW-b_4aA7pbmHPa0upDiD0v7YwkLgqz3pm_qakZohUUKxJqQxNtRUKuGz6uowvsi2RAin7Z8/s320/20230912_081125.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">A freshly asphalted road led uphill to Piverone. Luckily for me the morning was cloudy, or it would have been a hot slog up the hill on the black pavement! Soon I was entering the centre of Piverone, where the main road was closed to traffic and workers were replacing the asphalt with traditional paving stones. A painstaking job, but a great improvement!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrb4TPIm75ZhSwAoYEA2q7zjXb9iRUObiz7FKX32tQDXb3ErwR8r8rlUNsyZskURUJFct41n_xYSwe60nNvXJunJQDfPcKd0v8A4z-W21chLJIvgwDsrz2x3SBTToCobxvCO2cA-DMHCcNmCBPOXdE2wdB7MWuN8cBKzEfENHSPjhB9NeZpO4RHur0z33j/s4624/20230912_085007.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrb4TPIm75ZhSwAoYEA2q7zjXb9iRUObiz7FKX32tQDXb3ErwR8r8rlUNsyZskURUJFct41n_xYSwe60nNvXJunJQDfPcKd0v8A4z-W21chLJIvgwDsrz2x3SBTToCobxvCO2cA-DMHCcNmCBPOXdE2wdB7MWuN8cBKzEfENHSPjhB9NeZpO4RHur0z33j/s320/20230912_085007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDOx_sscoFnxWRSRE6CuvfqtO42q0y5tXbSHsxjXXRyVm15kKorLtsCc920ORKgj1E2ww_UyKOHr19MPM9Fz_kCKTU2DbQK4U6j-ZS9sQJqhKmaa6vf-t9Jj5ZvVy1fRAle7gtmdEwCOCHya0sqsjkqn9hNmZw1qWjftt4ilLeWPjWKIMq3oEOBvsBUX9/s4624/20230912_085539.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDOx_sscoFnxWRSRE6CuvfqtO42q0y5tXbSHsxjXXRyVm15kKorLtsCc920ORKgj1E2ww_UyKOHr19MPM9Fz_kCKTU2DbQK4U6j-ZS9sQJqhKmaa6vf-t9Jj5ZvVy1fRAle7gtmdEwCOCHya0sqsjkqn9hNmZw1qWjftt4ilLeWPjWKIMq3oEOBvsBUX9/s320/20230912_085539.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaz3i5DRX7oTJMjMktDZa71QtG4IKowhsQ0fWOCZ2zVovNn3fBNCNce1RdVACR4W9c-YlY5hJnUp_SSwgtMEpWEklTyfbESup1TA184p_syyHGy2C1uj3vQI-1i7DfRBqQv2jm9hsLjd9uj46wPB2QSoO0lhq2I6EZeaLhWMsZfzieVtFPwzQYu72oMnhd/s4000/20230912_085729.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaz3i5DRX7oTJMjMktDZa71QtG4IKowhsQ0fWOCZ2zVovNn3fBNCNce1RdVACR4W9c-YlY5hJnUp_SSwgtMEpWEklTyfbESup1TA184p_syyHGy2C1uj3vQI-1i7DfRBqQv2jm9hsLjd9uj46wPB2QSoO0lhq2I6EZeaLhWMsZfzieVtFPwzQYu72oMnhd/s320/20230912_085729.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I stopped at the café just past the clock tower for my customary second breakfast, and purchased some cheese and fruit from the local grocer in preparation for a picnic lunch. Then I continued my way along a pretty path through the vineyards; one of the vineyard owners had set up a rest stop with benches and a view over Lake Viverone.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMOP6W7-unB3ixaz-lBG-DWXK-fOswvRLP6CkBmx0wUUlZHMpACRSPtNWmRD6ZMfAdvcIsSNHxZqiJfLY7CAyNNkVizPFqEpIEyS_W-TYH-mSOVY6PQLbDS7Ji1o0RAgWYK_G13wBjscAtlZxCWExwiAgLufWWDRh_RDZ5FeaNUN0thsBxeBgbgZuW1Jc/s4624/20230912_100548.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMOP6W7-unB3ixaz-lBG-DWXK-fOswvRLP6CkBmx0wUUlZHMpACRSPtNWmRD6ZMfAdvcIsSNHxZqiJfLY7CAyNNkVizPFqEpIEyS_W-TYH-mSOVY6PQLbDS7Ji1o0RAgWYK_G13wBjscAtlZxCWExwiAgLufWWDRh_RDZ5FeaNUN0thsBxeBgbgZuW1Jc/s320/20230912_100548.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmkT-RyObYe_LKUCuyCNSvPWhGeq-VEqRTjddCIHYq8OfbkTqgCDrS92gPNOldetVdwjJYrjJgX3AkuTurXnISeVvuE4txKjtbSh2ObzsV6XfgOvfJuFmML5s5TNPRwFTfFjJ3fsOwePKy_9tTT7uvm-1F93CQBtZj-6Qq0oNBaV2ely_ub2ni4unsYnw8/s4624/20230912_100855.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmkT-RyObYe_LKUCuyCNSvPWhGeq-VEqRTjddCIHYq8OfbkTqgCDrS92gPNOldetVdwjJYrjJgX3AkuTurXnISeVvuE4txKjtbSh2ObzsV6XfgOvfJuFmML5s5TNPRwFTfFjJ3fsOwePKy_9tTT7uvm-1F93CQBtZj-6Qq0oNBaV2ely_ub2ni4unsYnw8/s320/20230912_100855.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg875v6zpkxpKpQDbXkfwrFM_LQSeTljqP1-IZh3nIMdV2PorxQrH1YVv3EZxRO3qyl6LWnAueVZM_7N2PjCsqtDp9P3h5PZcslvg60lHkOZr362evC65DTSVwvMa0O7lqqiMQXUp0pNZuPC4eiDItiG--er0Yqv3AYYxLpLgEez_foF14UqGa-zzUn2vZs/s4624/20230912_100751.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg875v6zpkxpKpQDbXkfwrFM_LQSeTljqP1-IZh3nIMdV2PorxQrH1YVv3EZxRO3qyl6LWnAueVZM_7N2PjCsqtDp9P3h5PZcslvg60lHkOZr362evC65DTSVwvMa0O7lqqiMQXUp0pNZuPC4eiDItiG--er0Yqv3AYYxLpLgEez_foF14UqGa-zzUn2vZs/s320/20230912_100751.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I continued past the ruins of the 11th-century Gesiùn church, once at the heart of a village that has since disappeared, replaced entirely by vineyards.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWfuP9q--IAmzhZ1VeMNFJH2LNlq76Wh683gw13jnxf_Ai2NK578I39-e3Xz4idCPtc7RyWWJW0xEvZnkJJDPE8V_H0QcdnaRB6xx5eug47K8-a2vBeCR-DV1ghQJFqbXxyNhgH1GBpsgGp-OAIdfz2Dx5DBZ5QEO_qOVJ-wRuahmcMIBXPLjVCRBpLCLi/s4000/20230912_102504.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWfuP9q--IAmzhZ1VeMNFJH2LNlq76Wh683gw13jnxf_Ai2NK578I39-e3Xz4idCPtc7RyWWJW0xEvZnkJJDPE8V_H0QcdnaRB6xx5eug47K8-a2vBeCR-DV1ghQJFqbXxyNhgH1GBpsgGp-OAIdfz2Dx5DBZ5QEO_qOVJ-wRuahmcMIBXPLjVCRBpLCLi/s320/20230912_102504.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWVxR4MSZGcYAhCkyrrrKOFR3vAohZDX1z4XwCVHIhoAJFYgH93n11sUuwKILzEF2FtcQLVR2Ny__XVdZ6XvgwM69OyQUU8NNAdybrUuW-1CJ2HnHAE30EUGxcyyzVhYwie2cY3NPyl6aqa7VYaosgsbX4uMlyOUSxEOGKwl48WN5onlXKWmtgIguBKw6/s4624/20230912_102757.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWVxR4MSZGcYAhCkyrrrKOFR3vAohZDX1z4XwCVHIhoAJFYgH93n11sUuwKILzEF2FtcQLVR2Ny__XVdZ6XvgwM69OyQUU8NNAdybrUuW-1CJ2HnHAE30EUGxcyyzVhYwie2cY3NPyl6aqa7VYaosgsbX4uMlyOUSxEOGKwl48WN5onlXKWmtgIguBKw6/s320/20230912_102757.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNSQpjW0QZ7rR6ecO7lORBEunZ6pAte8VIZpH5NIwFkYZuu5kqVWX_r5CSReGEYEPKVof97uHE9l1BU6V4dTo3v58v4SRKG5XhEwFzp91vF9Vnt-CgVjMx79MJrgl1G4ItQ8l2nVAcIamw_kr2YU9q2BNogw9uO85V3aljAloKBWxkF3BIb9fvVykHHVS/s4624/20230912_104649.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNSQpjW0QZ7rR6ecO7lORBEunZ6pAte8VIZpH5NIwFkYZuu5kqVWX_r5CSReGEYEPKVof97uHE9l1BU6V4dTo3v58v4SRKG5XhEwFzp91vF9Vnt-CgVjMx79MJrgl1G4ItQ8l2nVAcIamw_kr2YU9q2BNogw9uO85V3aljAloKBWxkF3BIb9fvVykHHVS/s320/20230912_104649.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgsdgDGrgXm9bQ9oHQlbMy8X04U6C6f5h8GcfOPiOA-sOgc_DQ34ektcKTkv7mENBgojx7bD3pYpxZ0I1QRS_q9R0J_3t149rOSiFOpMlwdIQvGy3lT3dDcAtMmYlS40o2AwCfC5DPBjCF1C_DDfvyzxjqaxaHl7rvWO5pWyNGka_aiqkbvBy5XsoTwZA7/s4624/20230912_104828.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgsdgDGrgXm9bQ9oHQlbMy8X04U6C6f5h8GcfOPiOA-sOgc_DQ34ektcKTkv7mENBgojx7bD3pYpxZ0I1QRS_q9R0J_3t149rOSiFOpMlwdIQvGy3lT3dDcAtMmYlS40o2AwCfC5DPBjCF1C_DDfvyzxjqaxaHl7rvWO5pWyNGka_aiqkbvBy5XsoTwZA7/s320/20230912_104828.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vineyard well-protected against birds</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5fwoBem4k8WV59zYxzr_9Vo391o1HYLm3UJmNhqrbwDh-KF71HgopZseo7XbePkcJkmuGS1Af_1ZvM0CCgse21Gy6eBA-ro5BGYfJ3gHAOtvW7yjS1rpj--H2J1kM-3k_YwhD4C4P8GpJoMbj6zjY9SdAKdxM57MbFp-pNq5XPwFmJthnU0VLdDrFXMK3/s4624/20230912_104947.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5fwoBem4k8WV59zYxzr_9Vo391o1HYLm3UJmNhqrbwDh-KF71HgopZseo7XbePkcJkmuGS1Af_1ZvM0CCgse21Gy6eBA-ro5BGYfJ3gHAOtvW7yjS1rpj--H2J1kM-3k_YwhD4C4P8GpJoMbj6zjY9SdAKdxM57MbFp-pNq5XPwFmJthnU0VLdDrFXMK3/s320/20230912_104947.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White and red grapes intertwined </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzamIgwKqJLl-PIRY41Eeq9HeUHIzcMLc2BjXp-0sAvTT6WnoHXtIol82dedrxFn2UuKVWrc1gdDj6ZAEjxrLBBTQ9eZp1NPSlCism4F0MsbuWRRRZtWZBKQGcqdBCbjXPjuCALkKlsheosDeF54GetVmM_gZVziayofMYM6DMfPCjfADByqvWSNWQcWMb/s4624/20230912_105747.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzamIgwKqJLl-PIRY41Eeq9HeUHIzcMLc2BjXp-0sAvTT6WnoHXtIol82dedrxFn2UuKVWrc1gdDj6ZAEjxrLBBTQ9eZp1NPSlCism4F0MsbuWRRRZtWZBKQGcqdBCbjXPjuCALkKlsheosDeF54GetVmM_gZVziayofMYM6DMfPCjfADByqvWSNWQcWMb/s320/20230912_105747.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Viverone </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWDf1mOeO-bdC3Qqffosn_NeH6szPdjEyitA2olZLdC1Lof6olddWiDSYL_NgMUOUZgVMcIIE4HjeF0F1VrQdb9hmQDzL49hZbHo7cq1q0yvjy8lFFNpuK4WmwrCehWAaG6hv4urHTCfcLKWsv6BMlZDtz_EBiKC_QmKo-rIU8Sf9X4q-_cskWw5y4gnc/s4624/20230912_110048.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWDf1mOeO-bdC3Qqffosn_NeH6szPdjEyitA2olZLdC1Lof6olddWiDSYL_NgMUOUZgVMcIIE4HjeF0F1VrQdb9hmQDzL49hZbHo7cq1q0yvjy8lFFNpuK4WmwrCehWAaG6hv4urHTCfcLKWsv6BMlZDtz_EBiKC_QmKo-rIU8Sf9X4q-_cskWw5y4gnc/s320/20230912_110048.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harvest time!</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1TuymrNUxFmv_2rf5R5AACkUry73dgZphS7egei9Q8oTPAe3dVs8ty_wSQ58O-Ylo2ajbqVv2vTZWJLUhoq8YLugdekphyr4DUCfvX3Yqo3Dnwj8byGwOTeEgAy0keWH_aWLVBO_WD52WbxWRQB5JDVbuVriRBDuqqldRU7fempilV4fZ8Z8OvHT_zAMf/s4624/20230912_110247.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1TuymrNUxFmv_2rf5R5AACkUry73dgZphS7egei9Q8oTPAe3dVs8ty_wSQ58O-Ylo2ajbqVv2vTZWJLUhoq8YLugdekphyr4DUCfvX3Yqo3Dnwj8byGwOTeEgAy0keWH_aWLVBO_WD52WbxWRQB5JDVbuVriRBDuqqldRU7fempilV4fZ8Z8OvHT_zAMf/s320/20230912_110247.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The former monastery of San Michele is now a winery</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QhRPI5U-1gmMO4O9wSoyDsazJ4wlHmKa5A7BY2TON8Hf_dZ8Dj7kkuIhivri_0ifxXUNP2DV5BnGHjjTWJGj8WeU8cDZasVEkX_ahQ-R4e59_EPZftllVxbXekPLv2awqKXLqHOPJOCScvvn6hNvMRy8LB65-u7mpThabEs6f_BB2NoSt0MqVTzQ-gq0/s4624/20230912_110324.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QhRPI5U-1gmMO4O9wSoyDsazJ4wlHmKa5A7BY2TON8Hf_dZ8Dj7kkuIhivri_0ifxXUNP2DV5BnGHjjTWJGj8WeU8cDZasVEkX_ahQ-R4e59_EPZftllVxbXekPLv2awqKXLqHOPJOCScvvn6hNvMRy8LB65-u7mpThabEs6f_BB2NoSt0MqVTzQ-gq0/s320/20230912_110324.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82AWCvyZethXpvoytDjzT7PH8biXybs6Gvo0c8wp7HpH70deweDzYbaOBs5bdam1FPPj9j1Enji3ZQTphx2hmrLSRDVy4IUTScV5cCS6dS0Am77TCDepOIN_tgf3G0LfODt4kl_zMA3bAOk_1SRs8quVqFjdAaz0PSx-MvNhPJQYAbEzC7JCVvkSvt9Ni/s4624/20230912_110337.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82AWCvyZethXpvoytDjzT7PH8biXybs6Gvo0c8wp7HpH70deweDzYbaOBs5bdam1FPPj9j1Enji3ZQTphx2hmrLSRDVy4IUTScV5cCS6dS0Am77TCDepOIN_tgf3G0LfODt4kl_zMA3bAOk_1SRs8quVqFjdAaz0PSx-MvNhPJQYAbEzC7JCVvkSvt9Ni/s320/20230912_110337.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lake Viverone is a small lake that formed in a basin carved out by a glacier, like all the lakes in the area. The town of Viverone has a new part, with restaurants and bars, by the lake shore, and an old part higher up on the hillside. The Via Francigena took me through the older upper part of the town, which has been decorated with paintings of cartoon characters... and more!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWd--eUM4J6fjMTfzwtUXlYttHYLyBbuy5AnrKiC-oMQ-XIf7W1ULhQ5wCj_jhKUt_YX1tutWliCmc4ekDKPGS7AfzqVDxYVU1hNTDZQyCdn5Ga2_dqpf-pGJemnnblG7s7il5kv_8vSYIivFiMrW-6OMuiHhEhC34vCsTS4ajyd0TQSUDb4v1f666e6KA/s4624/20230912_111209.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWd--eUM4J6fjMTfzwtUXlYttHYLyBbuy5AnrKiC-oMQ-XIf7W1ULhQ5wCj_jhKUt_YX1tutWliCmc4ekDKPGS7AfzqVDxYVU1hNTDZQyCdn5Ga2_dqpf-pGJemnnblG7s7il5kv_8vSYIivFiMrW-6OMuiHhEhC34vCsTS4ajyd0TQSUDb4v1f666e6KA/s320/20230912_111209.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7VaBCK73olsRllOHUz2rsLbxfrKsNIEwq4UGoQHyZqsA7HDeX9JIhEymVr3nxEfV93eQU43mgbjxutxRSrFOmT8ENAVo0BJdFyBtoVO3K6MEU6G9bzqAg3J6Lq3iosMy72vWssqZBNd9EH-yJ6BSlaNCDXiq8AINXvPsnlCvAApmKXJ4twYWwkNaqWgJ/s4624/20230912_111307.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7VaBCK73olsRllOHUz2rsLbxfrKsNIEwq4UGoQHyZqsA7HDeX9JIhEymVr3nxEfV93eQU43mgbjxutxRSrFOmT8ENAVo0BJdFyBtoVO3K6MEU6G9bzqAg3J6Lq3iosMy72vWssqZBNd9EH-yJ6BSlaNCDXiq8AINXvPsnlCvAApmKXJ4twYWwkNaqWgJ/s320/20230912_111307.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBrKpM9W0h_Q6feSjdjB_5VEHaWOSf37DYuTZjuOmTuZvBGSo1yoLKaNne4kjj5xyddRpPXt0DcwupTElEGuTQGHRIwHH5SHFheTvl0uCxZttLO5FBnAyF11j8bryqFPqHgOSTOW3hd2voezeDU5XNp5nuMgFHrVRqbYJE2xoCRxpUk42IoJU5YxHTIem/s4624/20230912_111430.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBrKpM9W0h_Q6feSjdjB_5VEHaWOSf37DYuTZjuOmTuZvBGSo1yoLKaNne4kjj5xyddRpPXt0DcwupTElEGuTQGHRIwHH5SHFheTvl0uCxZttLO5FBnAyF11j8bryqFPqHgOSTOW3hd2voezeDU5XNp5nuMgFHrVRqbYJE2xoCRxpUk42IoJU5YxHTIem/s320/20230912_111430.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGnT-Auoo6FKhwxRQg62TXejJH4ZIik-G7X0uXwmTDvinDA_I5RIkPNLQcSBN-3WFu0c7CxnYt3MXC6t-mOakgl-mu3ouGLbUeOoY7J6rA6ph5VYcrxC1wJz_lzJJQmBijfa9MvtfEqtftUo-1hCyumm86IX5peev9tXJx_dDh_0hLm7D_-LwahBvFZH4q/s4624/20230912_111600.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGnT-Auoo6FKhwxRQg62TXejJH4ZIik-G7X0uXwmTDvinDA_I5RIkPNLQcSBN-3WFu0c7CxnYt3MXC6t-mOakgl-mu3ouGLbUeOoY7J6rA6ph5VYcrxC1wJz_lzJJQmBijfa9MvtfEqtftUo-1hCyumm86IX5peev9tXJx_dDh_0hLm7D_-LwahBvFZH4q/s320/20230912_111600.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A traditional house with wooden balconies </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">At the exit from the town of Viverone is a water fountain with a clean public washroom: an item of information of use to pilgrims! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Only a kilometre or so after Viverone comes the pretty little village of Roppolo. Here I stopped to say hello to Loretta, the proprietor of <a href="https://www.villaemilia1899.it/" target="_blank">Villa Emilia 1899</a>, the bed and breakfast I stayed at on my last trip before the Covid lockdown, when I was in Roppolo to attend <a href="https://francomichieli.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Franco Michieli</a>'s <a href="https://movimentolento.academy/diventare-esploratori/?fbclid=IwAR1mAW_u5xeqY0g9gV6mBdf27Z9HRGaKf7B3Lri6tPWblQky5Zr3hX1PS5I" target="_blank">seminar on natural navigation</a>. </div><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOLtgHAE5NSwtrsNX6nXkAqf7YR_qYkgYsZECfuqvwBlvf4nXCMVvp0CSdDw_OyILo-TMHcEM1S-hPWNPy1ZQimLthJYhDA2M8guVPEDQy6Z0S2wqeVbjIPsB6afosDynINLQNafUkkION8plXCqFzP1GslmzoN7zIgEqEOYFrrbSw6zklFXxkFy4D_hd/s4000/20230912_114042.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOLtgHAE5NSwtrsNX6nXkAqf7YR_qYkgYsZECfuqvwBlvf4nXCMVvp0CSdDw_OyILo-TMHcEM1S-hPWNPy1ZQimLthJYhDA2M8guVPEDQy6Z0S2wqeVbjIPsB6afosDynINLQNafUkkION8plXCqFzP1GslmzoN7zIgEqEOYFrrbSw6zklFXxkFy4D_hd/s320/20230912_114042.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">B&B Villa Emilia</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4IQW1xTb4auAhlzr2MOMNihGk5E4tKtAWxsbpUElvEDeurByPI2w60jO8FKKf7Y28JlAFIij4xqjIQHIa5ubyv4PqjhTxt9LmVARCtEAzUCOZmnbnhokW42LujT2H_trXyYewXiVnOOBBzJcNalhpKbwAo2YvqEKyRN-zPuCOGagAo6cS7IOM1Wa5mGuZ/s2475/20230912_114816.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2475" data-original-width="1857" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4IQW1xTb4auAhlzr2MOMNihGk5E4tKtAWxsbpUElvEDeurByPI2w60jO8FKKf7Y28JlAFIij4xqjIQHIa5ubyv4PqjhTxt9LmVARCtEAzUCOZmnbnhokW42LujT2H_trXyYewXiVnOOBBzJcNalhpKbwAo2YvqEKyRN-zPuCOGagAo6cS7IOM1Wa5mGuZ/s320/20230912_114816.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijYAZkvCKi6lFVCDibCk7OM9q69UsEeDJejfzTvtVJaxP3HHYX-QJGouhcpd9ui7eI93t_TCM08GUeJkj6SFZD4_z11-Efm3W5evQjgR2QOtR7N8w3FRhK1p_s0yliuAEemdkcKxZ3X99uEkjKl6I_F07Hfe7V5uA0hLpIb4tVt9Oizng-6HTrDGW1CiW/s1197/20230912_182249.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1197" data-original-width="898" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijYAZkvCKi6lFVCDibCk7OM9q69UsEeDJejfzTvtVJaxP3HHYX-QJGouhcpd9ui7eI93t_TCM08GUeJkj6SFZD4_z11-Efm3W5evQjgR2QOtR7N8w3FRhK1p_s0yliuAEemdkcKxZ3X99uEkjKl6I_F07Hfe7V5uA0hLpIb4tVt9Oizng-6HTrDGW1CiW/s320/20230912_182249.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiB7ZHIdouJYi8Bw8lD0ZNo_1KC1G2_ISOIzojSeMVyz5LZju9zOivdVO4RwLZqtlLkE8I30H4inxgDIENleVzi1bVH6lgS-ry8zkriBC0ts6Qj053ycG8CefcoTj8aKZ93yG6CBZ3IFdXwYeMwH8pGkqPNtMhrp_aurAsaRG-zVUwlXcz6yT3v5KA32J7/s4000/20230912_120242.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiB7ZHIdouJYi8Bw8lD0ZNo_1KC1G2_ISOIzojSeMVyz5LZju9zOivdVO4RwLZqtlLkE8I30H4inxgDIENleVzi1bVH6lgS-ry8zkriBC0ts6Qj053ycG8CefcoTj8aKZ93yG6CBZ3IFdXwYeMwH8pGkqPNtMhrp_aurAsaRG-zVUwlXcz6yT3v5KA32J7/s320/20230912_120242.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Loretta showed me into the summer breakfast room in the garden, which I hadn't seen before as I stayed with her in February, and invited me to stay for lunch. I had worked up quite a thirst walking through all those vineyards and was very happy when she opened a well-chilled bottle of Erbaluce di Caluso from a local winery to celebrate our reunion!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHiTK8z7MhNViXcQjLiJZRk1YnVF402-_BsdTr0ydyvXsDFHvfZUTUxbYoYCnne0xrhjyl9b-WED_iIsjp50d7srMQk9qXsSfMcpKhMw8xMS8ZSuf3YVK6qcrU2_R6aUzOqcUr5ITtaGHmDC5XVGIXmxJHldv6gytxOV7vQDjxwh2LIapmnd1yG0v0Tp8/s4624/20230912_121136.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHiTK8z7MhNViXcQjLiJZRk1YnVF402-_BsdTr0ydyvXsDFHvfZUTUxbYoYCnne0xrhjyl9b-WED_iIsjp50d7srMQk9qXsSfMcpKhMw8xMS8ZSuf3YVK6qcrU2_R6aUzOqcUr5ITtaGHmDC5XVGIXmxJHldv6gytxOV7vQDjxwh2LIapmnd1yG0v0Tp8/s320/20230912_121136.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmhZwF_U6IJIS6EOKhK9IgiCQXCobp9xnkBC9MXQvidOnSoMfjry04WZY2W0llj_D_lsRRYcA0vJyZQqUhO9_4DGeiyUmaHGSKHEapTP1PCziBQQlT4l5OVFKyWYkTCyguY0VOCCRNP-y6qOHMAYgw2ti4_sYk2IcReHj3XgmJ_pJQhgvD-ctwC1Qj3Vy/s4000/20230912_130621.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmhZwF_U6IJIS6EOKhK9IgiCQXCobp9xnkBC9MXQvidOnSoMfjry04WZY2W0llj_D_lsRRYcA0vJyZQqUhO9_4DGeiyUmaHGSKHEapTP1PCziBQQlT4l5OVFKyWYkTCyguY0VOCCRNP-y6qOHMAYgw2ti4_sYk2IcReHj3XgmJ_pJQhgvD-ctwC1Qj3Vy/s320/20230912_130621.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After a delicious lunch of much-appreciated vegetable dishes - it's always hard to get your five-a-day when walking, or travelling in any way - we said goodbye and arrivederci until the next time I come to Roppolo, quite possibly to walk the Cammino di Oropa!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I continued on my way through Roppolo, past the Casa del Movimento Lento where I had attended the seminar three years earlier, and into the woods for another hour's walk.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQ_SU-v-nPasaCrOARmT7o5N00bhEf8J0E8hORQ4ajzceBklTfQW1c53eh04SyQTDe5bZQ_f4p2AmaJdJWoV1aA1xbKXJ7rZdlRrHBl8CP9_EL0CllON6KAsk4PkvwBXbWyI5pggiy1OzFHSctXKXwHDAcv1-5lN8hkUD2j1HJ-Zm0dcf3h1Y6tR3sbzY/s4624/20230912_131353.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQ_SU-v-nPasaCrOARmT7o5N00bhEf8J0E8hORQ4ajzceBklTfQW1c53eh04SyQTDe5bZQ_f4p2AmaJdJWoV1aA1xbKXJ7rZdlRrHBl8CP9_EL0CllON6KAsk4PkvwBXbWyI5pggiy1OzFHSctXKXwHDAcv1-5lN8hkUD2j1HJ-Zm0dcf3h1Y6tR3sbzY/s320/20230912_131353.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWFiiH80JcqB0njDIfSmdesGw_vB08ZTIiGh1P4KjYNA0JfuLao1B0LMK7OHw0QmCuPmHzaQnm287YgJ39FWI2zyUsfpJknafpkYUBlioe5qmZ5c4PFJreVA9oUH3LxUjxgZiJzAlNXmbo4QEFMh3SEzvwhIlFM9c9UFllW8hZ9OY-KXrLXT54fUWeXoY/s4624/20230912_131637.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWFiiH80JcqB0njDIfSmdesGw_vB08ZTIiGh1P4KjYNA0JfuLao1B0LMK7OHw0QmCuPmHzaQnm287YgJ39FWI2zyUsfpJknafpkYUBlioe5qmZ5c4PFJreVA9oUH3LxUjxgZiJzAlNXmbo4QEFMh3SEzvwhIlFM9c9UFllW8hZ9OY-KXrLXT54fUWeXoY/s320/20230912_131637.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65r6Z_UpRBqZ-6iYodrdBOX6xrwg3Qm1dUUwfoCMDxl9xRZMZSkZ4AAewhczZ4CKdOiZ1jofQP_RFdJI5z9_nllClgdwEpXc5dqepfWPXcrb_F_shbSePFfCQapZ_0yezdMFhfkbm_zNDEFNy_8Q8dcAM159F1BWOAK-4vQhdYMnOQhFmlGNRAGfWs5uI/s4624/20230912_133214.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65r6Z_UpRBqZ-6iYodrdBOX6xrwg3Qm1dUUwfoCMDxl9xRZMZSkZ4AAewhczZ4CKdOiZ1jofQP_RFdJI5z9_nllClgdwEpXc5dqepfWPXcrb_F_shbSePFfCQapZ_0yezdMFhfkbm_zNDEFNy_8Q8dcAM159F1BWOAK-4vQhdYMnOQhFmlGNRAGfWs5uI/s320/20230912_133214.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoH508nCRVNNtDcmpPGI3cs0DC_REhT8rg83lyTLZW0DivyZIM4QonUKZaekpkWmLv7xHbQvW9twjGdqzsK5FBvrMl5Zn5XgJ3g0UC6TL-jJNDouKWD3YOJoVhrF2DToGNcf-yfFVABEoipz8Q_WLiShGdzJ0wn2_JTI4Q8U929FZ8dyO46StuUGSoJBfd/s4000/20230912_133242.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoH508nCRVNNtDcmpPGI3cs0DC_REhT8rg83lyTLZW0DivyZIM4QonUKZaekpkWmLv7xHbQvW9twjGdqzsK5FBvrMl5Zn5XgJ3g0UC6TL-jJNDouKWD3YOJoVhrF2DToGNcf-yfFVABEoipz8Q_WLiShGdzJ0wn2_JTI4Q8U929FZ8dyO46StuUGSoJBfd/s320/20230912_133242.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Q01KQ5FhvAV56TkUkNhaamT3HuJzUNq6meGM-fNSHkBCPxMtI2JzmJ75Ug7KqqcJ8U-VUlZ_FOM15CGTRbx0j0wXn27RV5FDST5-et2AL2538fgwUV-zZ_zSxIwrJkN0XX34fr-3VVifGIDRgMVdpEjbGJCcL0pXzZEbP3rzmhP4ea-cn4yzPEpxdLZM/s4624/20230912_134657.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Q01KQ5FhvAV56TkUkNhaamT3HuJzUNq6meGM-fNSHkBCPxMtI2JzmJ75Ug7KqqcJ8U-VUlZ_FOM15CGTRbx0j0wXn27RV5FDST5-et2AL2538fgwUV-zZ_zSxIwrJkN0XX34fr-3VVifGIDRgMVdpEjbGJCcL0pXzZEbP3rzmhP4ea-cn4yzPEpxdLZM/s320/20230912_134657.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Upon arriving in Cavaglià I stopped at the pilgrim information point, manned by Marcello, a very helpful volunteer who stamped my pilgrim credential, gave me suggestions on where to eat tonight and where to stay tomorrow, and, in response to my question, explained more about the geography and geology of the area. As he was doing so a group of Cammino di Oropa walkers arrived, so I said goodbye and went down to the bar to get my end-of-stage beer and the key to the pilgrim hostel across the street. </div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsn9pjLbizvAX1WSn9qAhWBYvAfzszdf5JjX3jelaw5InZY1OwqsWjW9g9tptmnqoeHf-9imtSbgfNBquiFT2HBVShung9B-XoLBLTsulxx9Yr6z0noYio7ddFAgzLcCWspHbIAWbGrsJBE6fxxSDTSVVHYcaYZuSGhwtmZEAkOSocPA0BLMAKZv1AmQTw/s4624/20230912_143307.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsn9pjLbizvAX1WSn9qAhWBYvAfzszdf5JjX3jelaw5InZY1OwqsWjW9g9tptmnqoeHf-9imtSbgfNBquiFT2HBVShung9B-XoLBLTsulxx9Yr6z0noYio7ddFAgzLcCWspHbIAWbGrsJBE6fxxSDTSVVHYcaYZuSGhwtmZEAkOSocPA0BLMAKZv1AmQTw/s320/20230912_143307.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marcello at the pilgrim information office</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh20OfqB-OuIFwIVVcoXTQ0oDnxhceA5Gw_G-Xb07bBE6CFetfXlZlj33qzCXoraX2j-rWXxvlq8H4pSMbjODOMEo2fqVbCWrTYqYkCVubsR1q69r8WxIqU5nvouXYEC8333vQOzh3gsWx6XHpvTQDbEbBKr6s1GTFELILUUc1MylwQwXACYA3u5BRRUEOA/s4000/20230912_171825.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh20OfqB-OuIFwIVVcoXTQ0oDnxhceA5Gw_G-Xb07bBE6CFetfXlZlj33qzCXoraX2j-rWXxvlq8H4pSMbjODOMEo2fqVbCWrTYqYkCVubsR1q69r8WxIqU5nvouXYEC8333vQOzh3gsWx6XHpvTQDbEbBKr6s1GTFELILUUc1MylwQwXACYA3u5BRRUEOA/s320/20230912_171825.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pilgrimage church of San Rocco in Cavaglià </td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-RB-RFAJBa34KBnvyDTj_-p4H5SDlZssPXRAskMay_bKKZmk97774MUB0DO1ZB_eLgr72Cwtz6xIx85u9Q3yhZtZ6zAgt9AS-75TccCWsl-I81hk71Jz7IiZYnSZu04yr1OggLVvynaJR1ffsb5ID9xnPiHDkVwcDUUXiHziZ9-sh8gIerQ1PUdKNSbu/s4624/20230912_191904.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-RB-RFAJBa34KBnvyDTj_-p4H5SDlZssPXRAskMay_bKKZmk97774MUB0DO1ZB_eLgr72Cwtz6xIx85u9Q3yhZtZ6zAgt9AS-75TccCWsl-I81hk71Jz7IiZYnSZu04yr1OggLVvynaJR1ffsb5ID9xnPiHDkVwcDUUXiHziZ9-sh8gIerQ1PUdKNSbu/s320/20230912_191904.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are menhirs in Cavaglià! A lot of them!!</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1eDeuqdC673bTyiYV6--YFHOpWSnd0R46JE3_4eGK3j4J7U5ON3LYOLkuer9OeWbW2DYW12RoCYLUseX1crYWNSO82oqLJQWNPFUnqSy9o4K7e62TdQsdl_qATfrahLEPh75yQ0JZDe9etOg5vs6BuGz2EBUG_QsNYrrQguxWZhbwM0L1o4X9I6D9HKE/s4000/20230912_150746.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1eDeuqdC673bTyiYV6--YFHOpWSnd0R46JE3_4eGK3j4J7U5ON3LYOLkuer9OeWbW2DYW12RoCYLUseX1crYWNSO82oqLJQWNPFUnqSy9o4K7e62TdQsdl_qATfrahLEPh75yQ0JZDe9etOg5vs6BuGz2EBUG_QsNYrrQguxWZhbwM0L1o4X9I6D9HKE/s320/20230912_150746.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hostel</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHwZdfovdQW1hxSpZNr7XRw32oNgeKtlzO9tHW-M-gsqxf67vcI5BjzTxvpXkKyjtwfumM686Z8PeTJnak0N9QO8vkpAmvN6bOtg-uW1GdrzrEkTSl5fR6Gtbww25UN7PIBupNItqCo7DQFHbPd8XALVo9d16M0HdFb27duOH7O1aj79DJ7m-XOFWWkuh/s4624/20230912_161028.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHwZdfovdQW1hxSpZNr7XRw32oNgeKtlzO9tHW-M-gsqxf67vcI5BjzTxvpXkKyjtwfumM686Z8PeTJnak0N9QO8vkpAmvN6bOtg-uW1GdrzrEkTSl5fR6Gtbww25UN7PIBupNItqCo7DQFHbPd8XALVo9d16M0HdFb27duOH7O1aj79DJ7m-XOFWWkuh/s320/20230912_161028.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today's accommodation: municipal pilgrim hostel in Cavaglià </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP44wy2MQDwuqPG-96gR3zVFEk0T1b0EV1RbN0mJExbsXJPwknUIiPWsxISYKOqp50SZftAwyxjotuR0cGBqr5UWij-q45_95PRTtrPL-nPk--Due0ffjOtoqxUsz5y4hTYBTYV6XzrW3Xw74mGgHVDEa5WtWFazYgOpZGHO3v4Jl7FD-FzKG59FiI39gU/s2400/Screenshot_20230912_153351_MyTrails.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2400" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP44wy2MQDwuqPG-96gR3zVFEk0T1b0EV1RbN0mJExbsXJPwknUIiPWsxISYKOqp50SZftAwyxjotuR0cGBqr5UWij-q45_95PRTtrPL-nPk--Due0ffjOtoqxUsz5y4hTYBTYV6XzrW3Xw74mGgHVDEa5WtWFazYgOpZGHO3v4Jl7FD-FzKG59FiI39gU/s320/Screenshot_20230912_153351_MyTrails.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Bollengo - Cavaglià 18 km</div>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650799446655787605.post-78849580343022740232023-09-11T17:45:00.010+02:002024-01-09T14:25:35.060+01:00Road to Home 2023 Day 68: San Germano - Ivrea - Bollengo<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Il cammino regala un tempo prezioso </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">- painted on a wall in Bollengo </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZKMF4o8r_gE8OWVHhYBiZVkB0NmmZt7DL-q1dBU6z1OqlYEzP8DeFK4rmk-6FDAmtnW6v08ZRsn2620XI1ijQ0Ej5jsgH9TrIRcnyHHTTQ7Ms49dbTlHRaMazajjHx3gCcii81TzsedOHJUTM22dHNZh2K9YVXBxA1S6Y9AfNi4ZoLE0mR9U-hf_YGux/s4624/20230911_080646.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZKMF4o8r_gE8OWVHhYBiZVkB0NmmZt7DL-q1dBU6z1OqlYEzP8DeFK4rmk-6FDAmtnW6v08ZRsn2620XI1ijQ0Ej5jsgH9TrIRcnyHHTTQ7Ms49dbTlHRaMazajjHx3gCcii81TzsedOHJUTM22dHNZh2K9YVXBxA1S6Y9AfNi4ZoLE0mR9U-hf_YGux/s320/20230911_080646.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">After making my own breakfast at the hostel in San Germano, I set off early, walking past the <i><a href="https://www.balmetti.com/" target="_blank">balmetti</a>, </i>traditional wine cellars taking advantage of the natural flow of cold air out of the crevices in the mountain, which I had visited for food and wine the previous evening. At 7:30 in the morning they were all closed, but in the daylight I could get a better idea of what they looked like from the outside. There is a long row of them at the foot of the mountain, only some of which are open to the public, while others are privately owned or derelict. The street the wine cellars are on is aptly named <i>Via del Buon Umore: </i>"good mood street"! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzcCOfnujLf9-jEaTll5pgdP436xRUsRl2dEE97HF_8mx_C8okI5G7wh-eS7qkFKaZ3TCrvJtF4N2X7ODA3tmrNdvClkfH7nUhGnASG3yKJ80odUhdEW1Hg4lgJB1ytmrADVZQcifgVz1ZMeho4nh9mHyv5cFdEQLhX6bzIjOcVn7_k5hMeyFYCqN9j4H/s4624/20230911_073105.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzcCOfnujLf9-jEaTll5pgdP436xRUsRl2dEE97HF_8mx_C8okI5G7wh-eS7qkFKaZ3TCrvJtF4N2X7ODA3tmrNdvClkfH7nUhGnASG3yKJ80odUhdEW1Hg4lgJB1ytmrADVZQcifgVz1ZMeho4nh9mHyv5cFdEQLhX6bzIjOcVn7_k5hMeyFYCqN9j4H/s320/20230911_073105.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIe9t9ZD6H-zkQ341vwGdc1eWxGZjYzX8F87nDEe_80XyWJuivd05lVR96k2DDcckwBRZHHkElucgDucqbUQggSrBjo_xUUmptvIf7Fi8YFzXZgi_fnQPDQ6AB24lFknnFl2E5xO19pKgUNw7MhCvaKN_j0UjOoUieZwNUNvxK0JHkEZchLymSdu1tpqt/s4624/20230911_072345.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIe9t9ZD6H-zkQ341vwGdc1eWxGZjYzX8F87nDEe_80XyWJuivd05lVR96k2DDcckwBRZHHkElucgDucqbUQggSrBjo_xUUmptvIf7Fi8YFzXZgi_fnQPDQ6AB24lFknnFl2E5xO19pKgUNw7MhCvaKN_j0UjOoUieZwNUNvxK0JHkEZchLymSdu1tpqt/s320/20230911_072345.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4vZJd4m_jg_vksv6cQZJuN8M-RoOTaMuUuHiI1HLdpHt6JjCoTHm7GETQW-0SkujHzJqMn0y_6yWrAgGM7Tn5XMKLTLn3meOlb3n9i2Cwlg35YwqitLZjHZHV-CaYu0wJxnd4gmjJPf3B_MGWcFL_WCLezMsNJ9e2_CLU7BalefjiTFl0JVcn-iH3ZQA/s4624/20230911_072502.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4vZJd4m_jg_vksv6cQZJuN8M-RoOTaMuUuHiI1HLdpHt6JjCoTHm7GETQW-0SkujHzJqMn0y_6yWrAgGM7Tn5XMKLTLn3meOlb3n9i2Cwlg35YwqitLZjHZHV-CaYu0wJxnd4gmjJPf3B_MGWcFL_WCLezMsNJ9e2_CLU7BalefjiTFl0JVcn-iH3ZQA/s320/20230911_072502.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHxL9dZe4Q9dO5usaBZMsLZK60hEO6t3qrgj4wujY0Dei6Meg7jlf5hqUpq0vp2AoOebdua5O9KPUdqkEeQVZHykhfD1IrA_qhsdQUnDQSJ4p7v1L-3NqBo8jtoRDTOQO8aGEY_BBW58lEX4sj6aUrhF0pLLmDf8v5FOF8FbsX9W9wTz1qPS2bsv5y8xg/s4624/20230911_072626.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHxL9dZe4Q9dO5usaBZMsLZK60hEO6t3qrgj4wujY0Dei6Meg7jlf5hqUpq0vp2AoOebdua5O9KPUdqkEeQVZHykhfD1IrA_qhsdQUnDQSJ4p7v1L-3NqBo8jtoRDTOQO8aGEY_BBW58lEX4sj6aUrhF0pLLmDf8v5FOF8FbsX9W9wTz1qPS2bsv5y8xg/s320/20230911_072626.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I left the wine cellars behind, crossed a few cornfields, and by the time the sun rose above the mountain tops, just before eight, I was in Borgofranco di Ivrea. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHq4qns3vqIIrwab_oan5vW2kyBi7_3tP_6UO7PtFwNPN9TKnsYeVa5qjmxmQyQ6L3dHWD_bSwLCoUc3KYOImOTBIa5gmayOD4srL0aDm6d8Diq6dcutqwgtrQubbyL3WocKlBYVBs21nQCSqsLv6SYCsECS0NFI4ICcyjaE6Y6d4Z3x6O0nf36VOHDh7H/s4000/20230911_074639.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHq4qns3vqIIrwab_oan5vW2kyBi7_3tP_6UO7PtFwNPN9TKnsYeVa5qjmxmQyQ6L3dHWD_bSwLCoUc3KYOImOTBIa5gmayOD4srL0aDm6d8Diq6dcutqwgtrQubbyL3WocKlBYVBs21nQCSqsLv6SYCsECS0NFI4ICcyjaE6Y6d4Z3x6O0nf36VOHDh7H/s320/20230911_074639.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdPRGW981EjoknOxlKLdgYVDMA-hZarR9ze6AxgCIr6yBGO-H_BkC8qfmNNOj7Z7r5fYg0QpUUemhIhAGrcvt4ge7s5SIvYKb7mh_z8jFHlmXyQLs2c2rWdRYJJ0VcFdkW-s--hboWFbYzHzQjNWLnGxprxH7UvhC_wE-4qJ8Lp1_q-r0WvUlZphDwgJB2/s4624/20230911_075007.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdPRGW981EjoknOxlKLdgYVDMA-hZarR9ze6AxgCIr6yBGO-H_BkC8qfmNNOj7Z7r5fYg0QpUUemhIhAGrcvt4ge7s5SIvYKb7mh_z8jFHlmXyQLs2c2rWdRYJJ0VcFdkW-s--hboWFbYzHzQjNWLnGxprxH7UvhC_wE-4qJ8Lp1_q-r0WvUlZphDwgJB2/s320/20230911_075007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">I left the village behind, and with it the Alps. Here the valley of the Dora Baltea river widens out, and while one last tall mountain peak towered above me on the right, the mountains on my left were tapering down to low hills. Piemonte means "foot of the mountain", and the reason for the region's name is perfectly obvious here!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5OvteP7yyVCV3lp5aNLJsmJvLMvJvouuw91CM-iErnH8-JRS-OFE5iAy2aiyHEGDYs62HO2irGHsCWBPYZ9R_-adOM7Y8Mk5fGk8pskTWfS17oAfCvEYh3L7Hu9dEKXMIsDdw1gZA_KfVAlCklerrEZAkWOIXkGcJIz6QaDEvTx5P5pHu7yLaUa2uAx9/s4624/20230911_075910.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5OvteP7yyVCV3lp5aNLJsmJvLMvJvouuw91CM-iErnH8-JRS-OFE5iAy2aiyHEGDYs62HO2irGHsCWBPYZ9R_-adOM7Y8Mk5fGk8pskTWfS17oAfCvEYh3L7Hu9dEKXMIsDdw1gZA_KfVAlCklerrEZAkWOIXkGcJIz6QaDEvTx5P5pHu7yLaUa2uAx9/s320/20230911_075910.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Via Francigena took me out of the town and into a thicket of beech trees. At the village of Montalto Dora I abandoned the Via Francigena to take a shortcut proposed in Sandy Brown's guidebook, climbing a steep paved road up to the chapel of Santa Croce rather than following the official route all the way around Lake Pistono. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBY53A9qGkCGkIhy306mackqZJaPZXJGh5wcZBTwFCP_jdRMLUn4TzvEYft9Wxsbltg1oFU-P4FzVML4Nyr3RnW9lAkABOKaSicQLjUq2D7GusyjzV8L48r4xF3fDeoeJPURgioUFVzAEpxtnUE7W5Rvt5suX-awMO-KYrK3mx4vrlK96Fb7Lt6KAtj_x/s1307/20230911_172641.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1307" data-original-width="981" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBY53A9qGkCGkIhy306mackqZJaPZXJGh5wcZBTwFCP_jdRMLUn4TzvEYft9Wxsbltg1oFU-P4FzVML4Nyr3RnW9lAkABOKaSicQLjUq2D7GusyjzV8L48r4xF3fDeoeJPURgioUFVzAEpxtnUE7W5Rvt5suX-awMO-KYrK3mx4vrlK96Fb7Lt6KAtj_x/s320/20230911_172641.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shortcut vs official route </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Santa Croce was the first of a series of roadside chapels that I passed on the road between here and Ivrea, suggesting that this was a much-travelled road in the past, and in fact at one point the road is paved with old cobblestones. Pretty to look at, but hard on the feet!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBrPHJOD2YMtrEG6OvqHAP-O8CPnBXNxlv0bJNULvjICTYwkz5-9hQB_vuodoHMBROGM3kQ1MQJFkjIkHCjg4K_tW7EfuYWdH1uz5frNtAX9kB23ggkKgqNPxZp8-Co-e3erOXnhiKrkO8Yvel4SbpwKvU2cQCJzNgKS2EEkpHHgcVgSYhwCEwcsAxKws/s4000/20230911_084633.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBrPHJOD2YMtrEG6OvqHAP-O8CPnBXNxlv0bJNULvjICTYwkz5-9hQB_vuodoHMBROGM3kQ1MQJFkjIkHCjg4K_tW7EfuYWdH1uz5frNtAX9kB23ggkKgqNPxZp8-Co-e3erOXnhiKrkO8Yvel4SbpwKvU2cQCJzNgKS2EEkpHHgcVgSYhwCEwcsAxKws/s320/20230911_084633.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7xlAyqmnnl94uc0NJEycNUlpuRsWi7Zz7TipwPnDh2Wz_2U6PGM5IRqO1RBpcHYPMBdbQpdy6juaOGWsb8uPEOP9xzI98u4ixQwh3GmcDrEaDckQbt9ISApOalX4GE8QXNWXieIQz9OQmipsDEzYh4IsK-gMa2aFMjkwN6_nyMxJUcXjl3yXX1f0qYt0c/s4000/20230911_083907.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7xlAyqmnnl94uc0NJEycNUlpuRsWi7Zz7TipwPnDh2Wz_2U6PGM5IRqO1RBpcHYPMBdbQpdy6juaOGWsb8uPEOP9xzI98u4ixQwh3GmcDrEaDckQbt9ISApOalX4GE8QXNWXieIQz9OQmipsDEzYh4IsK-gMa2aFMjkwN6_nyMxJUcXjl3yXX1f0qYt0c/s320/20230911_083907.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCbnLAYo0-E30OwXj05GduY3moFBi9g7O78iCqlA1awZH5OVaOPARQlL3P3a_qqhrI6HCtN2qVmwb5gu2RNezo2IJbn5muP1pwbe3FWiTIvA8H2sB--AMV_3Qk6rmPA_NJW8FJF_-6ZT4fLiWbwRgVdW2IosQmVskdWMgT89gpok4Ogm3SUzZ4HjkQp78/s4624/20230911_085522.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCbnLAYo0-E30OwXj05GduY3moFBi9g7O78iCqlA1awZH5OVaOPARQlL3P3a_qqhrI6HCtN2qVmwb5gu2RNezo2IJbn5muP1pwbe3FWiTIvA8H2sB--AMV_3Qk6rmPA_NJW8FJF_-6ZT4fLiWbwRgVdW2IosQmVskdWMgT89gpok4Ogm3SUzZ4HjkQp78/s320/20230911_085522.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxXgStToROTaDEq6-6mawbz5_5u3AKfz1BpY5LWIcT1eQvfS_xpzgbgGmgKdd3ha9d7bQSqRv1Sk0GUW2m16qGNP8lMs_tNayvtEAeVWI4nQyW9NNq2OHsqIGgqqnpDgdyNP4kKD9gv1e4BhJxz7bRcDvJJCxtAoqTwiRgKwrLd9GenJULVxY7xI81IEx/s4624/20230911_090726.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxXgStToROTaDEq6-6mawbz5_5u3AKfz1BpY5LWIcT1eQvfS_xpzgbgGmgKdd3ha9d7bQSqRv1Sk0GUW2m16qGNP8lMs_tNayvtEAeVWI4nQyW9NNq2OHsqIGgqqnpDgdyNP4kKD9gv1e4BhJxz7bRcDvJJCxtAoqTwiRgKwrLd9GenJULVxY7xI81IEx/s320/20230911_090726.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The old road eventually took me onto a newer road, open to traffic, leading into the city of Ivrea.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ivrea</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ivrea originated as a Celtic town called Yporegia. The Romans conquered the town in the year 100 BC and gave it a more easily pronouceable name, Eporedia, which became Ivrea in Italian.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I entered the city at the top end, by the castle, constructed in 1358 - 1395. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDw1V2_rn4sktjksWnJbyLHwsOPoPR6hKBs3G71le8VsQt98iAcRO2kN6lB0b9dCT_RDcyKdknUy4UJn2ItRjRbVT3Bb6cEM1whLuLj_ICtr65El7rC-fn1xK58QPEqKXN70aQzsTRuMtFx4h_ux14aMR1EFcrBzT8_rp4eiMtf5O5m6IQcRwHKoAmR9Vc/s4000/20230911_093107.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDw1V2_rn4sktjksWnJbyLHwsOPoPR6hKBs3G71le8VsQt98iAcRO2kN6lB0b9dCT_RDcyKdknUy4UJn2ItRjRbVT3Bb6cEM1whLuLj_ICtr65El7rC-fn1xK58QPEqKXN70aQzsTRuMtFx4h_ux14aMR1EFcrBzT8_rp4eiMtf5O5m6IQcRwHKoAmR9Vc/s320/20230911_093107.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">In the year 1676 the main tower of the castle, which was used to store gunpowder, was struck by lightning, and the resulting explosion killed about a hundred people, decapitated the tower and destroyed the sections of wall closest to it, along with the walkways around the top of the castle walls, all subsequently rebuilt.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Across from the castle is the cathedral, built around the year 1000 by Bishop Warmondo on the site of an earlier 4th-century church which was, in turn, constructed on the site of a Roman temple. A Roman sarcophagus has been adapted for use as an altar in the crypt, the only remaining part of the 10th-century church; the part above ground was reconstructed in Baroque style in 1785.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44En7aZCC1TMm91G-KC5bVvoqiM8kkq8Gb3PKIC24Asx8CMmJMwycN6xjsHtdhM2bw9KYv3JlPCCO4Lyb5WOiPuTxlugvJehjErHJVGzpRIO_uoYdHGD5wuCgduj6jxew2A6373TdwIu4w-uXlx-pGeSgd9JIZ8qsJkhsQKZVxpDiuVyPdcVV2O3wkfvj/s4624/20230911_093418.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44En7aZCC1TMm91G-KC5bVvoqiM8kkq8Gb3PKIC24Asx8CMmJMwycN6xjsHtdhM2bw9KYv3JlPCCO4Lyb5WOiPuTxlugvJehjErHJVGzpRIO_uoYdHGD5wuCgduj6jxew2A6373TdwIu4w-uXlx-pGeSgd9JIZ8qsJkhsQKZVxpDiuVyPdcVV2O3wkfvj/s320/20230911_093418.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bishop's residence and the cathedral of Ivrea seen from the back</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8QYYDUBB6gzByyp9Y3N3S-BvVNgVoXJoTkDMLb2X6yIsh4WpDgTOwwAiRt_G5tVFuMFmHyRPHzQ4AAHTG1Zo2hZXi_w7wXUhqA3ZUYcO3aTgFz_RtuQmyGMcmCq9Z4rR1921F4GY2rjlpjBnLKlNoSs40yF3qh0Ai_STJy50fDzlXntP6pew3awEVy4t/s4000/20230911_094649.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8QYYDUBB6gzByyp9Y3N3S-BvVNgVoXJoTkDMLb2X6yIsh4WpDgTOwwAiRt_G5tVFuMFmHyRPHzQ4AAHTG1Zo2hZXi_w7wXUhqA3ZUYcO3aTgFz_RtuQmyGMcmCq9Z4rR1921F4GY2rjlpjBnLKlNoSs40yF3qh0Ai_STJy50fDzlXntP6pew3awEVy4t/s320/20230911_094649.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And from the front</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8of6agAkdoj22AO5NGdxz2FU8M9fP2Pd9wRhezRsce7fQjwMBc-HJ0ZISsGPqeF2zCXtVPgw11tmu-x7TeOfiqSnGrA-9hB3HgSLgapf-zaoGBAsC9CMdLxfM83rkj77BD4iKA6DE5KDgBXeXJzPzncFV9pgIqKf5SuHoQFgUIJVhnV_RL49X84yUKJc/s4624/20230911_094150.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8of6agAkdoj22AO5NGdxz2FU8M9fP2Pd9wRhezRsce7fQjwMBc-HJ0ZISsGPqeF2zCXtVPgw11tmu-x7TeOfiqSnGrA-9hB3HgSLgapf-zaoGBAsC9CMdLxfM83rkj77BD4iKA6DE5KDgBXeXJzPzncFV9pgIqKf5SuHoQFgUIJVhnV_RL49X84yUKJc/s320/20230911_094150.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crypt</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb3rlWEXVVBSt_0nA_bGA4F52UI7d7oIOU03nyx3AWkmCSzHaNrX0ZLRxrPY_KBHv5pMu4STHy9fZezlK1r_F_8GsjT-XME4t60mwQZJHAWp4P-DqPW1dFU01c_wYmsipCOVO6IzwdwYtJm_A68F7YsCbiOcnhgoOvrN5E-2L9Hwa4SOn5lm1hV7bHrIKV/s4624/20230911_094052.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb3rlWEXVVBSt_0nA_bGA4F52UI7d7oIOU03nyx3AWkmCSzHaNrX0ZLRxrPY_KBHv5pMu4STHy9fZezlK1r_F_8GsjT-XME4t60mwQZJHAWp4P-DqPW1dFU01c_wYmsipCOVO6IzwdwYtJm_A68F7YsCbiOcnhgoOvrN5E-2L9Hwa4SOn5lm1hV7bHrIKV/s320/20230911_094052.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfXS9CyWEf90KRzBkk1jFy2nusct8aFX8hZozkfZXOuyyszmZq39G5STmNtIew-a4qUaKiYLp5HDl03UYJszDEu4P7xAwoORlIK6CfezUw7_9RQU02opEz5hf6nhIs8FGZydPQ6YsL4cfCgwg4AwNLOX9Nz-1J6JzadNfnosNAdQknYSFTfLjcRbJ9WMK0/s4624/20230911_094212.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfXS9CyWEf90KRzBkk1jFy2nusct8aFX8hZozkfZXOuyyszmZq39G5STmNtIew-a4qUaKiYLp5HDl03UYJszDEu4P7xAwoORlIK6CfezUw7_9RQU02opEz5hf6nhIs8FGZydPQ6YsL4cfCgwg4AwNLOX9Nz-1J6JzadNfnosNAdQknYSFTfLjcRbJ9WMK0/s320/20230911_094212.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDiBkPY3ZzgjHRhNMwNryoM2fO6zf-vEAvb1BTSOROJCa42RYteUWJx72jQ09qMQkPIhPj9WOEwxyKCuM_-QFVgKI7QeujCqvm-3h55YaGNXr_xUsQ2LNr8GJS22N0KKtJOTqgpmf-DVuEeTN1SoHkmYFJ-Kq4FvE5JOAhbDvNafbPCGVrjf37VnWL_Ysx/s4624/20230911_093806.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDiBkPY3ZzgjHRhNMwNryoM2fO6zf-vEAvb1BTSOROJCa42RYteUWJx72jQ09qMQkPIhPj9WOEwxyKCuM_-QFVgKI7QeujCqvm-3h55YaGNXr_xUsQ2LNr8GJS22N0KKtJOTqgpmf-DVuEeTN1SoHkmYFJ-Kq4FvE5JOAhbDvNafbPCGVrjf37VnWL_Ysx/s320/20230911_093806.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">Leaving the cathedral, I descended a staircase to the main pedestrian street of Ivrea, Via Palestro, where I stopped at a café for a second breakfast of espresso with a scoop of ice cream and a fresh chocolate-filled pastry 😋.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xR_1fAMVAoxw3C7caOrrwsTxc5RMx1LjobAhpxESHM_gygYzqVcwtXqd81IF4UA-VSSXkncNYqk5PeI9HeoxrEMj_A6fyoaND6BfPiudVkkfM5TbMNi0k5k4LItPBhdWnNWxtF6w97Muxi0OYp94iDU0swddLeXozWBLySpQ4RZqyT92Z0DTX6sb6-zI/s4624/20230911_095208.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xR_1fAMVAoxw3C7caOrrwsTxc5RMx1LjobAhpxESHM_gygYzqVcwtXqd81IF4UA-VSSXkncNYqk5PeI9HeoxrEMj_A6fyoaND6BfPiudVkkfM5TbMNi0k5k4LItPBhdWnNWxtF6w97Muxi0OYp94iDU0swddLeXozWBLySpQ4RZqyT92Z0DTX6sb6-zI/s320/20230911_095208.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhom3nDI9s7E_Uhgx4_lEY5jTVvhPy9Q7j0IF3VOqqLoos-CFDIhuQD63qjPYbJRmzWRvL2ww0HsTVKtQ7gEN8CEsA_cTH-IKq3iQvE07qdvJbeIh5gioMrPrj7hpo8seubrRhQ1iTbe7p1hnG973LXGjIUDMpZbtDPRQJK8pJhH7j6g3dVEVHjfAV6YmPp/s4000/20230911_104442.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhom3nDI9s7E_Uhgx4_lEY5jTVvhPy9Q7j0IF3VOqqLoos-CFDIhuQD63qjPYbJRmzWRvL2ww0HsTVKtQ7gEN8CEsA_cTH-IKq3iQvE07qdvJbeIh5gioMrPrj7hpo8seubrRhQ1iTbe7p1hnG973LXGjIUDMpZbtDPRQJK8pJhH7j6g3dVEVHjfAV6YmPp/s320/20230911_104442.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KQBPk4bw447PI-xfOWq9KmgwwK8QpS0aG0dXQDFLgTeuJnROl7v7hkqiisUZ3TikR3fsZDCtJI5e-D5PTtTMTVIejecg4QIf68bYKqHREiafcoMFs-K31xpjC-BxOEVXqpKbZuVzlVmtxYru3myO4opj2oNdogBD5AqK1MW9nfQZlSn5GKdwaRz9gwBW/s4624/20230911_100411.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KQBPk4bw447PI-xfOWq9KmgwwK8QpS0aG0dXQDFLgTeuJnROl7v7hkqiisUZ3TikR3fsZDCtJI5e-D5PTtTMTVIejecg4QIf68bYKqHREiafcoMFs-K31xpjC-BxOEVXqpKbZuVzlVmtxYru3myO4opj2oNdogBD5AqK1MW9nfQZlSn5GKdwaRz9gwBW/s320/20230911_100411.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I needed one more thing before leaving Ivrea: a stamp for my pilgrim credential! And I found one at the Via Francigena information point in the roundabout at the end of Via Palestro, where a kind volunteer gave me a stamp and a Via Francigena pin, called to book me into tomorrow's hostel, and took my photo by the yellow pilgrim cutout symbolising the Via Francigena.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAyUTklLnSdTzoR-fWRi3vwxXwKTvHvXIr7yTHVDBBo-kZYvMAj6jDig5fMYW3f2FDsEJZk9SvspBlvu0OaSQtty43Da2rMyYq8msvHTVRf7e6GXBRu3fBcQAKEWzVjbSO2F-nXRC2MqoRdpV5PyDf5AE8tcvcgnYb-f8TpSdNIL7oE_KRsSTcPzLLt4r6/s4624/20230911_111811.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAyUTklLnSdTzoR-fWRi3vwxXwKTvHvXIr7yTHVDBBo-kZYvMAj6jDig5fMYW3f2FDsEJZk9SvspBlvu0OaSQtty43Da2rMyYq8msvHTVRf7e6GXBRu3fBcQAKEWzVjbSO2F-nXRC2MqoRdpV5PyDf5AE8tcvcgnYb-f8TpSdNIL7oE_KRsSTcPzLLt4r6/s320/20230911_111811.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Walking out of the city on paved roads, I soon came to a pleasant path among the trees, heading straight toward a high, even ridge. This is the first of a series of morenic ridges formed where the glaciers stopped their advance at the end of various ice ages and began to retreat, leaving behind vast deposits of rocky debris which the ice had accumulated and carried down from the Alps. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPzlnt7Aw-F1-iy1uhjsCaGYM-KBZ4orFrghBbs4ExrxmmpSjuny69qz6IWtr4NFd4IB3PQ6Gvfwnenxbh_NMLMBMBtaAfRfiMMrpoNv4x_0y2Oa-H9g-SvhQkugR8SLlXzUnuPoAnsZoAJq0SQODxBNaNG53MT6X3p5Y5_pFpMxcWYseK1S6QuCvXHLd/s4624/20230911_115130.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPzlnt7Aw-F1-iy1uhjsCaGYM-KBZ4orFrghBbs4ExrxmmpSjuny69qz6IWtr4NFd4IB3PQ6Gvfwnenxbh_NMLMBMBtaAfRfiMMrpoNv4x_0y2Oa-H9g-SvhQkugR8SLlXzUnuPoAnsZoAJq0SQODxBNaNG53MT6X3p5Y5_pFpMxcWYseK1S6QuCvXHLd/s320/20230911_115130.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It so happens that I stood on the top of that very same ridge in February 2020, on my last weekend away before the Covid lockdown. At that time I participated in a weekend <a href="https://movimentolento.academy/diventare-esploratori/?fbclid=IwAR1mAW_u5xeqY0g9gV6mBdf27Z9HRGaKf7B3Lri6tPWblQky5Zr3hX1PS5I" target="_blank">seminar about natural navigation</a> with walker, hiking guide and writer <a href="https://francomichieli.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Franco Michieli</a>. On the second day of the seminar our group went walking over these ridges, learning to interpret the landscape and use the sun and shadows to find our way; as a final test, Franco left us at the top of that ridge, divided us into pairs, and left us to find our own way back to the starting point of our walk, where we had parked our cars. I am happy to report that everyone in the group made it back! 😄</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today, I looked at the ridge from below and followed the Via Francigena around its base, climbing only slightly to a small lake in the woods. Here I met a young man who was walking from Zurich to Finale Ligure, in order to go for a swim in the sea! I'm sure glad I don't live in a landlocked country like Switzerland, and it's a lot easier for me to walk to the beach 😆! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The young man said he had been making up his own route along the way, but kept getting lost, and so he decided to follow the trail markers of the Via Francigena for as long as it was convenient in relation to his route. Perhaps he should attend one of Franco Michieli's seminars and learn to find his way around! 😅</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbuJnNdPwvWCkPM3Hw7QCtuJu0VLOe8F0TK8pqnxPwKFnbMbMYXJYFHp3RihZHJHDPqt9CeDO6_wn047NfiuIN2dxBwjZxIc0hheVzJMU0ZK5oflKIhDO7_chNqqPKQ76yqnDIqG4sj3QtbzDnZ6UGhIYNpJI98F0B-_g_Ph990Kuo-oqBL0zsXTdKb9m/s4624/20230911_115553.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbuJnNdPwvWCkPM3Hw7QCtuJu0VLOe8F0TK8pqnxPwKFnbMbMYXJYFHp3RihZHJHDPqt9CeDO6_wn047NfiuIN2dxBwjZxIc0hheVzJMU0ZK5oflKIhDO7_chNqqPKQ76yqnDIqG4sj3QtbzDnZ6UGhIYNpJI98F0B-_g_Ph990Kuo-oqBL0zsXTdKb9m/s320/20230911_115553.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijYA2-0yqP00qycS8kw320uegZg9edK8MUYhm08nq4oq1xixsFqlXHm7JfzaalyEwdtPdr0-iOe5NC-9UuNl_CE4vrUrPwwTQSDig_2lhOtnj1kY6dkKnnSrOL8OARZi-tPs9Ze5o1HKOwlxXEckUrobKcd6kGvOXr-rvNWLn7kD7MPFcH0MyYMN1tOf7a/s4624/20230911_122915.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijYA2-0yqP00qycS8kw320uegZg9edK8MUYhm08nq4oq1xixsFqlXHm7JfzaalyEwdtPdr0-iOe5NC-9UuNl_CE4vrUrPwwTQSDig_2lhOtnj1kY6dkKnnSrOL8OARZi-tPs9Ze5o1HKOwlxXEckUrobKcd6kGvOXr-rvNWLn7kD7MPFcH0MyYMN1tOf7a/s320/20230911_122915.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrHAMkFt_xJszdQMiW9Eaej_EaXDkzvMeD-mRUTIXLf4Q9B8WeK-9l1tVNnmxRy0o5xYqL4-a6-l-sshJtcfS-32QFl4tR_cbWGo64UsQU4ANJGzwzB7-Zr3WJHXb7-k8EEEXb3bCdVlusj2Ga06pzJc_Ybso6NdtuY4Kh9l-e6bYKKM7oFxYkGSJ1CDh/s4624/20230911_123715.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrHAMkFt_xJszdQMiW9Eaej_EaXDkzvMeD-mRUTIXLf4Q9B8WeK-9l1tVNnmxRy0o5xYqL4-a6-l-sshJtcfS-32QFl4tR_cbWGo64UsQU4ANJGzwzB7-Zr3WJHXb7-k8EEEXb3bCdVlusj2Ga06pzJc_Ybso6NdtuY4Kh9l-e6bYKKM7oFxYkGSJ1CDh/s320/20230911_123715.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Several cornfields and poplar groves later, the Via Francigena came out onto the road to Burolo, where there is no longer a pilgrim hostel, so I followed the road a couple of kilometres further, to Bollengo, where I had booked an Airbnb flat just a block off the route. And, it turns out, right at the foot of the morenic ridge!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZvxWdlr5uEduAn1_4vsmsest_f64Zf2GztGJP310Bf9fHMLSwyBADJSPIyqzmgILPNJR_uG7PLfpd8fGzTrJgAzhuwIfR2BQwsp04SRDArC7I1w1qw0oH88xhJcQ9zKPZlcAQ2IESNOq6L8PM1OXgU4vO4JoWaOJwOyhJcZbwATf0H8LLd1Y7DkEqKjo/s4624/20230911_130903.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZvxWdlr5uEduAn1_4vsmsest_f64Zf2GztGJP310Bf9fHMLSwyBADJSPIyqzmgILPNJR_uG7PLfpd8fGzTrJgAzhuwIfR2BQwsp04SRDArC7I1w1qw0oH88xhJcQ9zKPZlcAQ2IESNOq6L8PM1OXgU4vO4JoWaOJwOyhJcZbwATf0H8LLd1Y7DkEqKjo/s320/20230911_130903.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsdO1_IXPrDBTqgM6cPuEaRUtMEYslhGBEAFG2z7xVDtTR8ttsoMlfOMYAPP-6FU_NDBd8uTBtuBt_3OecAMoAVgpRCUPf7hCtWE6ti1-Zr6DV9PIFOK4guwOm1AXh3Nd8N4SX6l_fxJun_pTA3GzatS3Y5J3wndFMQoorSy1z7rDnKOfqaZ9_O_asIeo/s4624/20230911_132036.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsdO1_IXPrDBTqgM6cPuEaRUtMEYslhGBEAFG2z7xVDtTR8ttsoMlfOMYAPP-6FU_NDBd8uTBtuBt_3OecAMoAVgpRCUPf7hCtWE6ti1-Zr6DV9PIFOK4guwOm1AXh3Nd8N4SX6l_fxJun_pTA3GzatS3Y5J3wndFMQoorSy1z7rDnKOfqaZ9_O_asIeo/s320/20230911_132036.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdIyd6oyOxkW_eFdtxeic6NiyjB6h4uqwqMeGe558a5qLaxXdomK-PshCcnauXWE7EEQJFH-tRSJ6Vx5J0tlbdE35IY56T01HZEevkpEEtialxIRFT9B-XWYDE5l_JMu_PS3WFWCx1bNl6ZW5fFc2wm9hLrp-HVtoopkYrxbtK5InvDKL5o5npvLMJw83e/s4624/20230911_132048.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdIyd6oyOxkW_eFdtxeic6NiyjB6h4uqwqMeGe558a5qLaxXdomK-PshCcnauXWE7EEQJFH-tRSJ6Vx5J0tlbdE35IY56T01HZEevkpEEtialxIRFT9B-XWYDE5l_JMu_PS3WFWCx1bNl6ZW5fFc2wm9hLrp-HVtoopkYrxbtK5InvDKL5o5npvLMJw83e/s320/20230911_132048.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNqCIGG6lxfvlQEhtGwz0F8lRKKsdRooDPINps-FeQ7ierjV9CAwXgFfE7-dZekNqGqIiclGtidjtUieonzv7oVTv5L863waFg08Ssn8cXBzRY4CMX974RONp8eZqUSirOXPJyk7UYCTmGjWmfe-0lcseI28FJiRfVTjCccSMQN-e9G6mpl7o8LdQ7Ny1/s4000/20230911_132226.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNqCIGG6lxfvlQEhtGwz0F8lRKKsdRooDPINps-FeQ7ierjV9CAwXgFfE7-dZekNqGqIiclGtidjtUieonzv7oVTv5L863waFg08Ssn8cXBzRY4CMX974RONp8eZqUSirOXPJyk7UYCTmGjWmfe-0lcseI28FJiRfVTjCccSMQN-e9G6mpl7o8LdQ7Ny1/s320/20230911_132226.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IZJXu6U2kvI6FL6Ifl3C7n7Jkbq45pcstRtvjeXQpBprDvNuU8UBilp17XrwHNfNMoeYFLB1U3Ya_TGSsBuLP92uV3iBHkEAv8Uhac1Xx0_Qx7Qhsm_L7Fl7_Ghml-iSOO6ukS_vKdjItr1LpT6feEoMoXm_VoYBobfKU5M6csByYtWxkumdxJr3Rbtz/s4624/20230911_132620.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5IZJXu6U2kvI6FL6Ifl3C7n7Jkbq45pcstRtvjeXQpBprDvNuU8UBilp17XrwHNfNMoeYFLB1U3Ya_TGSsBuLP92uV3iBHkEAv8Uhac1Xx0_Qx7Qhsm_L7Fl7_Ghml-iSOO6ukS_vKdjItr1LpT6feEoMoXm_VoYBobfKU5M6csByYtWxkumdxJr3Rbtz/s320/20230911_132620.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEISBX7_3J5Cn4g3azZcW00SJUDVdLZ4EvmavLY1OFA8OVkBUu5-cJ8WI482LH7l3Zw-bwQ_qg0QvMztB1DSQlmW4U6IUcImjbp2J8y02o5-ZD-drxkB0Fy2Yw5K4Pl0HdhWC82ql5l2HuQxjSZYHXf4DDHdMlG2BG4moeF6kSyK81k6UNG8Q5fpcy_92j/s4624/20230911_163556.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEISBX7_3J5Cn4g3azZcW00SJUDVdLZ4EvmavLY1OFA8OVkBUu5-cJ8WI482LH7l3Zw-bwQ_qg0QvMztB1DSQlmW4U6IUcImjbp2J8y02o5-ZD-drxkB0Fy2Yw5K4Pl0HdhWC82ql5l2HuQxjSZYHXf4DDHdMlG2BG4moeF6kSyK81k6UNG8Q5fpcy_92j/s320/20230911_163556.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8q2tj0_luZIRIPjMBdfR4GoYgdjUi75BmnIF1nLj6KZ2D5ZEgm0BLTpEoSfcohPmVgiDtmf5lFIzbFM24IOhPu-6D1dfcb4rezgZTbQzJMN4OkwIIN5sxLdtLvrn522sP_ZIXGo5-BNzsKKWnd5XJDkf_Pu0zgLr-5xUeeezviHF8HTLqYz4JikaZw2c/s4624/20230911_132834.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8q2tj0_luZIRIPjMBdfR4GoYgdjUi75BmnIF1nLj6KZ2D5ZEgm0BLTpEoSfcohPmVgiDtmf5lFIzbFM24IOhPu-6D1dfcb4rezgZTbQzJMN4OkwIIN5sxLdtLvrn522sP_ZIXGo5-BNzsKKWnd5XJDkf_Pu0zgLr-5xUeeezviHF8HTLqYz4JikaZw2c/s320/20230911_132834.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The colourful town of Bollengo </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDZVJsIznoKoXKikWTA-wbwBEIteTmS9jS3OhZmn8tBUsyzRCgPYdZbsNFz2GPDwmZQl4kL2VV4OV0J4-beGvXCvYlV2WVi4Nb2L54SjpLx6Ty5nFrXGxtB9QZt-alR5nnrGLvYUgho4MPF6AmJ8MnHh8ry_vpJs8fcXKta8TPOnAupWd3kCggg_mD8Ng/s4624/20230911_163801.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDZVJsIznoKoXKikWTA-wbwBEIteTmS9jS3OhZmn8tBUsyzRCgPYdZbsNFz2GPDwmZQl4kL2VV4OV0J4-beGvXCvYlV2WVi4Nb2L54SjpLx6Ty5nFrXGxtB9QZt-alR5nnrGLvYUgho4MPF6AmJ8MnHh8ry_vpJs8fcXKta8TPOnAupWd3kCggg_mD8Ng/s320/20230911_163801.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjO3pHxX-lhJAt8fS5YAko-HOzgD843CnwCv_pSU2rv3F5_-z22xX8dy0HGr1cyamkTIeuIYyc318xe-0yF7LISpmJjTvSumOaZ7hrud8phDpPZHC4F1Bq1reExaoddnarUFJsGKvYFhu9ltmRNB81wleUCD-7yO0fNb9ErSwGH1FaCS-ZsCTRb-kFOcv/s4624/20230911_163914.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjO3pHxX-lhJAt8fS5YAko-HOzgD843CnwCv_pSU2rv3F5_-z22xX8dy0HGr1cyamkTIeuIYyc318xe-0yF7LISpmJjTvSumOaZ7hrud8phDpPZHC4F1Bq1reExaoddnarUFJsGKvYFhu9ltmRNB81wleUCD-7yO0fNb9ErSwGH1FaCS-ZsCTRb-kFOcv/s320/20230911_163914.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU47TrMxdXBSWJtM-vyiTlArIitIhPklTxEDwGGnX8pLqgZDHLtmHj8JtjI3R5SvNtcjpt1GhgpPGhRKWDBviHsZIHYF4PVOlSglfIuBgKqdO4TfbTHhwAqIIi81nsrqL2toA9aUhwTbM05Fh1mW7awgM-2DicpUt7nxXlneVZXOyXKpf36Jy2HISKPtIX/s320/20230911_170311.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VdQ8R_gqyNPTE5DsaCBIobWY_qXr4fX1fIS7BtLR20f08_zUL0-NRJVz1BOpsbkjeegEg8b2FbJ_-2otoVyhQdk8UuICguaS-Ov_kwDPa-uj15n74A15fPcErdsXpS06oMIyyBU1Xl_z87SQK1wbhQajpC8H_bGWefPxTBBLgRpgEmHp3QPRuyO293Sx/s4624/20230911_135710.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VdQ8R_gqyNPTE5DsaCBIobWY_qXr4fX1fIS7BtLR20f08_zUL0-NRJVz1BOpsbkjeegEg8b2FbJ_-2otoVyhQdk8UuICguaS-Ov_kwDPa-uj15n74A15fPcErdsXpS06oMIyyBU1Xl_z87SQK1wbhQajpC8H_bGWefPxTBBLgRpgEmHp3QPRuyO293Sx/s320/20230911_135710.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18ulcC-25zGANu0lWYlj8HjyB7PfPrUISAp3G1I78SML7YjX7MZtT0OOtBBoFT8S8dumgzRnsR7Zm4pkNk8WFSoiPU3f7nCDumQZcyTN8j42RVcgKoYWlDjlO_RiwqrPvYz84yuzfh6cVBwia6Bmvp5mJ859N8BfCmqYUHbea99wbVgshlX1m-fkS5ByW/s4000/20230911_135726.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18ulcC-25zGANu0lWYlj8HjyB7PfPrUISAp3G1I78SML7YjX7MZtT0OOtBBoFT8S8dumgzRnsR7Zm4pkNk8WFSoiPU3f7nCDumQZcyTN8j42RVcgKoYWlDjlO_RiwqrPvYz84yuzfh6cVBwia6Bmvp5mJ859N8BfCmqYUHbea99wbVgshlX1m-fkS5ByW/s320/20230911_135726.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today's accommodation: Airbnb attic flat above the home of Beatrice and her family. It cost the same as a room at one of the bed & breakfast places in the village, and I get a whole flat to myself! With a hydromassage tub 😁</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYW8R7ItoIWmpTTDvr9mKRFDVZ8Sh7Ksrubh0EnMNCdcGc2QX_vdAF_wtNCU_RGm305MmXoRWMCp3xypIwdQwPxWo1q_LwO2x4XR1xkIZbYo_Y-nFcMp582yCIkOLzb6rqLsUtHOQl29ew5ySmqR85VlHfxXmteIH8_fAAHMKRpDGMOgJKVXaNiHr5pbN/s1048/20230911_203809.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="1048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYW8R7ItoIWmpTTDvr9mKRFDVZ8Sh7Ksrubh0EnMNCdcGc2QX_vdAF_wtNCU_RGm305MmXoRWMCp3xypIwdQwPxWo1q_LwO2x4XR1xkIZbYo_Y-nFcMp582yCIkOLzb6rqLsUtHOQl29ew5ySmqR85VlHfxXmteIH8_fAAHMKRpDGMOgJKVXaNiHr5pbN/s320/20230911_203809.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;">San Germano - Ivrea - Bollengo 22 km</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13158646648199949595noreply@blogger.com0