Siena provincial trail no. 2, Day 1: Siena - Taverne d'Arbia (18 km)

On the road again!
Sentiero n. 2 della Provincia di Siena. Not a pilgrimage route, but a winding path from Siena towards Monte Amiata, touching on some of the places I visited last year on the Via Francigena, but following a different route.
There are, I think, 7 major trails winding up, down and around the province of Siena, but when I read that number 2 was "the backbone of the trail system in the province", I decided to start with that one. And it seems like the natural place to start, as the trail leaves Siena via Porta Ovile - the city gate closest to my daughter's flat, where I will be based while walking the first part of the trail.

The only trail marker in
the first part of the route -
mangled, faded, and tucked
into a hollow tree!

A word of warning about this trail: it is not well marked, AT ALL, and so you must follow the directions carefully. There appears to be no printed guidebook, but I was able to download the directions in Italian from http://www.sembola.it/itprov02.htm, a mountain bikers' website. Following their instructions, I had no trouble at all, except in the last bit of today's stage, where I must have missed a turn-off, as I ended up under the viaduct of a busy highway instead of in the centre of Taverne d'Arbia!

The route exits the city walls of Siena through Porta Ovile, after which it takes only about 15 minutes of walking on city streets to get over to the other side of the railway tracks and find the footpath up to the Basilica dell'Osservanza.
Inside the church are a couple of Madonnas by Sano di Pietro which I would of like to see, because of the painter's connection with Fattoria Resta, but unfortunately there was a barrier all around the central nave with an alarm system installed which did not allow me to get close to the paintings. They were in semi-darkness in the side chapels, and I didn't have a coin to turn the lights on! So I will have to go back!

Approaching the Basilica dell'Osservanza

From the Basilica there is a lovely view back over the city of Siena

Looking back past the Basilica towards Siena

Officially exiting the city of Siena, the path follows a gravel road lined with poppies and... other wild flowers.



At the village of Cipriano, the route leaves the road and becomes a footpath and horse-riding track through the woods, rather muddy at this time of year! Back on the road, it climbs to the tiny fortified village of Monteliscai.

Monteliscai

Between Monteliscai and San Giorgio a Lapi, someone appears to have lost a dragon, according to this notice posted on a telephone pole! "Frightening, but not aggressive." Well, that's good to know! "Please give us a call if you see it." - Will do!

I am beginning to feel somewhat worse for wear in the last stretch coming down towards Taverne d'Arbia, along a cypress-lined avenue with views of Siena. The city is not really very far away - only a quarter of an hour on the bus - but I have come by the scenic route, round in a big half-circle.

Finally in Taverne d'Arbia!

Back in Siena, the bus drops me off at Porta Ovile, which means a steep climb up Via del Comune!
Only to go just as steeply down on the other side...
But that's the way it is, in a city built on the "crete senesi", the clay hills of Siena!

The coup de grace for my calf muscles!

A healthy hiker's dinner

But after dinner and a shower, I manage to summon up the energy to go out for "La notte dei musei", and at amazing evening at Santa Maria della Scala, the former hospital/pilgrim hostel/orphanage/social services institution across from the cathedral in Siena. In the former pilgrim hostel, conservation experts are at work on restoration of a number of Ambrogio Lorenzetti frescoes which have been detached from the church in San Galgano. And students from the local art school are presenting items from the Briganti collection, an amazing library donated by a private collector who passed away in 1998. I spend the evening looking over the students' shoulders at early guidebooks to the city, 19th century photographs, and, best of all, original volumes of Piranesi engravings, some of which are printed on oversized sheets of paper that fold out of the books to cover the entire table....
By the time I leave the museum it is late at night and my eyes are popping with amazement!
Who would have thought that a Saturday night in the library could be so exciting?

Day 31: La Storta - Roma

17 km

 

How exciting to set off on the final stage of the journey! And, contrary to all forecasts, the sun is shining. There's only a few clouds and an occasional sprinkle of rain as I set off along the side of the busy Via Cassia highway towards Rome with my new German friends, with whom I have shared a hostel room several nights on this second part of my journey. A short way down the road we are joined by a Swiss couple, and I end up walking all of the last stage with them. The Germans stop at Monte Mario, while the rest of us enter the park and climb the hill to see the view of the Eternal City.

  

Climbing Monte Mario

 

The view from the top

 Another short stretch through the city of Rome, and we are there!

 

Arriving at St. Peter's

 

At St. Peter's

The first thing we do when we arrive at St. Peter's Square is go to the Pilgrimage Office of the Vatican to get our pilgrimages officially certified.

 

 

Then we sit down and have a drink together at a café right by the Chilean Embassy to the Holy See, where we feel perfectly safe in the presence of the machine gun-toting guards... The Swiss couple have a son in the Swiss Guard and they are waiting until he gets off duty. After a drink and a snack I leave them to go and see the Basilica. But the line-up to get in is an hour and a half long, and you can't put your baggage in the locker room until you get to the front... I go back to the pilgrimage office and ask if there is any way to get out of standing in the line-up, such as taking a guided tour, but all the guided tours for the day are fully booked. Then I ask about going to see the necropolis under the Vatican, having just read something about it, and am directed to a side entrance to ask about it at the "Ufficio Scavi". After going through security and getting past the Swiss Guards, I am told that there are no more tours of the necropolis available today, but the gendarme on duty kindly offers to take me to see the tomb of St. Peter. He points out that most people visit the church above it but don't actually go to the tomb itself, which is after all the most important thing in all of St. Peter's, and what it's all about! He thoughtfully stands outside the chapel and offers to wait while I say a prayer. It is the perfect ending to my pilgrimage, for this is what pilgrims have come to Rome for, all through the centuries.

 

Upon leaving the tomb I discover that from there I can go directly into the church, without lining up! So I spend some time in there, and even visit the Museum of the Treasures of St. Peter's, which is quite fascinating but very small, and once again visited by very few people, unlike the Vatican Museum.

 

I have been to St. Peter's before, but it is a much more meaningful experience when you have walked 600 km to get there!

 

 

I now need to get across the city of Rome to the home of my friend Patrizia, who will host me for the night. Rather than figure out the buses and metro system, and in key with the theme of this trip, I decide to walk there. Google Maps gives me a route that goes right past some of the best-known monuments of Rome, seen in the fading light of evening.

 

 

 

I have calculated a total of 591 km from Chiavari to St. Peter's, according to my GPS tracks, and with the remaining 9 km across the city to Patrizia's apartment, that makes a nice round number:

 

600 km!

 

Day 30: Formello - La Storta

14 km

Luckily I didn't have too far to walk today - in the rain along muddy roads, trying to avoid puddles!

I'm sure the countryside would have been beautiful on a sunny day, but as it is, I'm glad it only took me three hours to get to the nunnery in La Storta, where I could have a hot shower and change into dry things. Just across the street is a nice café where they make pizza, good desserts and a nice hot cup of tea!

I feel a kinship with the lowly snail, who also carries everything he needs on his back

Threatening skies

A lonely walk over the fields, where I meet only sheep and pigs

Fording the stream

You know you will get a warm welcome when you see this sign!

Day 29: Sutri - Formello

38 km

Sutri: the piazza in early morning

Sutri seen from below, from the Etruscan site

The Mithraem, once a temple of Mithra, now the church of the Madonna del Parto

Etruscan necropolis

Amphitheatre dug into tufa stone

Through peaceful farmland to Monterosi

And then again along country roads... and Roman roads!

The Via Amerina, built in the third century BC and still in perfect condition. The Via Francigena crosses over it, and here I stop to eat my lunch.

Monte Gelato waterfall

I'm getting tired but I press on to Campagnano and then Formello, where I've heard there is a wonderful new hostel. And the rumours turn out to be true! The brand new youth hostel in the central square has wifi, individual reading lights on all the beds... and even a washer-dryer!!! A real luxury after ten days on the road, alternating between two outfits and hand-washing every evening!

Arriving in Campagnano from below

Leaving Campagnano 

The last few km coming into Formello are lovely - through woodlands and meadows where horses and cows roam freely - but my legs are really beginning to complain! I want to get some extra km behind me as it is supposed to rain for the next two days - not nice weather for walking.

Formello by night

Formello in the morning

Both views from the windows of the hostel (Palazzo Chigi)