Via Francigena nel Sud Day 17: Telese Terme - Benevento

Road to from Rome Day 17: Telese Terme - Benevento

36 km

After leaving behind the town of Telese Terme, we passed Lago Telese, a small volcanic lake, and continued along the road to the town of Solopaca, applying Via Francigena stickers along the way. 

We took a short break in Solopaca and refilled our water bottles at the fountain before beginning the long climb up to 800 metres! We walked along the road, because some trees that had blown over in a recent storm blocked the path through the woods. In any case very few cars passed by, and we enjoyed some fantastic views of the vineyards of the Telese valley below.

Solopaca 

Solopaca 

It was a long, steep climb on a road that is legendary among local cyclists for its steep gradient. At the top, a break and a snack of blackberries and fresh walnuts straight from the tree, then we continued on, downhill, to the village of Vitulano. 

The municipality of Vitulano, with a population of only 3000, is a member of the European Association of the Vie Francigene and offered us a warm welcome and a buffet lunch!

Vitulano is famous for its unique variety of marble, and hosts an annual sculpture festival, some of the sculptures from which were on display in the hall where we were received by the mayor and offered lunch.

Mariano Goglia, Radici

Luca Maestroni, Tutto ciò che può essere. A sculpture with a practical use! 

In and around a nearby chapel were more sculptures, presented to us by sculptor and exhibition curator Mariano Goglia.

After visiting the sculpture garden, our official representatives had to skip ahead to Benevento for a meeting with the mayor of the city and the councillor for tourism and culture of the region of Campania. I joined a group of walkers from a local association, La Via Francigena dei Sanniti, to walk the rest of the way to Benevento. We walked mostly on the pavement, except for a shortcut through a vineyard and an olive grove, and then along a cycling path for the final kilometres into Benevento.

Upon arriving at Centro la Pace, where we are hosted, I had 15 minutes to shower and wash my clothing before we were taken to the nearby hamlet of Montorsi Sant'Angelo a Cupola for a meeting and exceptional dinner with the members of the local environmental association Terra Mia!

Via Francigena nel Sud Day 16: Faicchio - Telese Terme

Road to from Rome Day 16: Faicchio - Telese Terme

17 km + half-day of rest

Total since Rome: 302 km

Having separated from the main group, Alfredo and I were finally able to take advantage of our tendency to wake up early in the morning: we set off as soon as it was light and were well on our way before the sun rose. We stopped at a bar in Faicchio for cappuccino and croissants as we had left our accommodations too early for the breakfast service. At the table next to us, a group of older men sat chatting in the local dialect; we got talking to them and I explained that we were walking the Via Francigena, which starts in Canterbury. I pronounced it CanTERbury as the Italians do, and as I have learned to do here to make myself understood; one of the men at the next table corrected me, saying in perfect BBC English: "You mean CANterbury?" It turns out his family moved to the UK when he was a child, just after the war, and he has lived in London ever since, but comes back every year to help his friends with the olive harvest!

What were the odds of meeting a Londoner at a small café in Faicchio, a small village in the Italian province of Benevento, at seven o'clock in the morning?? 

Further along the way we spoke to an olive grower driving a tractor with a trailer full of rocks, on his way to repair a wall. He said the olives are small this year and won't yield much oil, due to the drought. They looked big enough to me, compared to the tiny olives we have in Liguria, but I guess they are normally even bigger here!

The olive farmer told us a "shortcut" down to the Abbey of San Salvatore Telesino, which in any case coincided with the route of the Via Francigena. Today again we did not see a single signpost or waymarker, so I had to pay close attention to the GPS track. Our guide for the past week, Annalisa Galloni of Anime Erranti, had sent me the most up-to-date GPS tracks for this route. As the Via Francigena nel Sud is still under definition, it's important to make sure you have information on the latest route!

In any case, the Abbey was closed: it had been opened on appointment especially for our friends of the group that passed by yesterday, but does not have regular opening hours for passing visitors or pilgrims.

So today's stage was memorable mainly for its natural beauty, walking through olive groves and vineyards, munching on grapes from vines that had clearly been abandoned, overgrown with wild plants and therefore definitely not treated with any chemicals! The last stretch was through the forest, right up to the entrance to the town of Telese Terme. We were standing trying to decide what to do next in front of the spa that gives the town its name - which unfortunately closed for the season only a couple of days before we arrived - when we spotted the President of the European Association of the Vie Francigene coming towards us. Another amazing coincidence! He suggested we join the rest of the group at the Grand Hotel, and we did, for, despite its impressive name and appearance, the Grand Hotel Telese is actually very economical!

Pilgrim laundry in the Grand Hotel 

Via Francigena nel Sud Day 15: Alife - Faicchio

Road to from Rome Day 15: Alife - Faicchio (19 km)

We have now left behind the province of Caserta and entered the province of Benevento!

Today the majority of the Road to Rome group and the local walkers who joined the group for a Sunday walk covered two stages in a single day, partly by bus and partly walking, but as they have scheduled a rest day tomorrow, the purists among us who want to walk all the way to Santa Maria di Leuca set off on foot or by bicycle directly from Alife. Alfredo and I walked as far as Faicchio today, 19 km, and will walk the remaining 13 km early tomorrow morning. We're always the first ones up and have to wait until everyone else is ready at 8, but tomorrow we will finally be able to leave at dawn and walk in the cool morning air! 

After visiting the Roman mausoleum we had unknowingly slept on top of, our group got a ride back to the centre of Alife, where we had stopped walking yesterday, and set off along the side of the provincial highway. We soon turned off the highway and walked on minor roads with little traffic, among fields of corn, olive groves and vineyards. All the roads here seem to be paved, however small; perhaps to save on the maintenance required by gravel roads, which is fine for cars but hard on the feet for walkers, especially in hot weather! Another problem we have faced in this part of the Via Francigena in Campania is the lack of markings on the ground: it really is necessary to walk with a GPS track and pay close attention to it. But the Via Francigena south of Rome is still under development, and hopefully once the route has been finalised and made safe, trail marking and signposting will follow! In the meantime, we can enjoy the feeling of being pioneers on a new cammino.

And enjoy the friendliness and hospitality of the local people! These are places that don't see much tourism, so the locals are curious to talk to us, to ask where we come from and where we are going, and whether we need anything. We got talking to a couple in a house by a fountain where we stopped. By another fountain where we rested for a while, two Polish cyclists pulled up, greeting us enthusiastically, as they had not met anyone else on the route since leaving Rome five days ago! It turns out that one of them lives near the town where we will spend our last night on the road before reaching Santa Maria di Leuca, and she invited the four of us to stay with her when we get there... A great example of how "the cammino provides"! 

Ready to go! 

Me taking the picture above (photo by Massimo of Walking for Charity) 

My laundry airing on my balcony at Affittacamere il Colle just outside Faicchio 

 

Via Francigena nel Sud Day 14: Roccaromana - Alife

Road to from Rome Day 14: Roccaromana - Alife

Our day began with a steep climb from Roccaromana to the Norman tower high above the village. The existence of the tower is documented since the year 1101,though it may have been built as early as the sixth century by the Longobards, in a more rudimentary form. 

Next to the tower is the church of Santa Maria del Castello, which was closed, but members of today's large group of walkers took turns ringing the church bell to celebrate our conquest of this peak. It's the weekend again, and we have been joined by members of Annalisa's walking group from Naples, Animerranti, and of the Italian Alpine Club, Mt. Vesuvius branch (!) 

Hiking guide Annalisa Galloni of Animerranti

Walkers of Animerranti

Yours truly

From the tower we descended again, to Statigliano, where the Bar dell'Angolo offered us the best possible refreshment for walkers: fresh unsweetened lemonade! 

Back on the road, literally: unfortunately the path through the woods at this point has been blocked by a landowner who has erected a fence, so we had to walk on the shoulder of the road. We passed through the towns of Baia e Latina and Dragoni, where we stopped in front of a church to eat our picnic lunch. 

The critical part of today's walk was a stretch of walking along a busy highway. At this point the old railway tracks and the road cross the river Volturno, and at the moment the only way for pedestrians to cross the river is on the road bridge, along with the traffic. However funds have been set aside to build a pedestrian bridge and make this part of the Via Francigena safe! Fortunately we were a large group today so it was easy for the traffic to see us. 

We eventually arrived in Alife, where we were met by the authorities before retiring to our accommodations for a break. Five of us are staying in the sacristy of the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie just outside the town, which is set up with bunks and cots to accommodate passing pilgrims on a donation basis. There's even a washing machine! 

My cot in the sacristy

Bunk beds among spare church furniture 

After showering and starting up the washing machine, we went into the historic walled town of Alife for a guided walking tour. The present city was built in medieval times on top of the ruins of a Roman, originally Samnite, city. The cathedral stands above a Norman crypt built using fragments of Roman columns, in a magnificent layering of history. 

Even the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie, where we are staying, was built over the ruins of a Roman mausoleum; when the church opened in the morning the priest took us to see it, and we discovered it was right below thevrooms where we had spent the night!

The F in the name of the town Alife suggests to linguists that it is a place name of Samnite origin. The Samnites, probably an offshoot of the Sabines, formed a confederation of four tribes: the Hirpini, Caudini, Caraceni, and Pentri. They allied with Rome against the Gauls in 354 BC, but later became enemies of the Romans and were soon involved in a series of three wars (343–341 BC, 327–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) against the Romans. Despite an overwhelming victory over the Romans at the Battle of the Caudine Forks (321 BC), the Samnites were eventually subjugated and assimilated by the Romans; Pontius Pilate is one particularly well-known Roman of Samnitic origin. 

The extent of Samnite territory prior to assimilation by the Romans

One of the four city gates 

Medieval walls built with ancient Roman stones

Our tour of the city concluded at the mausoleum next to the town hall, where the mayor awaited us. During the discussion with the mayor and members of the European Association of the Via Francigena as well as the local association that takes care of the route in this area, our President asked me to step forward and introduce myself and talk about what I am doing with the Road to Rome group and why... A bad habit he has gotten into recently! 😅