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THE CAMINO FRANCIGENA. DAY VII. RADICOFANI TO ACQUAPENDENTE . Day 7,Sunday 15th June, 25.6 KM

“Today, after many days, we are leaving Tuscany to enter Lazio, through the Etruscan territory of Tuscia. And the countryside of the hills goes to give way to a land located in the Paglio valley. And the people will tend to another style. The care of the medium, and the cleanliness, will not be so great. In any case, Acquapendente is a historic location that will make a good impression.” GRONZE

The walk profile is relatively flat after the descent from Radicofani .
The slope from Radicofani along the old Via Cassia is one of the most beautiful and exciting tracks along the Via Francigena: surrounded by boundless hills and Mount Amiata, at your back the Rocca.

The 10 km road stretch traverses the ancient Via Cassia and is like the above picture for much of the way. It is a shallow decline and which is a wide and easy track to follow with just the occasional vehicle passing. And,being a Sunday should be even quieter.

The 10 km descent and ancient Via Cassia ends at Ponte a Rigo. Here a dilemma of sorts presents itself. A choice,in fact. If we turn left on to the official route to cross the Rigo, six of the next 10 KM is alongside the Via Cassia and is a busy through route- quieter on Sunday – A longer,harder and more scenic option is to walk the alternative route through Proceno, adding 8 KM .

Initially the way is calm, making its way through the Settlement of Torricella (3.5 KM). A little further on after crossing the Torrente Elvella a right fork brings you to Centeno.

Just before Centeno village you leave Tuscany and entered the Lazio region of Italy.

In 1633, Centeno received its most famous visitor, when Galileo was quarantined for nearly three weeks due to a plague in Tuscany, while on his way to the Inquisition in Rome. It is now La Dogana Ristorante, which is highly recommended. ( All the guide books and blogs I have read so far recommend taking a bus or taxi from here to Acquapendente)

It is a nine minute bus ride departing Centeno at 12.15, 14.00, 15.58 – fare €1.1. However, there may be fewer services on a Sunday .A taxi will cost €30.00. The Sloways app. has details of the alternative route which takes you off the road but is considerably longer.

What follows is an extract from a Pelegrina’s recent blog about which route to take. From “ Eva on the Francigena “:

“ I hung a left onto the path paralleling the Via Cassia, which after about an hour of cross-crossing the highway through fields and stands of trees, brought me into Centeno at 11:30. Now it was decision time. I could wait 20 minutes for the alleged bus — though I have less faith on Cotral (the Lazio bus network) than the Tuscan buses which seem to be reasonably reliable. If not, I could wait 30 minutes for the decent-looking trattoria in town to open. Or, I could try my luck further down the line and start walking the road. I had been observing the highway over the last hour and there really wasn’t that much traffic (certainly, I’ve seen worse in the last 80 days), so I decided to head onwards with courage and agility.

Really, this section was not that bad at all. There was almost always enough space to step aside onto a strip of grass when cars passed (every few minutes), and I got lucky that nobody passed me when I walked around curves, hemmed in by metal barriers. After maybe 30 minutes of this the route planners graciously directed me off the road to a small path immediately parallel to the highway, which the guidebook didn’t seem to know about.

Even better, about 5kms before Acquapendente, I passed a small bar / restaurant catering to pilgrims. So I would get to have lunch, after all.”

Hopefully, after which ever method/ route is chosen we reach Acquapendente.

OVERVIEW
“Acquapendente is not just any stop on the ancient **Via Francigena**. Located in the province of Viterbo between **Lazio** and Tuscany, in fact, it is one of the centers of great tourist interest of **Tuscia**. Its strategic position allows you to admire both the local treasures and to reach in a short time Orvieto, Lake Bolsena, Siena and much more.
Born around the **Parish Church of Santa Vittoria** between the 9th and 10th centuries in correspondence with the Via Francigena, the small village developed quickly and was **a place of important passage and crossroads of people and commerce**.
Historical tradition reports a very important event for Acquapendente, probably occurred in the period of the struggles between the papacy and the empire; it is the **“Miracle of the Madonna del Fiore”** of 1166, after which the Aquesians would have rebelled against the imperial domination of Barbarossa. From this miracle originates the wonderful tradition of the “knives”, the floral paintings that are made for the feast of Our Lady of the Flower, on **the third Sunday of May**.
Definitely worth a visit are **the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre**, inside which there is a stone stained with blood from the Sepulchre of Christ, the **City Museum**, **the Flower Museum and the Castle of Torre Alfina**. Among the most traditional, widespread and renowned economic activities are those of craftsmanship, such as the art of **ceramics and terracotta**.” ITALIA.IT.

THE MONKEY BAR – highly recommended for a Limoncello.

Accommodation for this evening is in centrally situated Albergo Toscana. Piazza Nazario Sauro, 5 – IT 01021 Acquapendente

The restaurant is highly recommended
“Tradition is not about preserving the ashes,
but about passing on the living flame.”
**Thomas More**.
The accommodation,from what I can gather, whilst being acceptable , will be a little more basic than what we have come to expect so far. There is a laundry service. Check in from 2 pm. It is a short walk to the main Piazza Girolamo Fabrizio to pick up the Francigena.

**Girolamo Fabrizio** , who lived from 1533 to 1619, was one of the greatest Italian anatomists and surgeons. In an era in which science and medicine were certainly not what they are today.

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DAY VI ON THE FRANCIGENA. SAT. 14/06 CASTIGLIONE TO RADICOFANI, 20 KM

11 Mar

“It is worth preparing yourself for one of the hardest days of the Francigena. It is obviously so because of its length, but also because of its rugged profile and and long,final climb, from 300 to 814 m. The beauty of the landscape, still in the Val d’Orcia, classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, compensates for this.For almost the entire stage, which can cause anxiety, you will see Radicofani, an austere but at the same time charming village, located on the slopes of an ancient volcano.” GRONZE GUIDE

To walk the Via Francigena from Castiglione d’Orcia to Radicofani, follow the marked trail, which involves a descent towards the valley and a crossing of fords. A1 .

We shall need to plan for food and water carefully for this stage, since fountains and food stops are limited, with the only refreshment directly on the route is an agriturismo near Gallina. Otherwise a saunter into Gallina itself,1.1 KM to Ostella La Vecchia Posta.

The way will vary along the d’Orcia valley.

Vineyards and road walking, plus three torrentes to cross.

At this time of year the crossings should be straightforward.

2.6 KM from the Gallina turning brings you to Agriturismo Passalacqua, lunch available to pilgrims – it’s an organic farm directly on the path.

The road continues down towards the SR2 Via Cassia at the bottom of the hill where we turn right to walk up amongst vast field of hay or alfafa in season , heading towards high-tension power lines. The historic Church of San Pellegrino at Briccole is next. It was once a flourishing abbey.

This tiny,unrestored chapel is all that remains today.

The road turns to grass alongside a large pasture,continuing along the grassy road until reaching the Old Via Cassia at, where we turn right ,passing Agriturismo Sant’Alberto, where there is a pilgrim rest area. Going left at a fork we begin a long and sustained climb,ending at new SR2 Via Cassia. Crossing the road carefully we follow a gravel path, between the river Formone and the highway.

The path crosses under the SP478, then a long and sustained climb,past a sheep farm onwards up a narrow pathway to the left of the road that shields us from cars on the highway , with occasional glimpses of the tall tower of Rocca Radicofani above.

Looking at this night’s accommodation,at some point before Radicofani ,we veer left, off the SP478 to Agriturismo La Selvella. Sloways will doubtless inform us of our route.