Until the last few busy km into Montefiascone the stage is full of serenity and calm. Gravel roads and paths among fields and forests with occasional views of the lake. A couple of limbs of 50-150m.
Rome is 70 miles away. Leaving the Piazza S. Cristina, we pass through the Porta Romana and take the Via IV Novembre. Walk about 200 yards and turn left at the crossroads along the Via Acqua della Croce. It is wiser to buy bottled water than to fill our water bottle at the small fountain or at least it is advisable to inquire about the quality of drinking water in each of the towns through which you pass. Another 100 yards and we turn right into the Via Bartolomeo Bocchini and fork left into the Via Caio Rufo Musonio, named after a philosopher from Bolsena. There is a slightly shorter distance to cover for walkers than cyclists because of the one-way system. There is a uphill stretch at the end of the street. You follow the signpost for the Agriturismo Le Vigne for a short distance. A further hundred yards and the tarmac road gives way to an unpaved track on your right.
We shall be walking in the territory of Tuscia, named so because of the Etruscans, who lived in this area (even though Tuscia used to be much wider than this) before the Romans.
“Follow the power line and the blackberry bushes for two hundred yards and turn right again close to an electricity box where you can see the red and white “F” and a multitude of other signs.
There is a trough of running water at this point where someone has painted a red “X” as an additional warning not to drink the water. You have to leap or ride across a stream on your right.
Walk uphill for four hundred yards and go down the cement road on your right; a beautiful view of the Lake.
Straight afterwards, at the fork in the road, take the road on your left. A tarmac road leads you to the house with the animals.
Three hundred yards ahead, opposite a private property, continue along a narrow path running alongside it on your left, (take care not to fall into the ditch on your left, half-hidden by the vegetation). Poultry and black pigs.
The house at the end of the narrow path is more elegant.
Walk down as far as the fountain. Four hundred yards and you arrive at a junction where four roads intersect, take the asphalt road in front of you, bearing left.
If you continue straight ahead and downhill, a cross on a post quickly tells you that, on leaving the gravel track, you should have turned left along the tarmac road.
There are enough signs inviting you to bear left.
Follow the power lines for a lot of the way.
Continue walking past a large number of houses, not taking any minor road or track on either side, until you reach a wide green barrier.
There are plenty of signs along the way.
The path after the wide green barrier winds fairly smoothly until you reach a fairly steep uphill stretch.
Leaving the asphalt behind you, you go up to a beautiful low plateau. There are caves (or tombs?) used as garages for farm vehicles.
The walk between Bolseno and the Parco di Turano is indeed very beautiful, only interrupted by small groups of houses. You are on the Monti Volsinii. Excavations are taking place on the nearby Monte Landro where an Etruscan temple has been discovered.
Another cave where building work has been done at different periods to support the entrance arch.
Other caves.
In the past, water trickling through the mountain used to be collected in stone basins or open pools and used for irrigation purposes. A project was funded some years ago in Bolsena and Montefiascone to restore some of them.
Your uphill walk comes to an end and a sign invites you to turn right across the grassland.
That’s right, turn right.
Walk in the hot sun.
It is a beautiful walk between Bolsena and Montefiascone, but it is worth checking the temperature before setting out and being prepared.
The route is well signposted.
At various stages, you catch glimpses of the town of Montefiascone or Bisentina Island.
You cross a dry ford depending on the time of the year.
There is only one isolated house along this stretch of the Via Francigena.
You will soon arrive at another low green barrier.
Cyclists should take care. There is a very inviting downhill ride.
Another mile or so of an enjoyable downhill walk with a splendid view of the Lake, your feet touch the asphalt again and you turn left uphill.
The route is signposted often …
… and in many different ways.
You follow the Via Francigena signpost.
The path leads you between olive groves and vines and rows of vines between olive groves.
The next Via Francigena signpost and the directions for the Bosco di Turona.
The Bosco di Turona is an area of picnics and springs. There is a picnic area with tables before you reach the glade with the chapel and there are tables near the chapel. Turn right at the fork in the road indicated by a Via Francigena signpost.
Signs also indicate the spring, Sorgente di Turona, (1908). Local hunters drink at the spring and so do we.
Just before you reach a small chapel dedicated to the Virgin (and seemingly vandalised), you leave the main track and turn left up an unpaved road.
In September, after the first storms, the torrential rain has cut deep channels in this section of the track and in the approaching downhill path.
Walk another four hundred yards and then take care.
A track goes downhill on your right and is only indicated by arrows and other signs left by pilgrims and walkers.
The channel cut by stormwater makes the descent difficult.
The path goes down to the Fosso d’Arlena (stream).
You ford across the brook and it is sometimes difficult not to get your feet wet. Not everybody is as nimble as we are and it is even more difficult with a bicycle. It is sometimes best to take your shoes and socks off. You enter the wood and turn right uphill. The path is well indicated by white and yellow arrows. For a part of the journey, you can still hear the murmur of the Arlena stream down below.
The path winds steeply up and bears left.
You finally come out into the open countryside with beautiful views of the nearby lake.
The path widens and the slopes are more gentle with the path running alongside vineyards. Milestones reassure you that you are on the right track.
You will notice the first stones of the ancient Cassia.
The route is indicated by familiar Via Francigena signs, increasingly familiar milestones and a myriad of arrows, symbols and stickers.
At a junction where four roads intersect, you can choose to take the unpaved road on your right and ignore the signs for a stretch of asphalt road. The track seems to end near a country house. You may be crossing private property. Continue leftwards alongside a field on your right down an unpaved road. You arrive back on the asphalt and turn right towards the Cassia; you reach the Cassia after 50 yards and turn left towards Montefiascone. If you do decide to follow the “official” route, take the tarmac road on your right and turn left when you reach the Cassia. Another 900 yards or so and you leave the Cassia and turn left.
Keep straight on ignoring the tracks on either side.
This stretch is uphill but not steep and bordered on your left by vineyards and olive groves.
The track starts as a dirt track and then a road which no longer seems to be maintained and another mile or so and you are back on a macadamised road.
You arrive at a busier asphalt road at the entrance to Montefiascone and you turn right. Turn left when you reach the Cassia again. Follow the Via Cardinale Salotti. If you wish to visit the Santuario della Madonna delle Grazie, you can make a detour along the Via S. Maria delle Grazie which joins the main Orvieto-Viterbo road (S.P. UMBRO CASENTINESE). Turn left when you reach the main road and walk a short distance until you reach the Sanctuary. After your visit, follow the main road back into town. Otherwise continue along the Via Cardinale Salotti until you reach the main Orvieto-Viterbo road (S.P. UMBRO CASENTINESE). A little farther along, on your right, you pass in front of the magnificent Church of St Flavian ( S. Flaviano), always open and well worth a visit.
The next stretch of the Via Francigena starts on the Via Cassia again. To enter the town, take a narrow road on your right after the Basilica di San Flaviano. After the Piazzale Roma, take the Corso Cavour as far as the Piazza V. Emanuele. You can visit the Chiesa di Sant’Andrea, the Cattedrale di Santa Margherita and La Rocca dei Papi (Papal Fortress).” The above somewhat lengthy descriptions I found on a Blog called MY FAVOURITE NECROPOLIS
A useful link for this beautiful town – https://www.visitlazio.com/montefiascone/
Accommodation for this evening is at HOTEL URBANO V, Corso Cavour,Montefiascone.
A link to the hotel,below
“Stayed one night on the Via Francigena. Room was clean, quiet and staff helpful. Breakfast good and location can’t be beat at the top of the town within easy walking distance of all the sights. Half board arranged at restaurants Dante alegheria. Food was fine and a great people watching experience”. A RECENT REVIEW
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