Stage 43: Avenza to Massa — July 13, 2022

12 kms — 31o C and humid/sunny — We saw no new pilgrims today, on their way to Rome. 

(By Laurel)

It was a good day — a short hike with only one big hill to go up and over, at the top of which we enjoyed wide views of the Mediterranean, blue to the horizon.  The biggest challenge was the muggy air causing copious sweat; whether walking or sitting still, I was constantly mopping my brow and splashing with cool water at every communal tap we came upon.

In Massa for the afternoon and evening, we siested at the pleasant Ostello Palazzo Nizza and ate more seafood.  Gotta get it where it’s fresh!  The hostel is situated on Piazza Mercurio, an attractive square lined with cafes and fruit-laden orange trees.

I can hardly believe it, but we are nearing the end of our through-hike!  In just a few days, we’ll be walking into Lucca again, this time from the Northward direction.  We’ve deliberately shortened our last few stages, since Sarzana, because it ensures we arrive at our daily destination earlier in the day and thereby avoid walking in the heat of mid-day.  Also, though, could it be that we are subconsciously wanting to put off finishing, to slightly extend this experience?

On our way out of Avenza on the VF, we passed by large slabs and blocks of Carrara marble ready for market.

Bottom right photo, above:  bits of marble mixed in with other building materials in a wall along an alley.

Top photo:  walking toward vineyards on the steep hillside

Bottom photo:  more vineyards, with an urban coast, and the Mediterranean behind

Top photo:  view from hostel in Massa; a bit of the sea visible

Bottom photos:  hostel lounge and our bedroom

Stage 42: Sarzana to Avenza — July 12, 2022

21 kms — 33o C and cloudy then sunny — We saw no new pilgrims today, on their way to Rome. 

(By Jim)

Today’s trek was a planned 18 km so we decided to avail ourselves of the free breakfast included with our accommodation and get a later start.  It was 7:45 before we got our backpacks on and were pointed in the right direction, but the path out of Sarzana was slow as we stopped to take many pictures. 

Except for two small hills, the trail was mostly flat or slightly downhill so we managed a good clip.  Cloudy skies protected us until 10:30 after which SPF 60 was generously applied.  Wooded hills and pastureland were again our backdrops today but we have not grown tired of their vistas.  There is still much diversity in the sameness of the landscape that we lose ourselves in the beautiful green details.

Walking into Avenza was along a hot urban thoroughfare that quickly sapped our energy and joy.  We stopped for an early lunch at the first open restaurant with a shade umbrella.  As cars whizzed by we enjoyed an unexpectedly delicious meal of seafood ravioli and testeroli with pesto, a Ligurian crepe-like pasta.  Recharged, we pushed on into the heart of Avenza and Ostello Antonio Mazzi, arriving at 1:30.  To our dismay, the hostel did not open until 4:00 so I settled down for riposo in the shade of the Church of San Pietro while Laurel set up shop on the terrace of a pizzeria, that was closed for the day.

Unlike the prized Carrara marble quarried in the mountains nearby, Avenza is a gritty unpolished town.  However, its statues, plaques, flourishes, even the sidewalks and path rubble all proclaim the calcium mineral that has been mined here for over one thousand years.

Leaving Sarnana was not straightforward as there were so many pictures to take.

The path was mostly flat:  meadow, canals, and roads.

Church of San Pietro and Ostello Antonio Mazzi in Avenza.

Avenza processes and ships Carrara marble world-wide.  The town is full of marble statues—even the sidewalks are made of marble!

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Stage 42: Filetto to Aulla (and on to Sarzana by train) — July 11, 2022

19 kms — 31o C and sunny — We saw no new pilgrims today, on their way to Rome. 

(By Laurel)

Our walk today was really nice and, thank goodness, rather easy compared to the past few days.  The trail traversed a hill or two, but ones that we could “take in stride.”  There was steady shade provided by wooded tracts, interspersed now and then with short sunny sections.  The countryside was quiet and peaceful; we heard birds singing rather than traffic rumbling (until near Aulla, that is, where modern urban sprawl took over).

We had left Filetto very early in the morning, at about 5:15 a.m., and had kept up a consistent pace.  As a result, we strode into Aulla at about 10:30.  The hostel wouldn’t open until 4:00 in the afternoon — we didn’t know how we could hang around for FIVE and a half hours … we didn’t see a nice leafy park or a charming old town centre (sadly, it had been destroyed by bombing in the Second World War).  And did I mention that it was hot and sunny?  We considered getting a room at a hotel or BnB but could not find any vacancies, even with the assistance of the friendly young lady at the tourist information office.  After consulting our guide book which said that we’d fall in love with Sarzana, and determining that the rail employees were no longer on strike, we decided to take a noon-hour train further down the VF.  The Via Francigena App listed a guesthouse in Sarzana called “La Foresteria di Palazzo Picedi Benettini,” so we booked a room there for the night.  It was a charming and cool place to stay, as it turns out to be located in a building dating back to the 1300s and has been, in its past, a bishop’s palace and a residence of the wife of Napoleon.  Though showing some wear in places, it still retains much elegance.  

Fish is common on restaurant menus, since Sarzana is very close to the sea; we ate a delicious lunch of seafood dishes, including fish soup and octopus salad.  Yes, our guidebook was spot-on — we are taken with Sarzana!

Top photo:  leaving our little apartment in Filetto early in the morning; we had our own terrace

Second photo:  view of Apennine Mountain peaks from our terrace

Bottom photo:  the church square in Filetto, steps from our apt., still asleep in the morning as we walked through

Two photos above:  on our trail this morning

A cool green section that we hiked through 

Another view of Apennine peaks, along our way today

Top left photo:  outside doors to the guesthouse — they are huge doors!

Bottom left photo:  in part of the entrance hallway

Right photo:  on our way up the stairs to the guesthouse — marble statues adorning the landings

Top photo:  our bedroom

Bottom left photo:  a terrace for guests to relax on

Bottom right photo:  a seafood feast in Sarzana

Stage 41: Pontremoli to Filetto — July 10, 2022

19 kms — 30o C and sunny — We saw no new pilgrims today, on their way to Rome. 

(By Jim)

Yesterday’s walk had taken its toll so when we awoke at Ostello Santa Lorenzo, we decided to hit the snooze button, spend the morning touring Pontremoli, and use the train to help us get closer to our destination.

Pontremoli was a wonder to explore — bridges, churches, piazzas, and a castle overlooking it all.  We started out by tracking down Caffe Degli Svizzeli to try a local pastry called “Amor” (marscapone and nuts between two crisp wafers).  The Duomo was next, where a local woman explained to us that the cloak adorning the statue of Mary was a 400 year old garment.  Later we meandered the narrow shaded streets until we were under the castle where an elevator saved us the thousand-odd steps of walking to the top.  From the castle we got a bird’s-eye view of Pontremoli.

Back in the city center, we found a small family-run Osteria to have lunch.  They let us in early and offered us a special meal that they have been serving visitors since 1948:  fish, spinach pie, and fried pumpkin flowers, washed down with a glass of local wine.  The husband and wife were both interested in our assessments of the meal and we didn’t disappoint them.

While drinking an espresso, I purchased two train tickets to Villafranca, the closest train station to our prepaid accommodation in Filetto.  On our way to the train station, Laurel commented that although Ostello Santa Lorenzo was beside the railway tracks she had never heard a train all night.  When we arrived at the train station all was explained as we learned that the Tren-Italia employees were on a one-day strike.  A bartender in the railway bar called us a taxi and 15 minutes later the driver dropped us off in Villafranca. Soon we were walking in the blazing sun towards the VF.  Our destination was Filetto, a small, walled medieval village.  When we entered through the stone gate the town was all set up for an antique flea market with stalls lining the Main Street and filling the church square.

Our accommodation was a small apartment overlooking the town sports field where a father-son soccer tournament kept us entertained until the church bells struck 7:00 p.m.

The bridges of Pontremoli.

Three things Pontremoli is famous for: Birthplace of Pinocchio author, Carlo Collodi, Bianca Orio (a drink with a secret recipe) and Amora (a pastry to fall in love with).  Note: it turns out that Carlo Collodi was not born here.  It turns out that the locals are just pretty good liars!

Pontremoli Duomo has a 400 year old cloak.

Pontremoli Castle and view.

Stage 40: Passo della Cisa to Pontremoli — July 9, 2022

25 kms — 30o C and sunny — We saw 1 new pilgrim today, on their way to Rome.  We also saw 18 school children with 3 chaperones, on their way to Pontremoli.

(By Laurel)

It was another day of ups and downs.  It was a day of surprise.  …a day of bridges.  …a day of drama with a happy ending.  

🔹Ups and downs:  This section is the last going over mountains, though there will still be some big hills in up-coming stages.  At Passo della Cisa (Cisa Pass at 1,041 m), we were awed by a gorgeous sunrise as we climbed the stairs up, up, up to the church and continued on our trail into the green shady woods.  Here, we re-entered Tuscany, which we had exited on June 14th!  That felt like a milestone!  From the meadow at the top of Il Cucchero Mountain (994 m), the vistas on this clear day were expansive and beautiful in all directions.  Many medieval villages, each with a tall church bell-tower standing proudly above red tiled roofs of houses, could be seen tucked among trees on the mountainsides and in the valleys.  Our stage today had two big ascents and two big descents, mostly on mountain paths which were, to our chagrin, rocky.  Some trail sections were strewn with loose, sharp rocks which were an obstacle course to maneuver through, while other portions were paved with round-topped cobblestones (actually not that gentle on the feet, either, especially when going steeply downhill at the day’s end).  

The distance from Fornovo di Taro to Pontremoli (i.e. the main part of the Apennines portion of the Via Francigena) is about 61 kms, which our guidebook has divided into two stages.  31 kms per day?!  In hot weather?!  Up and down stony mountain paths?!  Not this pilgrim!!  So, Jim and I had re-jigged the guidebook’s stages from two to three.  Upon reaching today’s destination, Pontremoli, I felt that four stages would have been better yet as the last hours today were tough going.  However, as there are stretches with nowhere to stay or to buy food through some of the Apennines, dividing into four stages may have proven to be its own challenge.

🔹Surprise:  on the downward slope of Il Cucchero Mountain, we were concentrating on our feet while carefully picking our way along the rock-strewn path when Jim suddenly stopped and quietly pointed — to our amazement, on the trail just a few meters in front of us were standing two horses.  Behind them, down the path, were more horses!  We stepped off to the side (as much as we could — there was hardly any space to spare) and silently waited.  The lead horse started moving up the trail past us, and the others followed.  Soon all twenty animals had gone by!  The photo below shows their proximity.

🔹Bridges:  we crossed a wooden suspension bridge plus five ancient stone bridges along our pedestrian path today.  Pontremoli, our stage end, sits at the confluence of two rivers and has nine bridges, some of which are also stone construction.

🔹Drama:  at about nine kms outside of Pontremoli, a woman hurrying along the trail in the opposite direction stopped us and enquired, with urgency in her voice (speaking English), as to whether we had seen a boy and girl along our way.  We had not.  She quickly explained that she’s a teacher chaperoning a middle-school hike, and that two children were not with the group.  She rushed on her way and we continued in our direction, now with our eyes scanning side to side.  Thirty minutes later the teacher came up behind us looking visibly relieved, informed us that the kids were found (hooray!), and sped past us to re-join her party ahead on the path.  We soon came upon the whole school group, now complete with all 18 children and three teachers happily re-united.  We learned that they had hiked, over six days, all the way from Fornovo di Taro!  From that point onward we passed, or were passed, by the school hikers a few times.  The cheery sounds of the children chatting and singing as they hiked provided us with encouragement, as our energy was flagging in those last kms. 

In Pontremoli, we were too tired to take in the annual summer street party that was happening and tucked ourselves into our hostel beds early.

Top photo:  sunrise as seen from the front steps of the church at Passo della Cisa

Bottom photo:  looking back, just after passing by the church; the arch marks where we re-entered Tuscany

Two photos above:  morning light coming through the trees as we hike

Four photos above:  some of today’s paths

Top photo:  approaching the top of Il Cucchero

Bottom left:  a marker at the apex of Il Cucchero;  Right:  starting to head down

Sharing our trail with 20 horses — they were going up Il Cucchero while we were going down

Some of today’s bridges

Top photo:  looking off the top of the stone bridge at Groppodalosio (built in 1574)

Bottom photo:  view of the Magra River flowing beneath the bridge

Three photos above:  a welcome and much needed “Pilgrim’s Oasis” kindly hosted by a couple at Previde

Top right and bottom photos:  the school group

Three photos above:  Pontremoli (they were holding a classic car event)