A few days ago I wrote of Fabrizio Ardito beginning his walk of the Italian section of La Via Francigena. Yesterday I learned of Eric Sylvers’ walk on the same route. Eric, however is closing in on Rome, and has just finished a dangerous part of the walk along the SS2.
Tip for the day: write your last will and testament before doing the piece of the SS Cassia from Monterosi to Campagnano di Roma.
Anyone who has ever needed to walk along an Italian highway will know the feeling of dread. Italians waste no space at all between the road and the guardrails. None. You can fit a sheet of cardboard between the cars and the rail. Oh, and by the way, that’s the slot you have to fit in. It’s lucky that Italians actually pay attention when driving.
In my case, I had to walk down Orvietto’s steep hill at night after the funicular people had decided to strike. It was good there was a bar at the bottom. If ever I needed a drink, that was the night.
Eric Sylvers’ blog is Walk for Italy. He’s a US journalist out of Milan trying to draw attention to the Via Francigena. Perhaps this latest post will shame local politicians to fix the rough spots.
We have a map of the Via Francigena route through Italy, clickable with tourist resources for some towns along the route. Even if you don’t or can’t walk it, you can depend on the fact that the cities along it have been touched by the thousand year old trail and the spiritual journeys people have undertaken along it.