5th September 2022
Last night in San Gimignano was quite spectacular and like many of the tourist towns are packed with sightseers during the day and empty out in the evenings. I am up early, packed and down to the town square early to get a very Italian breakfast of coffee and croissant. I love mornings the best as are very peaceful, in this country restaurants open later and nothing really happens till lunchtime.
A quick check of the forecast and it’s going to be another very hot day, well over 30deg so sensible plan is on the road early and under a cafe umbrella before the afternoon.
I am keeping the walking distance to about 15km a day as the Tuscany countryside is very hilly and days are hot so not overdoing it and making it fun to walk through this spectacular countryside. I am finding that these pilgrimage trails have lots of road walking and in Italy is a little more than most. The official trail out of San Gimignano is direct to Montereggioni but as I am diverting to Colle Val D’Elsa I am basically on the road for quite a while this morning. The Tuscany roads are hilly, windy and narrow so walking along the shoulder is somewhere between terrifying and exhilarating. Fortunately it eventually diverts of the main highway and over the wonderful Tuscan countryside.
There is no getting away from the 35deg heat and I was giving real consideration to the very Englishman abroad approach of walking with the umbrella. The key thing is to drink heaps and I have armed myself with 2 bottles of water. It was with merciful relief I arrived at my destination by midday and found a shady cafe to relax at till my hotel was ready. The days are shorter than I usually undertake but hills and heat are a real challenge.
Colle Val D’Elsa is another historic, hilltop village and is an alternate destination for lots of Francigena pilgrims who often take a different path and go direct to the castle town of Montereggioni, which is the next destination. The good thing is there are not the procession of tourists that have been such a feature of my previous nights stays. Italy gets something 65million tourist visited a year and the main cities of Tuscany are where most of them head to.
Tomorrows destination, Montereggioni is one of my favourite places in Tuscany to visit and ever since Bev and I first discovered it on our first visit 20 years ago I never pass by without stopping for a visit. This time I am staying at an apartment inside the small town and can’t wait to sit in the square tomorrow having lunch and enjoying the end of that days walk.
Via Francigena Italy - 2022 