Reset search
Italy
  • Nathaniel Stott
  • Anne Archambault
  • Nathaniel Stott
  • Anne Archambault

Italy

A walking adventure through the heart of Italy on the Via di San Francesco and the Via Ellenica Read more
FollowInsightsInsightsCalendarCalendarPhotosPhotosShareShareBucket list
InsightsCalendarPhotos
  • Trip start
    September 30, 2024
  • Italy

    Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore

    October 2, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    There's a lot to see around the cathedral so we broke it into multiple days. We needed reservations for the top of Brunelleschi's dome so we did that first thing in the morning of the first day. Since the ticket allows for two days of access, we did the Santa Raparato and museum later in the day, and Giotto's Tower the following day.Read more

  • Italy

    Ora D'Aria

    October 3, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Michelin star restaurant for a tasting menu to celebrate Anne's birthday! It was a small place, maybe twenty seats, with a glass wall to see into the kitchen.

  • Italy

    Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze

    October 3, 2024 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    The statue of David is the big attraction and he didn't disappoint. Also impressive were the Stradivari instruments on display. However, the crowds were a major downer. Even with timed entry reservations we still got in an hour late and the crowd management outside was chaotic at best.Read more

  • Italy

    Palazzo Pitti

    October 4, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    The palace of the Medici family, this place makes you feel a little like it's a mini Versailles.

  • Italy

    La Verna - Franciscan Sanctuary

    October 5, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We're sleeping in the Franciscan monastery dorm at the site where St. Francis of Assisi received his stigmata. This is the 800 year anniversary of the event and the sanctuary is packed with pilgrims coming to see the site. We explored and watched the friars procession into mass, which was interesting to see.Read more

  • Italy

    Pieve Santo Stefano

    October 6, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    First day on the trail, 9.14 miles and 1041 feet of elevation gain. We ended the day in Pieve Santo Stefano on the banks of the Tiber River, who's headwater is just up the valley and also runs through Rome where we're ending the walk.Read more

  • Italy

    Eremo di Cerbaiolo

    October 7, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    From our guide book...

    "The Eremo di Cerbaiolo was built in the 8th century for the Benedictine Order. By the 1200s, the hermitage was no longer inhabited, but on a journey to La Verna, St. Francis learned of the hermitage’s existence. From 1216-1783, the hermitage was inhabited by Franciscans, and the Benedictines transferred the hermitage to the Franciscan Order in 1303. Unfortunately, Eremo di Cerbaiolo was destroyed by the German Army retreating at the end of WWII. In the 1960s, however, Sister Chiara Barboni of the Piccola Compagnia di Santa Elisabetta found the ruins of the hermitage and dedicated the rest of her life to restoring it (she died in 2010). Nestled on the mountainside, the hermitage boasts beautiful views of the valley and Lago di Montedoglio.”Read more

  • Italy

    Il Palazzo

    October 7, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We're staying in a really nice B&B tonight, the perfect end to a long and wet day! This place was amazing. We shared the main lodging with two other groups. The highlight was dinner with the hosts, a full family affair with three generations and more food than you can imagine. They even shared their homemade fortified wine that was aged 10 years!Read more

  • Italy

    Convento Eremo di Montecasale

    October 8, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    A quick stop by the hermitage of Montecasale on the way to Sansepolcro. The friars were very nice and helpful with directions, and we got a picture with the old gentleman who was insistent we knew the difference between the path down the road versus the path down the trail.Read more

  • Italy

    Sansepolcro

    October 9, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Rain overtook is as we entered Sansepolcro, so we stayed in to do laundry, an unglamorous but necessary task. The pizza for dinner was excellent, despite my stomach's unhappiness at the cheese I ate at lunch 🤨 We explored town the next morning because the hike was relatively short and the weather was much more conducive to sight seeing. Like always, the street art didn't disappoint. Jesus turning bottled water into wine is a clear winner 🏅Read more

  • Italy

    Gricignano - Biblical Diorama

    October 9, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We were stopped as we walked through the town of Gricignano by a gentleman who was working on the street. He spoke French and quickly started conversing with Anne. Soon after we were being ushered into a building to see a presentation with a large dioramas and a choreographed light and sound show. My Italian is nowhere near good enough to follow what was said, and my biblical history isn't great either, but it looked like stories some old testament stories along with the story of the birth and death of Jesus.

    It was an interesting cultural detour that provided a welcome rest and it's part of the encounters that make walking a route like this fun.    Read more

  • Italy

    Citerna

    October 9, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We stayed the night in Citerna, exactly the sort of town you think of when you think of hill top towns in Tuscany and Umbria. Our accommodation was a room with an incredible view back towards Sansepolcro. Lunch was an incredibly tasty meat and cheese platter with a glass of Italian red wine. Dinner was an incredibly tasty lasagna shared with friends from Brazil, Italy, and Australia we've met along the way.Read more