Stage 16: Montefiascone to Viterbo

17.9 kilometers
Elevation gain/loss: 396m/620m
Steps: 22,978
Total distance traveled: 301.2km
Distance to Rome: 108.8km

At around 7:45 this morning, Brenda and I were standing at a crossroad, trying to figure out which road would put us back onto LA Francigena trail. Just then, two young schoolchildren approached, and said something to us in Italian. In response, we stared blankly at the young man. He then asked "Viterbo?" Si, si we nodded, and he led us directly to the correct path. "Grazie mille", we said, and headed on our way, just knowing this Thanksgiving Day walk was going to be a good one.

To appease my tired legs, the trail started out with a six kilometer descent. Then there was a one km long, mostly gentle, incline followed by another long slow descent and a short gentle climb into Viterbo.

I thank you, Stage 16, and my legs thank you.

Today's walk was filled with wondrous surprises.

Near the beginning of the route, the path began showing signs of ancient paving stones. As we progressed, the stones merged to form an almost uniform roadway. It turns out that the road is the Via Cassia. It ran 303 kilometers from Rome to Florence and was built around 154 BC! It's in better shape than Montreal roads any given April.

When we stopped for a water break 7 km into our walk, there was a strange concrete domed structure with ventilation on one side. Google Lens informed us it is a well cover, commonly, built directly over hand-dug water wells or natural springs to protect the water supply from debris, animals, and agricultural runoff.

At one point, we believed we could have been in New Zealand. One minute we saw a shepherd and his dog walking through a field with his flock, and the next minute, we were in the middle of a vast kiwi tree orchard! The trees were filled with the fuzzy little fruit, but sadly, they were all hard as rocks, and were probably a week away from ripeness.

As we neared Viterbo, we came across another field filled with what looked like grape bushes. However, they were not trellised, nor was there any evidence of vines on the plants. Once again, Google Lens bailed us out, identifying the crop as hazelnut trees. I never would have guessed.

We left the Stage 16 trail just a little smarter than when we started.

It was only noon when we arrived, and our hotel check-in time was 4:00 PM. We sat down at a little Cafe, had a veggie and cheese focaccia, and by the time we were finished, Brenda received notice that our room was ready for us!

So much to be thankful for on this lovely Thanksgiving Day!Read more