Trudging Across the Po Valley from Piacenza to Felegara (≈90km)

Day 1: Piacenza to Roveleto

I couldn’t find a room or even a bed on the Via Francigena between Piacenza and the next official stop, so I had to take a room off the VF in Roveleto, which required a long slog on Sunday morning on a busy highway. The good news was that there was a narrow shoulder most of the way and there were even some farm roads that paralleled the highway from time to time that allowed me to get off the highway shoulder briefly. It wasn’t the most picturesque of days, and by the time I reached my hotel in Roveleto, I was footsore and melted.

About 10km outside of Piacenza, the VF crosses the Fiume Nure (the Nure River), but it was completely dry. There seem to be several such dry riverbeds in the area that must only hold water during peak snowmelt or heavy rains.

A Sunday morning market in the village of Pontenure (Bridge Nure), helped break up an otherwise dull walk.

Day 2: A long day from Rivoletto to Fidenza

An early start on Monday allowed me to knock out a few more kilometers along the highway before I could rejoin the Via Francigena and once again enjoy the peace (and safety) of the countryside. Almost immediately, I was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over a field of sunflowers.

I have to admit that I have assumed that all tomatoes are now grown commercially in greenhouses, but I was wrong. The Po Valley has huge fields of tomatoes that are close to being harvestable.

Asking for a friend: When a tomato has already dropped to the ground, there’s no harm in eating it, is there? It would just go to waste, right?

Fidenza

Fidenza is another town founded by the Romans, and in the Middle Ages, the Via Francigena played a major role in the city’s economy. By the time I arrived in town, though, my enthusiasm for history had waned, and I was most interested in a shower and a liter of cold water.

Later in the evening, I did emerge from my hotel in search of gelato, and I found that life had returned to the town with people playing sand volleyball in the main square and children laughing and playing in a nearby park.

I’ve concluded that if you are feeling blue, you need to watch children playing or find a dog to pet. If you can also listen to Louis Armstrong singing What a Wonderful World, I guarantee you will feel better about yourself and the world around you. https://youtu.be/2nGKqH26xlg?is=xqo1-EixAarkIG2b

Fidenza to Felegara

This stage of the Via Francigena finally leaves the Po Valley behind as it enters the foothills of the Apennines. The first topographic profile below shows the stage before Fidenza. The second one shows the stage after Fidenza, and the last one shows the two stages I will cover in the next two days.

The climbing is tough, but it makes for much more interesting and varied walking than the long, flat, almost featureless stretches of the Po Valley.

As I topped one of the hills, there was a man in a truck selling fruits and vegetables to local residents. I thought I would try to buy some fruit from him, but when he saw me, he insisted on giving me a banana along with a big smile and a “Buon Camino”. That was a really good banana.

An interesting monument to local sailors who lost their lives in the “Sea War 1940 – 1945”:

I keep saying that the last five kilometers are the toughest, and the last five into Felegara yesterday weren’t an exception.

There are so many stories in the world!

The guest house I am staying in in Felegara is filled with incredible cycle racing memorabilia and photos from the 1960’s. At dinner last night, I ended up talking with one of the owners, Andrea, for more than an hour about business, Italian culture, living life fully each day, and why the house is filled with cycling memorablia. It turns out that his father, who passed away three years ago, was a cycling champion in the 60’s and won 17 major races. The house is where Andrea grew up, and he decided to convert it to a B&B and to use it to tell his dad’s cycling story.

Next up: Over the Apennines