From Siena to Quinciano
Between Siena and Quinciano (20km), the Tuscan countryside is beautiful, but it’s less dramatic than other places and most of the Via Francigena is on asphalt or gravel roads. It even passes a wrecking yard and other industrial uses, so it felt like a walk that mainly connected Siena to the more classic Tuscan countryside.
I did have a pleasant surprise at the end of the day with a great deal for a room in a hotel that was too nice for me but will be on my “Return with Becca” list. Of course, the restaurant was closed for August vacation, but it looked like it would be great. Also, the terrace was beautiful, but the mosquitoes were vicious. 🦟🦟🦟
Torrenieri
The walk from Quinciano to Torrenieri was a very long day’s walk of 27km over surprisingly tall hills in the heat with virtually no shade.
Buonconvento
Buonconvento was my morning breakfast break, and it was a pleasant surprise. Its main street, the Via Socconi, is lined with well maintained medieval buildings filled with restaurants, cafés, and shops, but the village isn’t jammed with tourists. In 1313 when the armies of the Holy Roman Empire were besieging Siena, Emperor Henry VII died in Buonconvento of malaria. Those vicious Italian mosquitoes were at work then too!
Tricerchi Winery
There was a small note in the guide that the trail passed through an area of “prized Brunello di Montalcino grapes on one side and the buildings of the Tricerchi Winery complex at the summit”, but I hadn’t expected the complex to be a castle (completed in 1441 by the Tricerchi family) that was open to the public to wander through. They had a restaurant/wine tasting room that looked like it would be wonderful to try when I didn’t look quite so much like a penniless pilgrim.
Torrenieri
The last five kilometers to Torrenieri were character building because it was after noon, the temperature was already 97 degrees, and the Via Francigena followed a dry gravel road with enough car traffic to keep you regularlarly dusted.
Two kilometers from Torrenieri, when my enthusiasm for the day’s walk was at its lowest ebb, the Via Francigena guardian angels dropped an oasis onto the trail that allowed me to stop in the shade and drink a cool liter of water before continuing on to Torrenieri.
The unusual bronze sculpture of a pair of bare feet sits in front of the Church of San Rocco In Torrenieri. It was created by Roman artist Igina Colabucci Balla, and it was inaugurated on May 21, 2000, as a tribute to the Catholic Jubillee year. It “symbolizes the long, weary journey and the spiritual meditation of those walking the ancient route of the Via Francigena.” It makes a lot more sense with that explanation.
On toward Castiglioni d’Orcia
The stage to Castiglioni d’Orcia wasn’t long (only 17km), but it did entail a lot of climbing, so it required another early start.
San Quirico d’Orcia
San Quirico d’Orcia was en route to Castiglioni d’Orcia, but it would be worth a dedicated visit. Because I was making good time, I stopped there for some breakfast.
While having breakfast, I overheard the couple at the table next to me speaking in English with American accents, so I introduced myself as I was leaving. Jennifer and Robert are from Florida, and they are in Italy celebrating Jennifer’s 60th birthday. They were very interested in my walk and asked me to sit with them. I learned they are originally from Utah and grew up Mormon, but they formally left the church 10 years ago. We had a great conversation for half an hour. Since I still had a long way to go, I finally bid my goodbyes, but then a British couple sitting at the next table wanted to talk about my walk, so I chatted with them for another 10 minutes. They have owned a home in San Quirico for 22 years, and they spend as much time there as they can.
After San Quirico d’Orcia, the trail takes you through the castle/hamlet of Vignoni Alto, but the guide only mentions that it served as a sentry site for the village of Bagno Vignoni below it and that the arch frames a panoramic view of the Tuscan countryside.
Castiglione d’Orcia
I had seen Castiglioni d’Orcia from a distance for much of the afternoon, and I was fascinated by the fortress on the rocky bluff, but I hadn’t realized that it was my destination for the night until the trail finally turned up the hill with the fortress sitting at the top.
Before making it to that last climb, though, the trail led me to a pedestrian bridge across Torrente Onzolal. The bridge was closed for repairs, however, and I wasn’t sure what, if any option I had. I was really hot and ready to get up the hill, and the bridge didn’t look like it was in danger of imminent collapse, so I climbed over the barriers and survived to tell the tale. Shortly after that, I ran into the Italian cousins, Laura and Anna, who told me there had been another bridge they were able to use without breaking the law. Oh, well…
After settling into my room, I climbed up to the top of the hill to the castle entrance and learned there were actually two castles with the older of the two dating to the 9th century. It had been damaged and rebuilt several times over the centuries, and it had even served as a stone quarry to build many of the buildings in the village below.
The amazing thing about my castle visits was that I was able to climb all over both castles as the only visitor. I also had a chance to talk at length with the young man manning the first castle entrance who is an archaeologist, although he isn’t employed in that capacity for the castle. Nevertheless, he was able to provide a lot of extra information about the castle’s history.
Of course, the top of both castles provided genuinely stunning views of the village and the surrounding countryside.
Next up: Castigliona d’Orcia to Radicofani and Acquapendente (170km to Rome)
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5 Responses
So many beautiful photos. No wonder Tuscany is so popular to tourists. Those foot bridges along the way seem to be stout. I bet you have yet to suffer from insomnia. Averaging 20 km / day for all this time is a strain. I am looking forward to your pictures of Rome. I have never been there. Must have been fun talking to the British and American couples. As with us, they probably never knew anyone who has walked as far as you. You are an iron horse.
Enjoy the home stretch.
Charles, congratulations on your amazing journey. It takes moral and mental as well as physical strength. You have them all! Those of us who have been reading your messages and viewing your gorgeous pictures have had four months of varied experiences in our lives. You have kept your focus. In fact, it seems that you’re getting stronger! Phil Moran had another Otillo race here in Maine this morning. That takes a lot of determination as well! Go Phil!
Scott is right. The photos and the description of the events along the way are the next best thing to being there. I have told many of my friends and family about your journey. First thing I do each morning is get a coffee and look for your latest report. It’s a gift to us. Looking forward to pictures and descriptions of Rome. I failed Latin class, so keeping all in English.
It’s been such a joy to have good friends and family follow along. It’s made me feel like I have walking partners. It’s also made me think more intentionally each day about what I’m seeing and experiencing. Otherwise, I’m afraid so much of it would just disappear into the mist of mixed memories.
Scott, Thank you. I hope I do have some measure of those qualities, but so much of it, like the rest of life, is just carrying on, isn’t it? I do feel stronger now than when I started. I may have said it before, but for the first two weeks, I would get up each morning feeling like I had lost a bar fight the night before. I’m thankful I don’t feel like that any longer, and I’m usually fine physically at the end of the day although I do need to cool off and rehydrate.
Those Otillo races that Phil does are crazy! That tests the body and the mind in so many ways. He’s an animal!