Santhià to Vercelli
My hotel in Santhià had seen better days, but it served the purpose, and my beer before dinner provided further confirmation that the Italians provide a great deal on a simple beer. I left Santhià at 6:00 a.m., but I should have left earlier for the 28km walk to Vercelli. The good news is that […]
Viverone to Santhià
It was a nice walk out of Viverone. Nothing extraordinary, but then again, it is all extraordinary in its own way. Unexpected connections in Cavaglià About 5kms in, I entered Cavaglià, where the VF took a turn at a t-bone intersection. On the opposite side of the street was a large gate in a wall […]
Ivrea to Viverone
I was underwhelmed by Ivrea when I first arrived, but I discovered on my way out of town that it’s actually a handsome city. I just happened to stay in a rougher neighborhood. Or course, it has the obligatory castle in the middle of town. This particular castle is the Castello Sabaudo constructed in 1357 […]
Verrès to Pont-Saint-Martin and Ivrea
Verrès to Pont-Saint-Martin The Via Francigena from Verrès to Pont-Saint-Martin primarily runs alongside the Dora Baltea River, although it does cross over it a couple of times along the way. The good news was that it was relatively flat with only a few obligatory climbs and descents. The Bard Fortress in Borgo Di Bard The […]
Aosta to Verrès with a stop in St. Vincent
From Aosta to St. Vincent, I had two options: One that takes you up several steep climbs and then down steep descents or the bike path along the river, which was actually longer but would avoid the climbs and the descents. Normally, that wouldn’t have interested me, but my feet were still complaining loudly and […]
Descending from Colle del Gran San Bernardo (the Italian name of the pass) to Aosta with a stop in Étroubles.
A final nod to the noble St. Bernard as I head down the pass. The trail descends rather quickly from the pass, but it provides some outstanding views along the way. After the the first major drop-off, Ed told me he was going to pick up the pace to try to get closer to Aosta […]
Bourg-Saint-Pierre to the Great St. Bernard Pass
So that I’m not guilty of burying the lead, let me say: I made it!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still have almost 1,000 kilometers left to walk, but the Great St. Bernard Pass has loomed large in my imagination since I started planning the trip. It’s often not open to cars or pedestrians until the middle of June, […]
Orsières to Bourg-Saint-Pierre (the last stop before the Great St. Bernard Pass)
Almost immediately upon leaving Orsières, the trail begins a relentless 700-meter climb to Bourg-Saint-Pierre. You are rewarded with spectacular views back down the valley, but you have to stop and catch your breath to appreciate them. As I was stopped beside the trail trying to shoot some video, John, the Australian pilgrim, caught up with […]
Martigny to Orsières
After Martigny, the Via Francigena leaves the wider Rhone River Valley and enters the narrow Dranse River Valley. Many pilgrims consider the first 12 kilometers from Martigny to Sembrancher to be the hardest stretch of the entire Via Francigena. I haven’t finished the entire Via Francigena yet, so I can’t say with certainty that it […]
Saint-Maurice to Martigny
Map Note: For reference purposes, Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard in the lower right corner of the first map is the pass over the Alps and the last stage of the Via Francigena in Italy. At the abbey in Saint-Maurice, I met John, a seasoned walker from Melbourne, Australia, who has completed numerous epic treks in Europe, […]