18. Lento e Contento

Viterbo to Vetralla

Lento e contento means slow and content and that is my new motto. It comes from one of the many serendipitous decisions that you make on a walk like this. We were near Vetralla and met an English couple standing at the intersection of two dirt country lanes. They had spied a sign that said ‘Lento e Contento, coffee, tea, conversation and rest for pilgrims’. It was in the opposite direction to the trail, but we joined them.The photo shows the place but can’t show the warmth, the welcome and the conversation. The house is owned by a young couple.He is Italian and she is Georgian. He had done the full via Francigena a few years ago, and wanted to create somewhere where he could offer the same hospitality he experienced. They walked the Italian via Francigena together looking for a broken down house they could rebuild. They found it, and have renovated it so it is quirky and delightful. They have dormitory accommodation for pilgrims and offer refreshments to the likes of us for a donation. And the conversation was delightful as she (Nina) spoke excellent English - as well as four other languages! Add it to your list of stops of you are passing this way, and when in doubt always follow a sign that promises conversation.

Today’s walk was again surprising. We bid a fond farewell to Viterbo as we really liked it - and had not expected to. It’s a city rather than a town, and its central historic area is huge, with a labyrinth of narrow cobbled streets. It felt far more authentic and grungy than the Tuscan cities and not overrun by tourists, yet had its own spectacular architectural and historical sights. Lots of Etruscan and Roman buildings remain and it was once a papal retreat so it experienced a period of great wealth and influence. The night life was great and started by 5pm so we were awake for it. Good bars, restaurants and vibe. I recommend it. Our hotel was very weird with Christmas decorations still up and a host who had a Basil Fawlty demeanour, but at this stage that kind of thing is more amusing than a problem.

As you leave Viterbo you are in for a treat because you find yourself in a beautiful Etruscan road network called the via cava. They were carved out of the soft volcanic tufa rock that covers this area, thousands of years ago. There is no explanation yet of how or why it was done, but they are very cool - the ones we walked through had walls about 12m high, but they can apparently be double that height. Here is what it looked like. This one even has a shrine carved into it. They go for miles.

It was a bit challenging when you met a car coming through.

The rest of the day was spent wandering through a variety of farmland. We saw a field of artichokes, lots of hazelnuts and fields of olive trees. The ridge we walked along allowed views right across to the distant ocean. There was an ugly middle section next to the highway but soon we were back in bush and olives.

The trail is busier now as today is the start of the final leg of the via Francigena so we were joined by a lot of clean and energetic new people- mostly English so far. There is an easy camaraderie, where people are friendly and have a short chat but there is no expectation to walk with each other. Many are at the ‘old inn’ - Antica Locanda sounds much posher than it is- that we are at tonight, 1km out of Vetralla. It’s half board so we all share dinner tonight which should be fun.

The next three days are big walks and most likely in the rain. All over 20km, so we are pacing ourselves. One of the other pilgrims described this as the ‘walk that keeps giving’ and I totally agree. We intend to take the lento approach so we reach the finishing line on Friday, Contento.

Love Marie