Via Francigena – Lucca to Siena

13th September 2019

A long-held ambition for Jan and I was to walk part of the Via Francigena, an ancient pilgrim’s route from Canterbury to Rome that passes through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. Many Medieval pilgrims were obliged to make the journey to Rome, seat of the Catholic church. Equally, pilgrims were keen to visit Canterbury (and presumably continue to London) to visit the magnificent shrine dedicated to Saint Thomas Becket, the martyred Archbishop who was brutally murdered in the cathedral in 1170.

Lucca and Siena were important places for pilgrims to rest on their long journey and today travel companies such as Slo-Ways help to made today’s walking experience in less harsh conditions.

Slo-Ways planned our itinerary which entailed a night at the Hotel Rex in Lucca before a short train journey to Altopascio where the first day’s trek began on Sunday morning 15 September. Our journey took us first to San Miniato, then Gambassi Terme, San Gimignano, Colle di Val d’Elsa, Monteriggioni and finally Siena. All our accommodation was excellent, particularly just outside Monteriggioni where a delicious four-course meal had been organised at our overnight accommodation at a delightful rustic farmhouse.

We had been advised that parts of the itinerary were not easy and that suitable rucksacks, walking boots/shoes, water bottle, hat and waterproof clothing were essential. The effort required became apparent on our first day from Altopascio to San Miniato, a walk of around 30 km. We had anticipated taking 5-6 hours, but although the countryside was beautiful, passing through woods, fields and vineyards, parts were steep and rugged. We started walking slower and slower and just managed to reach San Miniato before dusk, tired, footsore and hungry. However, after a hot shower, dinner and a good night’s sleep we were ready for day two.

Gambassi Terme was a slightly shorter walk, a mere 22km but we had the idea of taking the famous thermal baths there on our arrival. Although our hotel was next door, the baths were closed sadly that day. By this time, we had begun to meet some fellow ‘pilgrims’, a group of five intrepid Norwegian ladies and a delightful Scottish couple Ian and Kate and her amazing mother Rose in her eighties!

We decided to join forces for the rest of week since they were experienced walkers having completed parts of the other well-known pilgrim’s route through France and north-west Spain, the Santiago de Compostela. Kate was a nurse and Ian was a ‘walking pharmacy’, carrying every imaginable treatment for cuts, bruises and most importantly blisters. Gathering yet more fellow travellers, whom we learnt to greet with the words Buon Cammino (Good Way), as a group we strode proudly into the Tuscany’s famous city of towers San Gimignano. Here Slo-Ways had done us proud with our accommodation at the Hotel Cisterna in the Piazza della Cisterna, the ancient well in the heart of the old town.

Next day was a hike to Colle di Val d’Elsa, a charming town we knew little about with the old town on a steep hill and the new in the valley below. The river Elsa flows northwards through southern Tuscany from its source at Montagnola Senese, finally joining the Arno near Marcignana just west of Empoli. We traced the banks of the milky blue river Elsa to the fabulous hilltop castle of Monteriggioni where we experienced an hour-long tempesta of thunder, lightening and torrential rain. Despite our waterproof clothing, we were drenched through and through but for some unexplainable reason we enjoyed it!

After Monteriggioni we were on our final leg towards Siena, a city we knew well having visited several times.

The joy of arriving at Siena, our final stop, was tinged with the sadness of saying goodbye to our new found friends but we vowed to continue the prospect of more walking next year starting from Siena towards our final goal, the end of the Via Francigena, Rome.