November 1, 2024
After 39 stages and 522.9 miles of Via Francigena trekking from Montreux, Switzerland, we reached the historic Italian city of Siena. Our hiking through the heart of the Tuscany region was a highlight of the entire trek for us. But we still had another UNESCO World Heritage Site and several more hill towns to explore before arriving at Europe’s largest volcanic lake in the Lazio region.
Leaving Siena in the Rain and Encountering More Mud
After reluctantly leaving Siena, we headed south on a 13.1-mile stage. We trekked through some urban areas before moving into the countryside, passing several farms. There was intermittent rain, with some moderate precipitation at times. At one point, we saw a beautiful rainbow beside us.
As we hiked through the Tuscany section of the Via Francigena, we passed pilgrim rest areas on the path. Not only were there nice benches or picnic tables, but water fountains were also available. So we rarely needed to carry more than a liter of water each, lightening our loads.
Unfortunately, we encountered some muddy trails again. We had to slow down and watch our footing so that we didn’t slip and fall.
Walking on adjacent grassy fields kept us out of the worst of the mud.
At another especially muddy point, we decided to climb down a slope to walk on some grass below the trail. It was steep, and Darren took my backpack while I gingerly made my way down, slipping a little with each step. Darren followed behind me, still holding my pack. A moment later, both his feet began to slide rapidly down the slope. Somehow, he kept his balance as he slid about five feet.
After both taking a moment to collect ourselves, we began walking on the grass to quickly move out of the dicey section.
Back on solid ground, we made our way past the village of Lucignano d’Arbia before turning off the path to walk a short distance to a podere (farm) outside of Monteroni d’Arbia. Our room was above a restaurant, and we enjoyed a nice dinner there.
More rain was in the forecast for the next day. Before we began hiking, we decided to change our route to walk on the “bike route” paved road alternative for part of the day. It added some more distance, but we felt it was safer and faster than having to contend with more mud.
Our alternative 15.6-mile stage had more steep ascents and descents, but we had nice views at times.
At one point the bike route intersected with the walking path, and we decided to walk a short distance on it to determine if the mud was still an issue. But it didn’t take long to encounter the slippery mud. A road was just ahead, so we turned off the path and hiked along there to Buonconvento.
A stage highlight for us was a walk through the beautiful historic center of Buonconvento. Its name comes from the Latin “bonus conventus” meaning “happy place.” First mentioned in the year 1100, Buonconvento’s walls date from the 14th century.
Making our way through Buonconvento
We had seen many hikers from Lucca to Siena, but had not encountered anyone during the last two stages. With the intermittent rain, we felt a real sense of solitude as we continued walking.
After Buonconvento we joined the walking path on gravel roads, where we came to some of the most scenic trails in Tuscany. As we walked through the Cypress trees, we felt fortunate to be there without the crowds that can be prevalent in this part of Italy.
At the end of the day we arrived in the town of Torrenieri, where we checked into an apartment rental for the night.
A Leisurely Lunch and a Long Hill Town Climb
A combination of clear weather and a short stage of only eight miles made for a delightful hiking day. The first few miles consisted of a series of climbs to the village of San Quirico d’Orcia. We were now hiking in the Val d’Orcia UNESCO World Heritage Site, which includes several other hill towns in the area.
Approaching San Quirico d’Orcia
When we entered San Quirico d’Orcia’s walled city about 4.5 miles into our day, we were immediately charmed by its historic center.
Since we had such a short stage, we decided to stop for a leisurely lunch.
As we ate lunch on the main street, we had a view of the 12th century Collegiate Church. After lunch we passed by the Church of San Francesco before leaving town.
Looking back at the Collegiate Church; passing by the Church of San Francesco
We completed more steep climbing with beautiful views of the countryside before descending past the Vignoni Alto Castle.
Another very steep descent took us to the end of our stage at Bagno Vignoni. The hot springs here have been in use since at least 500 BC. Later, medieval dignitaries such as St Catherine of Siena, Pope Pius II, and Lorenzo the Magnificent frequented the area.
Bagno Vignoni’s 16th century Piazza delle Sorgenti (“Square of Springs”) consists of spring-fed hot water and is surrounded by several hotels, restaurants, and a church. It is Italy’s only aquatic piazza.
We found Bagno Vignoni to be a wonderful surprise, and enjoyed eating dinner at our hotel next to the piazza.
Our last full day of trekking in Tuscany did not disappoint – we had cool, clear weather and great views throughout our long 17.5-mile stage with about 3,000 feet of elevation gain. As we left Bagno Vignoni, there was mist on the hot water piazza.
We began climbing right away. In the distance we could see the Castiglione d’Orcia commune and its Rocca d’Orcia fortress.
An initial walk along gravel roads turned to grass and dirt paths, bringing back the dreaded mud sections. Because it had not rained here for two days, we could more easily get around the slippery portions by walking on the grass, but it did slow us down.
After completing a few stream crossings, the path improved again.
We began to climb next to a highway as we got closer to the hill town of Radicofani. It was another of the Val d’Orcia UNESCO World Heritage Site hill towns.
View from the trail; sign pointing us to Radicofani
A few minutes later we came to a wide river crossing. Large white stones in place for walking across were submerged under rushing water from the recent rain. After assessing the situation, we did not feel comfortable with the crossing. So we backtracked slightly to take a short path to the highway and road walked the rest of the stage.
The route ascended 1,500 feet in the last seven miles, and we were feeling pretty tired from the long stage. It was also warmer than we expected, and we were getting low on water.
Fortunately, about halfway up the climb there was a water faucet and picnic table. So we took a welcome break before finishing our day in Radicofani. The hill town is known for its tall fortress perched on a ridge that borders the regions of Tuscany and Lazio.
The fortress has been around since the 9th century. We found the village below the fort to be a charming assortment of stone buildings and narrow streets.
Since it was now late in the tourist season, many of the food options I had previously researched had reduced hours or were even closed. And since we arrived on a Sunday afternoon, it was even more challenging to find a restaurant or grocery store.
As we walked through the near empty streets searching for food, we were surprised to come across a small grocery store with its lights on and door slightly open. The store was “closed,” but the woman inside graciously let us come in and buy some food as long as we paid for it in cash.
Armed with some dinner and breakfast to tide us over, we walked to our house rental to enjoy our evening and a rest day.
Radicofani streets; buying food at the grocery store
Our time in the quaint village of Radicofani was a fitting end to our 2 1/2 weeks and over 200 miles of trekking through Tuscany.
Leaving Tuscany and First Volcanic Lake Views
With just nine Via Francigena stages left, we set off to cross into Lazio, our seventh and final Italian region of our trek. Our 14.7-mile stage was divided into two distinct parts. The initial section took us downhill on a gravel road from the hill town of Radicofani. It was nice walking, with just a few steep descents and beautiful views.
We took a break next to a sign pointing back to where we had hiked from at Aosta (near the Swiss border) and (more recently) Siena. Ahead was our final destination of Rome.
After about 6.5 miles, the gravel road ended at Highway SS2. Also known as the Via Cassia, the original route was built by the Romans in the 2nd century BC to travel from Florence to Rome. The official Via Francigena trail ran along the highway for the next six miles. There was an alternate forest path adding five more miles to the total stage distance, but we were fine with the road walk.
As it turned out the highway wasn’t busy, and we were able to detour to frontage roads at times. During the walk we formally crossed into Lazio from the Tuscany region.
Road walking on Highway SS2; crossing into Lazio from Tuscany
Near the end of the road walk, we stopped at a “pilgrim bar” for a drink and a break. After only seeing one hiker during the last five stages since leaving Siena, we came across several other pilgrims enjoying a break there as well.
We turned off the highway after crossing the Paglia River and completed two miles of forest climbing to reach our destination of Acquapendente.
The city’s name comes from Latin, meaning “hanging waters,” and was first mentioned in the 9th century. Historically, its principal rival was Orvieto, just down the Paglia River valley. As had been the case in Radicofani, we had challenges finding places to eat dinner, but finally settled on a takeout pizza place.
Arriving in Acquapendente at the end of the stage
The next day we set off on a 15.3-mile stage to trek along the east side of Lake Bolsena, Europe’s largest volcanic lake. We started off walking through farm areas. There was olive harvesting taking place in almost every grove that we passed.
Farm scenery early in the stage
Later, we came to a real forest trail. After walking hundreds of miles along paved, gravel, and farm roads, it was strange to navigate rocks and tree roots on an actual path.
While trekking in the forest, we had our first view of Lake Bolsena, one of five volcanic lakes in the Lazio region. Lake Bolsena is also the largest volcanic lake in Europe, at about 8.1 miles long and 6.8 miles wide at its longest point. The lake depth is up to 500 feet.
The lake is in the center of the Vulsini Volcanic District. Volcanic activity last took place here in 104 BC.
At the end of the stage we reached the town of Bolsena, located on the lake. Its compact historic center was quite beautiful, and we enjoyed briefly exploring it.
Exploring Bolsena’s historic center
After descending from the historic center, we detoured off the route to the water to check into a hotel with lake views.
A nearby restaurant served pizzas and calzones, and we planned to eat there for dinner. When we arrived, we were told that they weren’t making hot food that night. Instead, we ordered a couple of beers and made do with the aperitivo snacks that they served along with the drinks.
After leaving Bolsena in the morning, we had a short 10.3-mile stage to the hill town of Montefiascone. We climbed up to a ridge above Lake Bolsena during the first half of the stage. It was a peaceful walk through olive orchards and vineyards. Every so often we had views of the lake below us.
Later, the trail turned into the Turano Archeological and Naturalistic Park and a forest of oak trees. We agreed that this forest was one of the most beautiful sections of our entire trek. The sounds of the peaceful forest were only broken occasionally by chirping birds. When we came to a clearing with several picnic tables, we stopped for an early lunch break.
Hiking through the Turano Archeological and Naturalistic Park
Even though it was a short stage, we had about 1,800 feet of elevation gain. But the beauty of the forest and lake views made up for the climbing.
After reluctantly leaving the forest, we descended to the Via Cassia Highway. Soon after we climbed up to the hill town of Montefiascone, where we stopped for the day.
Montefiascone was first mentioned in documents from the year 853. Its close proximity to Rome made it a favorite of Popes through the years. The 15th century Basilica Cathedral of Santa Margherita dominates the city skyline and has one of the largest domes in Italy.
The Basilica Cathedral of Santa Margherita and images of Montefiascone’s historic center
Not wanting to tempt fate with more food issues, we went to a grocery store and enjoyed dinner on our hotel balcony.
Groceries for dinner and lunch the next day; looking out on our hotel balcony before eating
When we began hiking the next day, we first ascended through the historic center of Montefiascone to the Rocca dei Papi. The site contains the remains of an old Papal summer residence. A viewpoint is located next to the residence, and we were the only ones there in the early morning.
From our vantage point, we could look north back to where we had started hiking around Lake Bolsena.
It felt like a magical moment for us, as we thought back to the past few days of hiking.
Our seven stages and 94.6-miles of trekking from Siena to Montefiascone took us through our final Tuscan hill towns, and into the Val d’Orcia World Heritage Site. We spent a night at Italy’s only aquatic piazza. And we entered our final Italian region of Lazio to hike along Europe’s largest volcanic lake.
With only six stages and less than 80 miles left on our trek, we looked forward to a final rest day and a few more hill town stops as we walked our final steps toward Rome.
