October 24, 2024
The Tuscany region is one of the most famous places in Italy. It is regarded as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, with many historic and architectural treasures. Tuscany also boasts beautiful landscapes, with hills comprising almost two-thirds of the region. Eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites are also present here.
After entering the region of Tuscany at the Cisa Pass, we had several days of rain, wind, and fog as we traversed the Apennine Mountains. Upon reaching the historic city of Lucca and taking a rest day, we set off to trek into the heart of the Tuscany region, with a series of charming and iconic hill towns awaiting us at the end of each of our stages.
What we didn’t know was whether the rainy conditions would continue, or if we would be able to enjoy the Tuscan sun as we trekked south.
Navigating through the Tuscan Rain
Back on the trail after a rest day in Lucca, we had an easy 11.6-mile stage to the city of Altopascio. We left Lucca via the east Porta Elisa gate.
It was the most urban stage we had to date, as we walked through many neighborhoods, industrial areas, and along roads. We took a picnic lunch break in the town of Porcari overlooking a roundabout and watched the traffic go by us.
Although there was a chance of rain, we managed to get just a few drops on us before finishing our stage.
San Miniato was the first of several Tuscan hill towns that we would be trekking through in the coming days. With rain in the forecast again, we left our hotel shortly after 8:00 am, as we had a long 17-mile stage ahead of us.
As we left Altopascio, we walked by its church and tower.
We had a delightful first few miles in some peaceful forest. It had rained quite a bit the night before, so we had to contend with some mud and puddles, but it didn’t slow us down too much.
Hiking through the forest and mud
After leaving the forest we stopped for a break in a village. The rain had held off, but while we sat the sky darkened. It began to pour just as we moved under an awning in front of a store.
After about ten minutes the rain intensity lessened. We were supposed to hike along a canal in an open field, but, since rain was still falling, we decided to take an alternate road walk instead. Being close to trees and buildings would provide us with better cover if the rain got bad again.
There was actually a bike lane next to the traffic.
The rain finally subsided as we arrived in the town of Fucecchio. Here, we rejoined the walking route. After passing a church and crossing the swollen Arno River (which flows through nearby Florence), we began our climb to San Miniato on wet grass along a canal.
Church in Fucecchio; crossing the swollen Arno River
While we would need to climb to each hill town we visited on this trek, San Miniato had an elevator that cut part of the ascent off for us.
Making our way to the elevator; looking back at the top of the elevator
The hill town sits at the intersection of the ancient Lucca to Siena and Florence to Pisa roads. Its three hills attracted the Lombards, who built a castle here in the 11th century.
After checking into our hotel, we briefly explored the town streets. We also enjoyed the views of the countryside below us.
Plodding through the Challenging Mud
We had another day of light but steady rain as we began our 15.2-mile hike. As we left San Miniato, we were treated to a final view of the town and countryside.
The route took us on many short ascents and descents through the hills, with beautiful views around us.
Later we passed a grove of olive trees that were being harvested.
The dirt path was full of mud and some puddles from all the recent rain. When we reached each area, it took a few moments to figure out the best way around it without getting wet, but it was still passable.
Mud and puddles on the path
However, after a lunch break we came to a steep downhill section that was just full of thick, oozing mud. This mud was clay-like and stuck to our shoes almost right away. With each step, more mud accumulated underfoot, causing us to slip like we were walking on ice.
After taking some tentative steps and immediately slipping downhill, we made our way back to the top of the hill. Darren suggested climbing up and walking along a parallel vineyard. However, when we reached the end, it was impossible to climb down from the vineyard to rejoin the path.
After turning back to walk to the top of the hill again, we pulled out our phones to determine if there was another option. I spied a path starting about 200 feet behind us. That trail would take us to the highway that we were eventually join anyway. So we turned around and did that.
At the end of the stage we began a gradual dirt road climb to our destination – the town of Gambassi Terme.
Dirt path climb and views from the trail
It is named after the Gambassi family, who were a part of the Florentine nobility that resided in the area since the 1350s.
Basking in the Sun and Enjoying the Views
After all the precipitation, we finally had a rain-free forecast with the sun out for the second half of our short 8.5-mile stage.
As we hiked, we had wonderful views of the Tuscan countryside and just one slow section of mud.
Hiking in the clear weather
At the end of the stage, we climbed up to the hill town of San Gimignano.
When we entered San Gimignano through one of its gates, we were immediately impressed with the grandeur of its architecture.
Surrounded by 13th-century walls, San Gimignano traces its roots to the 3rd century BC. As the town thrived, wealthy families built over 70 towers to safeguard their valuables and show their affluence.
In the 14th century the Black Plague killed half of San Gimignano’s population, resulting in a decline in its importance. Today, about 15 of the medieval towers remain. Not surprisingly, San Gimignano’s historic center is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Since it was such a short stage, we arrived in town before our hotel check-in time. So we headed to the Piazza della Cisterna (named for its 13th century cistern), and ordered a couple of beers at a cafe next to our hotel. It was nice to relax in such a beautiful place and take in all the history around us.
Piazza della Cisterna; view of the cafe next to our hotel
One of San Gimignano’s highlights is the 12th century Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta. We had timed tickets to visit the church and its famous series of frescoes.
After we entered the church we used the included audio guide to learn about the 14th century frescoes in detail.
One church wall is composed of scenes from the Old Testament and the opposite wall depicts New Testament details of the life of Christ.
We ended our day with a sunset dinner on a restaurant terrace overlooking the countryside.
Dinner on the terrace
We ordered cinghiale in umido (wild boar stewed with tomato and black olives) and fettuccine alla carbonara e tartufo (fettuccine with bacon, eggs, and truffles). Accompanied by some Tuscan wine, it was one of the best meals we had in Italy thus far.
Dinner of wild boar and fettuccine
Our day in San Gimignano exceeded our expectations and was a highlight of our entire Via Francigena journey.
A Steep Climb to Monteriggioni
We had full sunshine as we began a 17-mile trekking day. After looking back at San Gimignano one last time, we hiked on a route that took us into some hilly forest.
We had several miles of sharp ascents and descents, and forded three streams.
Forest hiking; fording a stream
At about the halfway point of the stage, we entered the historic center of Colle di Val d’Elsa. From the 14th century it was a possession of nearby Florence.
Views of Colle di Val d’Elsa’s historic center
After hiking through the old town, we dropped down to an urban walk for a couple of miles. The route took us back into the countryside toward the end of the day.
We began to see our hill town destination of Monteriggioni in the distance.
We had an extremely steep climb in the last half mile to Monteriggioni’s Porta Fiorentina (Florence direction gate) to enter the fortress at the end of our stage. After we settled into our B&B, we went out to explore just as the sun was setting.
Making the final steep climb to Monteriggioni
The Monteriggioni medieval fortress was built in the 13th century by the city of Siena as a defense against onslaughts by Florence. There are 14 towers along the circular fortress walls and just one central street.
Monteriggioni towers, church, piazza, and sunset from the Porta Fiorentina gate
Arriving in Siena and Exploring the City
We left Monteriggioni through the opposite Porta Franca (Rome direction gate) in some drizzle to begin a 13.1-mile stage to Siena. Neither of us had been to Siena before, so we were both excited to have a rest day to explore the city.
The hike took us through some more forest and past several castles.
Castello della Chiocciola (14th century) and Castello di Villa (13th century)
Throughout this section, we had seen more hikers than any other time on the Via Francigena. With all the hill town destinations and great scenery, hiking from Lucca to Siena is a popular multi-day trek. Since those hikers would be completing their trek in Siena, there were many signs counting down the distance left to the finish.
Signs pointing us toward Siena
After we climbed up to Siena in the final miles, we walked through the newer city before entering the medieval walls.
Siena competed with Florence for central Italy dominance in the Middle Ages. Its population of 60,000 was larger than Paris in the 13th century. After the Black Plague in the 14th century, Siena lost much of its influence. Today, its preserved historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We focused our time in Siena on two major locations: the Piazza del Campo and the Siena Cathedral (Duomo). The Piazza del Campo was originally a field and became the heart of the city. It is surrounded by structures such as the iconic Torre delle Mangia tower and Palazzo Publicco city hall. Twice a year the Palio di Siena horse race is held on this site. A rotating group of ten of the 17 contrade, or neighborhoods race for three laps around the piazza track.
As we arrived at the piazza it began to rain quite hard. So we did much of our sightseeing in the intermittent storms.
At the high point of the slanted open space of the piazza is the 15th century Fonte Gaia (Fountain of Joy).
Before arriving in Siena we bought a combination timed ticket for the Duomo, Piccolomini Library frescoes, museum (housing the cathedral’s original contents), Baptistry, Crypt, and panoramic viewpoint.
Also included in our ticket was a Gate of Heaven tour. We were able to climb up to the attic of the cathedral and look down to the nave and altar.
One catwalk took us across the cathedral’s interior.
Another narrow section took us outside for rooftop views.
Rooftop views
Back on the ground, we explored the inside of the Duomo. A highlight was the mosaic floor of the cathedral. It was the work of over 40 artists who labored for nearly 175 years.
Some of the mosaics on the floor of the cathedral
We also marveled at a Michelangelo sculpture of the Apostle Paul.
The Piccolomini Library contained frescoes illustrating ten scenes from the life of Pope Pius II. They were painted between 1503 and 1508. We also saw a series of illuminated manuscripts.
Piccolomini Library frescoes and illuminated manuscripts
Later, we visited the beautiful Baptistry of San Giovanni, built in the 14th century.
We also enjoyed visiting the Duomo Museum. It exhibited some of the original cathedral pieces. The museum was located in the planned right nave of the Duomo Nuovo. Originally approved in the 14th century to enlarge the Siena Cathedral, the new structure was never completed, due to the Black Plague.
Even some light rain couldn’t keep us off the unfinished facade viewpoint, as we had a nice view of the Duomo and tower behind us.
During our last night in Siena we walked down to the Piazza del Campo and had pre-dinner beers overlooking the square at sunset. We both loved exploring Siena and discussed coming back for a longer visit in the future.
Enjoying a beer overlooking the Piazza del Campo
Our time in Tuscany experiencing the history and culture of the hill towns and seeing the natural beauty of the rolling hills had been worth all the weather hardships we had faced in getting there. But we weren’t through yet, with another four stages left in the Tuscany region.
We now have about 180 miles and 13 stages left until we reach Rome!
Via Francigena Tuscany sign on the trail – we have nicknamed the mascot “Giuseppe”
Take a look at our highlight video from our time trekking this section: