Our accommodation last night was very comfortable, and our hostess was attentive and kind. The old oak tree in the back garden, for which the house is named, is still in full leaf because the weather has been unseasonably mild. Our hostess was an excellent cook, and we were treated to both a good supper and a delicious cheese omelette for breakfast: much appreciated after weeks of sweet buns and biscuits for breakfasts.
We set out in fog and full cloud cover, but as the day wore on the sun burned off the fog and we had clear blue skies for most of the day. Given the dubious forecast we were very lucky, and had many wonderful views.
Having climbed above where we stayed last night we were immediately directed down a steep hill into another valley, in theory opening up new views, though at that stage of the day the sun was still fighting to get through the fog and we could see only tantalising glimpses. Our hips and knees took their first serious pasting for a couple of weeks, but that’s half the price we have to pay for spectacular hilltop views – the other half being the effort to get up there!
Once at the bottom of the hill we then began a long and gradual climb up the valley using the road, sending the usual semaphore messages with walking poles to fend off cars coming past too fast and too close. Several of the villages in these valleys have food processing plants which no doubt provide valuable employment for local people, though it wasn’t easy to work out what processes were taking place as all the signs were about keeping out.
At the village of Sivizzano, tucked away behind the church in what appeared to be the courtyard to a house, we found the cloisters of a former Cistercian or Benedictine (the notice about it mentioned both) ospidale which had provided shelter to pilgrims and travellers in medieval times. Unfortunately the church itself was locked, but the cafe in the nearby square was open and we stopped there for a mid-morning cafe latte. We are getting into a habit with this! But we also recognise the social importance of cafes in small isolated villages. Several older gentlemen came in for a glass of Prosecco and an espresso while we were there.
As we were leaving the village we spotted an interesting building across the street with an explanatory plaque which turned out to be an old wood oven typical of the Apennines. We realised we’d seen several similar buildings already without knowing what they were. We assume that all the bread (or pizza?) for the village was baked here at one time.
Just up the road we had the choice of staying on the road or taking a diversion along farm tracks, and opted for the latter as the seasonal stream we would have to ford wasn’t flowing. The farm tracks are not recommended in bad weather or when the river is in spate, but today was no problem as there has been so little rain this autumn. By this time the sunshine had broken through and the leaves were glowing in their autumn colours. We also spotted a small group of deer across a field, the first we’ve seen despite frequent roadside warnings about them.
Back onto the tarmac road we then climbed on up the valley to the village of Bordone, perched on a hillock, by this time with wonderful views up and down the valley we had been gradually ascending all morning.
In Bordone we went to have a look at the church and found a group of six Italians from Milan in the process of getting hold of the custodian of the key to unlock the church, so we decided to wait for that to be sorted out. What a surprise was in store! Inside a church which has been modernised there is a collection of stone carved friezes and statues dating from the 12th century, plus a 17th century embroidered silk gown and a display case containing archaeological finds dating from the Bronze Age. Not at all what we expected to see in a small village church, and it made us wonder what we’d missed in the other small locked churches we’ve walked past.
We were quite blown away by the treasures in this small church, and very glad we’d decided to wait whilst the key holder was tracked down. She also kindly offered to stamp our pilgrim passports for us. We then accepted the good wishes of the Italian group for the rest of our walk, and carried on up the road. Just at the edge of the village a couple of tables and seats had been set up for use by pilgrims so, as it was near enough lunch time, we decided to use them and to sit and admire the view for a while.
From Bardone we continued to climb up the valley, gaining another 150 metres in height by the time we reached the next village of Terenzo, perched on a steep hillside overlooking the valley we had come up this morning. By this time the early morning cloud at the top of the valley had transformed into afternoon temperature inversion at the bottom of the valley, with a wall of cloud moving slowly up behind us.
Little did we realise that the biggest challenge of the day was yet to come, with a steep and relentless climb up from Terenzo to the ridge above, gaining some 250 metres in height over a couple of kilometres. As we were amongst trees we didn’t often get a view back or ahead, and each time the path levelled off we thought we were nearly there, only to find another steep climb around the corner. This was undoubtedly the toughest part of the day.
When we reached the col at last we were rewarded with wonderful views over the next valley, half of it still in late afternoon sunlight, and the village of Casola. At this point the path took us down into the valley and back up the other side, whilst the road contoured around…so we followed the road as we’d had enough of climbing for now.
After Casola we decided to shorten our remaining walk by following the road or other tracks to avoid what appeared to be unnecessary descents and re-ascents. Much of it was in mixed deciduous and then coniferous woodland, making for very pleasant walking with intermittent views between gaps in the trees. As we were now on the sunny side of the ridge we’d climbed up to from Terezano the autumn colours were glorious.
We arrived in Cassio, our destination for today, within about half an hour of sunset, with the sun slanting across the road lighting up the trees. It was spectacular!
Tonight we are staying in the village’s pilgrim hostel which has been re-opened for us as the season ended at the end of October and there is no other accommodation in the vicinity. It is very cold and the heating has not been put back on, so our sleeping bags will be put to good use tonight, probably with some clothes too! At least there is good hot water for showers, and our meals are being provided as none of the village’s eating places are open.
We have again been very fortunate with the weather, and enjoyed wonderful views for most of the day. The church in Bardone and its display of old stone carvings was most unexpected, and it was only by lucky chance that we saw them. We’ve been wondering what the Apennines would be like in the spring, but they are certainly spectacular in autumn with the leaves turning colour. It has been a good day, and all that climbing has been worth the effort! Now we just hope we can stay warm enough to get a good sleep tonight.