DAY 112 – AULLA TO SARZANA

We dined well in the hotel restaurant Demy last night, and our room was very comfortable. This morning we woke to thick fog with an autumn chill in the air. Today we had two mountains to climb, with more than 400m of ascent, taking the direct route to Sanzana. According to the VF route description we were promised the first sight of the Mediterranean.

We set out at 0740 walking back through the town centre where we’d been yesterday afternoon.

The Hotel Demy

Last night we had crossed the bridge over the main river Marga for the views. This morning we crossed a tributary of the river, with ghostly views up and downstream in the fog.

We were almost immediately into a steep climb up out of the valley, for the start of the day’s first mountain. However the going under foot was good and the climb, though sustained, was at least steady.

At around 250m in height we emerged above the fog to clear views of the mountains and a sea of white fog completely hiding Aulla from sight, though we could hear the traffic far below.

A little further on we came to the first fortified village of the day, Bibola, perched on top of a hill with commanding views over the valley, still shrouded in fog.

Bibola perched on top of a hill with its ruined castle
Occasionally our path was on the sunny side of the hills, but mostly we were in shade

A little further along we met another pilgrim: a young man from Chartres who is a professional cook looking to experience Italian food along the way. He, like us, has not been overly impressed with Italian food since he started walking the Via Francigena from Aosta. Benjamin told us that on our rest day, when it rained in Filetto, he had been crossing the Passo della Cisa in rain, sleet, and snow. We were very glad we had come through the pass earlier in better weather.

Vecchietto village looking back towards the Apennines

In the next village, Vecchietto, we were so engrossed in conversation that we took the wrong path. Fortunately a kind man stopped us, checked we intended to follow the Via Francigena, and then led us back up the street to the turning we should have taken. The path led us upwards through olive groves, with lovely views back down the valley.

For the next couple of hours we climbed on up through woodland on variable tracks: some good and some potential ankle-twisters requiring care and intense concentration. We were amused by one of the more unusual route markers…and bemused as to how it got there. Usually the red and white painted markers are on trees, rocks, or wooden signposts.

An unusual place for a VF route marker!

At 1203 we had our first glimpse of the Mediterranean, verified by Tom getting out his binoculars to be sure we weren’t mistaking a line of haze for sea on the horizon. So, we are close to achieving another significant milestone by walking across Europe, from the English Channel/La Manche to the Mediterranean.

Our first view of the Mediterranean and the inlet of La Spezia top right

As we were unable to find anywhere comfortable to sit for lunch we continued walking until we got to the village of Ponzano Superiore. Just outside the village there was a flat grassy area in an olive grove in the sunshine which was perfect to sit and enjoy the distant sea views. It was so warm during the middle of the day today that we wished we’d been walking in shorts rather than the long trousers we swapped to wearing a couple of days ago.

Ponzano Superiore from the path above
A train enthusiast’s garden ornament?
16 young men from this small village died in WW1

Although the official VF route swung out of the village almost immediately, there was an attempt to engage visitors with a life-like tableau in the wash house below the village. Unfortunately there was no explanatory information with the display so we don’t know when the wash house was last in use.

Looking back to Ponzano Superiore and its olive groves

Below the village we wound our way past olive groves, vineyards and vegetable gardens, before climbing another smaller hill topped by the ruined Castello della Brina which dates from the 11th century and has extensive commanding views over the valley below.

View from Castello della Brinsa

On our way off the hillside Tom was particularly interested in a quarry restoration project, reminding him of his days working on mine closure planning for RioTinto.

Once down to the valley bottom much of the route into Sarzana followed an irrigation channel. It was easy level walking, until the last urban stretch along busy roads when we were back to flapping our walking poles at motorists coming too close for comfort.

Spotting for fish in an irrigation channel

The centre of Sarzana contains many old buildings, narrow paved streets, and a wide range of shops. What a contrast with Aulla, so we infer that Sarzana was not a target of heavy WW2 bombing. It was busy when we arrived late afternoon, with many people sitting outside cafes despite it being late November. The only irritation was canned music being broadcast in the streets, perhaps to encourage Black Friday shoppers.

Whilst we were passing we dropped in to have a look at the cathedral, which was in almost total darkness. It was so dark we couldn’t find a slot machine to switch on the lights! There was a light switch to illuminate the famous painted cross by Master Guglielmo, though it only lasted a couple of minutes before timing out.

Having found shops to replenish our lunch stock we headed to our accommodation just outside of the old part of the city.

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