Today’s start was unusual: it was downhill! After a steep zig-zag down the hairpin bends of the Villa Cavallini’s drive, it was then a gentle uphill path alongside the river to take us into Camaiore. Although the sun was shining warmly this morning it was quite cold in the shade and we needed our cagoules and woolly hats.
On entering Camaiore an advertising board invited pilgrims to visit the museum, but as it is only open from 1000-1200 it was too late for us with a long day’s walk ahead. When we arrived in the central piazza the church bells were ringing to call people to Sunday Mass but we were able to slip inside the church for a quick look before the service started. The Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta originates from 1260, was rebuilt in the 13-14th centuries, and retains its simple stone facade with rose window and Greek cross above. Inside, the church has later alterations but it has retained a modest simplicity, which we liked.
Once clear of the town, the path followed the edge of woodland on the side of a valley, leading us gently upwards. We were just thinking it was time to stop for a rest when, there before us, was a bench placed for weary pilgrims! Nearby was a display about Siguric’s pilgrimage to and from Rome in 990-994.
Further on up the valley there was a steep, though relatively short, climb up to the village of Montemagno. At the last few metres we were bemused by a sign stuck onto the door of a derelict chapel asking pilgrims to ‘walk in a silent and respectful way since people live around us who want to rest in the morning’. The house opposite looked uninhabited, and only the very fittest of pilgrims would have had breath to spare for making a noise on such a steep hill. We have yet to meet a rowdy pilgrim!
Perched on a col at 220m, the village of Montemagno has lovely views back down the valley towards Camaiore and beyond. As it was Sunday there were again many cyclists out enjoying the late autumn sunshine. They, like us, were pausing at the col to take breath and appreciate the views from the top of the steep climb.
Whilst the cyclists then descended with the cars into the next valley, our path continued to climb higher before taking us back down into a different valley and the village of Licetro. After contouring along the hillside for a while the path plunged steeply downhill again, into Vallone.
At this point we had to decide whether to do another steep uphill and downhill via Gualdo, or take the easier option of walking along the road to Valpromaro. We opted to take the easier route to try to make up some time. The steep ups and downs by rough paths take a lot longer than contouring along a smooth tarmac road, as well as being harder on the knees and hips.
In the centre of Valpromaro we had the choice of three benches in the sun for our lunch stop, and chose the one furthest away from the busy through road. Adjacent was a very striking bronze statue commemorating the three young men from this small village who were lost in the First World War, including one declared missing, presumed dead, in 1925. What an exacerbated disaster that must have been for the grieving family who were stuck in limbo for 7 years after the end of the war.
Leaving Valpromaro we picked up our footpath again, climbing back up another hill to the pretty village of Piazzano. Here we found a bench in the sun to sit for a brief rest admiring the view over olive groves and valley below. Onwards through the village we liked an advent display in an alcove, though it was hard to believe it is the beginning of advent when it was so warm and sunny. We could then hear the hubbub of many voices and around a corner came upon what looked like a street party outside the church. We were tempted to stop and join in, but with many kilometres still to walk we said our greetings and pressed on.
Outside Piazzano we noticed that the cemetery had gravestones as we see them in churchyards at home rather than the rows of huge family vaults we’ve been seeing in Italy until now. Diverted by this observation we missed our turning off the road and had to turn back after a few hundred metres. Our VF app and the signs differed on where our route lay. We soon realised why: the off-road path shown by our app was very steep and badly eroded, so it was slow going to avoid sliding or falling over.
At the bottom of the hill we joined another road in the valley and then followed it for the next 6 kilometres into Ponte San Pietro. Despite a 50kph speed limit most cars were going much faster and, as ever, some were reluctant to keep clear of us, so there was more stick waving and the occasional toot from an irritated driver worried about his car’s paintwork. Only once so far has there been contact between walking pole and car, and the motorist just carried on.
This part of the walk wasn’t very interesting as the adjacent stream had no fish in it and there were no views. However, we noticed that some of the newly built houses had adopted the use of ventilating bricks upstairs as we’d seen in storage barns, presumably for the same purpose.
At Ponte San Pietro we were able to walk along the top of a flood defence bund, giving us a better perspective on the land around us. The church clock struck four as we were passing. The sun was by now low in the sky and the temperature dropping. Further along the wall we took the road bridge across the River Serchio, and turned upstream to follow a wide and well used path beside the river. There were many runners, walkers, and dog-walkers out enjoying the last of the Sunday afternoon daylight.
After about 3 kilometres, and with the sun having set, we turned away from the river and towards the centre of Lucca. We just managed to get into lit streets before it became so dark that we would have needed to pull out our torches. As usual, provision of pavements and safe crossings for pedestrians were patchy, but we made it safely to one of the city gates, the Porta San Donato. Once within the walls of the old city there was very little traffic allowed so we could concentrate on finding our accommodation, tucked away down a narrow paved street off the main shopping street.
And so we have come to the end of this stage of our walk. We will have a much-needed rest day here in Lucca tomorrow before setting out on the two day journey home for a longer period of rest and recuperation.
With the completion of this, our fourth stage, our calculations indicate that we have walked 2006 km from Salisbury to Lucca, which is 82.89% of the total distance to Rome, leaving less than 20% to complete.
It’s been an interesting leg with contrasting landscapes: from Alpine mountains and foothills to the open plains of the Po Valley; the wooded hills and snowcapped mountains of the Apennines to the urbanised coastal plains of the Riviera della Versilia. We’ve visited some historic cities with magnificent cathedrals including: Vercelli, Pavia, Piacenza, Fidenza, Pontremoli and Lucca. We’ve also met some fascinating people along the way. There was Carla Morello, the ‘Young Farmer Girl’. There was the Frenchman with his lovely dog from La Rochelle who’d walked from Briancon to Rome and was on his way back home again. There was the Swiss Guard who, having completed his two years duty at the Vatican, was on his way home to Lucerne on foot. There was a young German chap who was travelling all over the world making use of a gap between jobs to walk from Aosta to Rome. There was the very fit looking young Spaniard from Valencia with his multicoloured washing-up sponge shoulder pads. Then there was Isabella Cavallini who has given up a career as a vet to pursue her passion in running the family estate and villa. We wish all of them and many others we’ve met well in their endeavours and adventures.