Via francigena 2024 - Page 2

Pontremoli - Aulla - Sarzana - Massa

We had breakfast in the bar in the town's central square and struck up a conversation with a French couple. They came from Berceto and wanted to walk as far as Massa. We walked the first few kilometers together and then met them again in Aulla. Aulla was our destination for today, but there were still a few mountains in between. Experience had shown that we always needed a few days to break in. And then there was Manu's broken toe. So we finally started our run, which was very road-heavy at the beginning. We marched parallel to the almost dry Magra River through small villages, with only the occasional detour into the forest on the mountain flanks. Only from Villafranca onwards were there longer stretches of beautiful forest. We were still slow, and our backs had to get used to the heavy rucksacks again.

In Aulla, we first checked into the Abbazia di San Caprasio pilgrims' hostel. It had changed a lot for the better 🙂. Ten years ago there was just one cramped dormitory, now there were 3 large, well-maintained rooms with 2 bathrooms and a nice kitchen. I suspect one reason was that the donation was now collected in advance and had to have a minimum amount of €18. The donation system was often exploited because it was voluntary. The only thing I missed was the wonderful sound of the church bells on the terrace, but I couldn't find out why.

In the early evening, we treated ourselves to a kebab and then hovered in the nearby bar. During the day, we ate very little in the hot weather, so we rarely followed the late meal times in restaurants or pizzerias in Italy, but bought food in supermarkets or, as here, at the kebab snack bar. 6 pilgrims spent the night here today, relatively few, but yes, very few walk in hot August 🙂.

After breakfast in the bar in the morning, the route climbed steeply just after the village. Wonderful forest paths, idyllic mountain villages, but also difficult climbs on stony paths dominated the first two thirds of the route. The route then went downhill on the flanks of Monte Grosso, and from Ponzano onwards the landscape became less wooded. It quickly became hot. The descent was terrible on some sections, bumpy narrow paths with loose stones, so every step had to be right. When we arrived in Sarzana, we went straight to our accommodation. I usually write to pilgrim accommodation a few days in advance to see if there are 2 beds available. I didn't get an answer here, so we ended up in a B&B. 10 years ago I stayed here in the Parrocchia San Francesco di Assisi, but it was no longer listed in the hostel directory.

We turned on the TV in our accommodation today for a change, as they were broadcasting the Palio di Siena, the toughest and most spectacular horse race. It is held in our destination this year, Siena, on the Piazza del Campo. As I said, a spectacle 🙂. It was now unbearably hot, so today we only went to the Lidl a few meters away and ate on our terrace in the evening.

In the morning it looked gloomy outside, heavy thunderstorms were forecast. I had also caught an infection and was only walking on one cylinder. All this led to the decision to take the train to Massa. But first we walked into town to have breakfast. When we arrived in Massa, it was still raining cats and dogs, thunderstorms without a break. We still wanted to go to the sea and set off in the direction of Marina di Massa. 5 kilometers of busy streets, then the sea, still covered in dark clouds, but the rain had stopped. We stayed here for a long time and Manu started the first Aperol Spritz 🙂.

In the late afternoon we walked back to Massa, it took us a while to find the pilgrims' accommodation. It was very large, generally one of the better hostels. And there was a bar right in front of it, so we were set for the evening 🙂. Manu walked up to the castle, but it was closed. At least I managed to take some nice photos of the landscape around Massa, which is beautifully situated at the foot of the Apuan Alps, where the Carrera marble is quarried.