Wandering Loose in Italy: Siamo arrivati a San Pietro a Roma

We left early again to beat the heat, which is much worse in the city. As I took this photo a seagull was eating a rat in front of us.

The awarding of the Testimonium document is underwhelming compared to the Compostella in Santiago. They stamp your credential and give you a blank form.

The trail is 340 miles over mountains and all kinds of landscapes. It’s physically hard and resources for walkers are often limited. We (except Ann!) took a ride 4 times, mostly just because of too-long stages, so just for the first couple of miles. We got a ride for 20 miles near the end and skipped one stage. Ann and Gayden are tough, strong, fast walkers, and significantly outperformed Kenton and Josette and I. Gayden was not on our plan all the way but met us at Saint Peter’s.

We navigated using trail markings (often missing or confusing); the GPX track from Cicerone; Sandy Brown’s Cicerone guidebook; Apple Maps, google maps, dead reckoning, pilotage, and taking to locals. The Way of Saint Francis-Via Francesca – is much harder than any Camino I have walked. The weather was great most of the time but hot by noon at the end.

The people we met at the lodging, restaurants, bars, and city halls were kind and helpful. Many Italians speak some English, and google translate does the rest. We made a few pilgrim friends along the way (although you could go a full day without meeting any) and a few will show up in a future post.

I read two historical books on Saint Francis before the trip as well as some Italian history. I have opinions on the church’s response to this incredibly popular man I won’t share here; best to stay positive on a pilgrimage.