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We departed at 8:00 AM. The high temperature yesterday was 97 F, and we wanted to ensure that we put as many kilometers behind us as possible before the sun really began to bear down. The streets of Meldola were fairly lively this morning; people were out running their morning errands and going to work. I began to think about the fact that Italians orient their days around the daily temperature cycle. One does some business in the morning while it is still cool. Then, in the late morning through the afternoon, you lay low in the shadows of your home, When evening comes and the heat abates, it is time to emerge and walk around the town. It is a very sensible system. Only people like us, who must rack up the kilometers, are crazy enough to walk in the noon-day heat.
After leaving town, we plunged into a mixture of farms and forest. Today’s route loosely tracked the Fiume Bidente (Bidente river). I imagine that the river is responsible for the alluvial flood plain that fills the valley we were ascending.
Fisherman, Fiume Bidente
Here is a note for future walkers: after coming off the first bridge over the river, make certain that you take the first right hand turn that presents itself. There is a waymark (placed high in a tree), but if you do not see it when you pass (as we didn’t) then you will find yourself continuing on the asphalt road that leads up a steep slope to Castelnuovo. This would be unfortunate, as it is definitely not the right way to go.
Once we found the right path, it was a very pleasant walk. We strolled through a shady grove beside the river. Birdsong erupted all around us and the slow-moving water of the river was very peaceful.
As we continued up the valley, I noted that the ridges that contained us were growing higher and wilder. Each step bore us closer to Italy’s spine, the Apennine mountains.
The peaks grow higher
At one point, the route ventured out onto the busy statale. In Gualdo, just before we joined this highway, we found a small park with a bench under a shady tree. Not only that, but there was also a fountain to refill our water bottles with cold mountain water.
Lovely.
We hiked 1.2 kilometers along the highway, which, despite the fact that the cars were moving at a very fast clip, felt much safer because there was a nice shoulder that we could walk on. It certainly felt a lot safer than it did yesterday on the shared bike path.
As we approached Cusercoli, we saw what appeared to be a large monastery filling the skyline. It turned out to be an ancient medieval fort/castle. There did not seem to be any obvious way to visit the castle, so we passed through the town, admiring its stonework and narrow medieval roads.
Castle at Cusercoli
The day had gone very smoothly. We had logged about 13 kilometers and were looking forward to ending our day’s trek.
The Via had other plans for us. The path now turned toward the growing ridgeline to our right. We passed a small lumber mill and then began to ascend the side of a peak. To compress a difficult passage into a few sentences: it was arduous. After a couple of weeks on the flat land, the sudden ascents and descents on shale-crabbed dirt paths were taxing. Up and down. Up and down. Gain fifty meters and then give it right back again.
Mary in Wheat
We were very happy to make our final descent from the slopes and see Civitella glistening in the distance. We hiked into town, and on the outskirts, found a small roadside piadina (sandwich) shop. I had a mushroom and cheese piadina, and drank a liter of ice tea and a half liter of water just to get it down. I was incredibly thirsty.
We continued into Civitella. It is a beautiful little town, with gorgeous architecture and a delightful central piazza. On the outskirts of town we discovered the Santuario della Beata Vergine della Suasia (The Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Persuasion). The large, domed basilica was erected on this spot after Mary appeared to an orphan in 1556. It was a lovely building, although I had the impression it might be badly in need of restoration.
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| Santuario |
In any event, we reached our destination and stood down for the evening. Tomorrow will be a short (but steep) stage, and after that, two of the most difficult days in the entire trip as we cross over the mountains to La Verna.
Today’s Distance:23.8
Total Distance:670
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