Benevento to Casalbore – 17th June
Distance: 27.8 km – Elevation +980 m -480 m
Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 28 degrees
The town was deserted and the morning air was cool as I left Benevento just before 6 am. I walked through the Arco di Traiano which is in front of the square where I had a delicious pasta supper last night. Leaving the town outskirts I found open countryside before walking through a very quiet industrial complex.
Then for the rest of the day, it was up and up and more – even the descents were followed by steep ups! This is a wheat-growing area and the plains that stretched out before me were a magnificent patchwork quilt of golds, browns and greens. I passed through small farming communities and everyone I met greeted me with a smile and a wave.
I was also partly following the route of the ancient Via Traina and came to Ponte Ladrone where the remains of an old bridge are located. There is a notice in Italian which translates as follows:
“One of the bridges of the ancient Via Traiana. it allowed the passage on the Vallone della Ferrara between the territories of Sant Arcangelo Trimonte and Buonalbergo. The Ladrone bridge owes its name not to a sad place where crimes were practised to the detriment of passing pilgrims, but to the Latin word “Later” material brick of which the walls were made. Today very little remains of the original structure but still evident and the peculiarity that differentiates it from the other bridges present on the ancient roadway is a deviation of about thirty degrees on the bases to the right that crosses the stream in the NE-SW direction. At the moment, cleaning and redevelopment operations are underway by the Equites Vaie Traiane Association – Curators Viarum (I Cavaliere della Via Traiana) in collaboration with the municipality of Sant Arcangelo Trimonte.
It was another glorious but hot day requiring cooling down stops. I stopped in a couple of bars where the local people were inquisitive and interested in my pilgrimage. In Buonalbergo, the lady owner of the second bar gave me a bottle of ice-cold water and an ice lolly as I left.
You will see from the elevation profile that it was a tough day with close to 3000 feet climbed and 28 kilometres walked. This is a very beautiful part of Italy and the people are lovely. I am staying on a farm tonight and they provide evening meals – so I can just rest. Tomorrow is an easier day.
