Italy

I first took a flight from London to Turin to spend the evening and enjoy dinner with Barbara who I had met last year in San Miniato and we walked together for a few days to Siena. It was wonderful to see her again and to catch up. The following morning I took a twenty-minute walk to the Torino Porta Nuova train station where I caught the high-speed Frecciarossa train to Rome. It was my

Distance: 23.5 km – Elevation +410 m -110 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 26 degrees I left the New Generation Hostel and walked to the Arco di Costantino. The triumphal arch was built in AD 315 to celebrate Constantine the Great’s victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in AD 312. Constantine was a major influence in the early growth of Christianity and it seemed so appropriate to begin, this first day of

Distance: 20.5 km – Elevation +780 m -750 m Weather: Sunny with rain pm. Temperature: High 27 degrees A really tough but beautiful day’s walk today. The first climb took me from the village of Albano Laziale up to a woodland where a shaded path skirted Lake Albano. It was a Sunday morning and I passed several people out exercising and there were fleeting glimpses through the woodland of the lake. After a short descent,

Distance: 22.5 km – Elevation +350 m -410 m Weather: Sunny. Overnight thunderstorms. Temperature: High 26 degrees I was really tired last night and consequently, I enjoyed a good nights sleep. After a moment of reflection and prayer in the small chapel next to the dormitory, I joined my hosts for breakfast after which they walked with me into the gardens of the Seminario where the priest gave me a blessing for my onward journey and

Distance: 14.4 km – Elevation +490 m -340 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 27 degrees The scheduled route suggests a stage of 30 kilometres to reach Sezze. I had decided from the start of this pilgrimage that I would keep daily distances relatively low for the first week and consequently, I decided to take two days to reach Sezze. So today I had set Norma as my destination – a distance of close to 15 kilometres

Distance: 19.4 km – Elevation +590 m -670 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 28 degrees I slept like a log last night in a very comfortable bed and woke to a beautiful clear morning with an expanse of blue sky. The breakfast room was on the same level as the roof terrace so I was able to enjoy breakfast together with the wonderful views of the Pontitian Plain that stretched westward towards the sea. It was

Distance: 27.5 km – Elevation +300 m -610 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 27 degrees I woke just before 6.00 am having slept for 9 hours. The air was fresh as I ventured onto the terrace to retrieve my washing which I had washed and hung out to dry before sleep last night. The washing was perfectly dry and I was back to two sets of fresh clean clothes. I had asked for an early breakfast

Distance: 16.6 km – Elevation +60 m -100 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 32 degrees After a very comfortable night and with just a flat 16 kilometre walk ahead of me I enjoyed a late breakfast in the company of the B&B’s siamese cat.  It was a beautiful morning with a cloudless wide blue sky stretching in front of me as I started out on what I knew was going to be a perfectly flat walk,

Distance: 17.8 km – Elevation +290 m -330 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 32 degrees It was a spectacular walk as the road climbed out of Terracina. The route followed the Via Piazza Palatina as it wound its way around Monte Giusto providing magnificent views back to Terracina, of the bay of Terracina and the Tyrrhenian Sea. As I continued, the Piana di Fondi and its lake spread out before me, it stretched to the distant

Distance: 26.3 km – Elevation +330 m -320 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 34 degrees I started early after a peaceful night in the Monastery. I knew it was going to be a long day – a big hill for much of the day ( see elevation detail). My first stop was going to be the town of Fondi, an important fruit and vegetable center, and the road from the monastery ran through what might be