Terracina to San Magno Monastery – 8th June
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 Ausoni and Aurunci Mountains. It was all incredibly beautiful. I also found myself walking on a section of the original Appia Antica.
About 5 kilometres from Terracina I passed a farmer working in a small olive grove and we exchanged waves. A little later I came to a farmhouse located at the end of the Via Piazza Palatina where I had considerable difficulty in locating the onward path. After a few abortive attempts I sat down on a bench outside the farmhouse to recheck the maps of the route which clearly indicated a path by the side of the farmhouse. The farmer, who I had spoken to earlier, returned to the farmhouse and seemed rather agitated that I was sitting on his bench and beckoned me to get up and follow him. He led me around the side of the farmhouse to a fence in front of an almost vertical bank, he removed the fence and indicated the path to follow was above the bank. It was only a short climb but it was vertical and with a rucksack exceedingly difficult, requiring the use of hands as well as feet. I felt relief when I eventually made it to the path but the relief was short-lived. The path can only be described as a goat track, just a single foot track that ran alongside the slope of the mountain. The track was lined with prickly gorse. It was hot too, as I felt the scorching heat of the sun as it hit me, and the slopes on which I was walking. There was no shade and the path was too precarious to use my umbrella. I really needed to stop to allow myself to cool. The only solution I found was a waist-high gorse bush, where I was able to sit on the track and dig a trough with my feet and extend my legs below the gorse, and then use my umbrella to provide a degree of respite from the sun. It worked and after drinking a copious amount of water my body cooled allowing me to continue.
Once off the mountainside, the route to my destination was relatively straightforward, following a mixture of country lanes, state roads and tracks. I arrived at Abbey of San Magno, which stands at the foot of Monte Arcano, in mid-afternoon.
The monastery was founded in 533 AD in the memory of the martyr San Magno who, during the second half of the third century, was persecuted and executed by the Roman emperor Decius. In 1798 the abbey was looted and destroyed by Napoleon’s French troops. After a long period of neglect and abandonment the Abbey was restored and re-opened in 2007. I had prebooked my stay here and was greeted and welcomed by the caretaker who took me to the pilgrim quarters, a single self-contained room. Meals were not provided, so I walked the short distance to the local shop to buy food for supper and breakfast. I was left on my own during the stay and was able to wander and explore the monastery and its grounds, and I must say I felt a great sense of peace and serenity during my stay.
