Day 35 – Santa Maria Capua Vetere to Pomigliano d’Arco, Italy – 31km
It’s uncanny how quickly it happened. Within two days of leaving Roma, I was firmly, undeniably, in the South. How could I tell? I’m sure there are all kinds of markers, subtle and obvious, that I managed to neglect. But one jumps out above all the others: the garbage. In the spring, when I started […]
Day 34 – Corbara to Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy – 50km
What finally pushed Spartacus over the edge? It’s a question that’s simultaneously easy and difficult to answer. Easy because, having been enslaved as a gladiator, forced to battle wild animals and other humans to the death for sport, it’s only natural that one would eventually be pushed by desperation to pursue an unlikely escape. Challenging, […]
Days 32 & 33 – Monte San Biagio to Corbara, Italy – 88km
I should really know better. When I slipped out of the monastery this morning, I had a little extra spring in my step. It wasn’t the opening walk to Fondi, though it’s always nice to know you’ll have a (second) coffee waiting just an hour down the road. It didn’t involve my return to the […]
Days 30 & 31 – Cori to Monte San Biagio, Italy – 91km
Between 1265 and 1274, Thomas Aquinas set out in the Summa Theologica to prove that God exists, purely using five rational arguments, as opposed to drawing insights from scripture. Part 1 – The Argument from Motion: Drawing upon Aristotle’s writings, as Aquinas was wont to do, given his role as one of the great links […]
Day 29 – Albano Laziale to Cori, Italy – 38km
As the great American poet Bret Michaels once wrote, in a moment of breath-taking originality, “every rose has its thorn.” I’ve been thinking a lot over the last couple of days about the twists and turns of accomplishment and joy, about the pairing of decadent sweetness and churning nausea, or the delightful buzz and the […]
Day 28 – Roma to Albano Laziale, Italy – 26km
I picked up the Via Francigena just east of Circus Maximus, and while most walks in and out of major cities disappoint, this proved to be an absolute delight. The route follows the Via Appia Antica for the better part of the day, and this is the most important of all the great roads ever […]
Days 26 & 27 – Capranica to Roma, Italy – 79km
Last night, my host, Juliane, told me about the sword in the stone on today’s walk. It’s a convoluted tale involving Charlemagne’s famous nephew Roland, bickering locals trying to escape responsibility for the bill, and a culminating “screw you guys, I’m going home” conclusion. Who wouldn’t want to see a sword lodged in a stone? […]
Day 25 – Montefiascone to Capranica, Italy – 52km
One of the nice things about a long walk is that there’s no wiggle room. No time to waste, no time to spare. Just get up and go. And when you’re hosted by nuns, often that urgency cuts both ways. I had anticipated needing to turn down the offered breakfast because of timing, but Suor […]
Days 23 & 24 – Proceno to Montefiascone, Italy – 78km
The victors write the history and the Romans wrote a ton. Along the way, they managed to obscure, if not outright bury, the records of their former neighbors, rivals, and predecessors. And no people were simultaneously more accomplished and obliterated than the Etruscans. The Etruscans are often dubbed the first superpower of the Western Mediterranean, […]
Day 22 – Gallina to Proceno, Italy – 41km
How does someone become the face of a town? The question has been on my mind since I stayed in Ponte d’Arbia and saw a promotional brochure for Buonconvento. I imagine it’s difficult for a place like Buonconvento to differentiate itself from scores of other pretty, compact, Italian towns. So you’ve got a charming historic […]