Eva on the Via Francigena (and beyond)

Song of the Day: The Passenger — Iggy Pop

“I am a passenger / And I ride and I ride / I ride through the city’s backsides / I see the stars come out of the sky / Yeah, they’re bright in a hollow sky / You know it looks so good tonight”

I mostly associate this song with the summer I lived in Prague, when I would listen to it as I rode the trams around the city. But it was stuck in my head all morning today and seemed like a fitting complement to a rambling day.

Nathan and I have been doing long-distance for a year now, so I’m familiar with the rhythm, and know that the day he leaves is always difficult for me. So it wasn’t surprising to me that my head wasn’t 100% in it for a lot of the day. We woke up late (it’s possible I had one glass of wine too many yesterday given the distance I needed to walk today….) and packed together before grabbing cappuccinos and doughnuts to go at a bar downstairs.

I walked with Nathan to the train station, seeing him off for his 8am train before heading back to find the trail in the centro storico. I was very sad to see him go, but quickly had to focus on what I was doing as the trail climbed steeply out of Sarzana. Soon I found myself at a fortress with a large moat and a (somewhat misty) view back over Sarzana. I’d actually been here before — a completely random coincidence. My first trip to Italy was in Liguria, though I haven’t been back to this region in the intervening 7 years, despite my enjoyment of that trip. My grandmother, mother, and I stayed in a small villa where our Airbnb host, Lorella, took fantastic care of us. Once day she brought us on a driving tour around the Golfo dei Poeti, including one inland stop — to this fort above Sarzana. I sent my mom a picture asking if it looked familiar before continuing onward.

The next two hours were pretty much non-stop walking through suburban roads. The towns were charming enough, but there wasn’t much in terms of changing scenery. It started out cool and humid, with the mist still clinging to buildings, but soon enough the clouds cleared and it was another hot and sunny day as I crossed out of Liguria and into Tuscany.

Looking to break up some of the monotony, I stopped at a bar on the busy Via Aurelia (the highway that traces the path of the original Roman road) for a snack. Then I continued on through sunny fields, passing the entrance to the ruins of the city of the Roman city of Luni. Unfortunately they were closed, but I made my way around the edge of the complex, and through the fence saw a group of archaeologists hard at work.

Then I unfortunately was back on roads. It turns out — I learned from a man who stopped me to chat — that the highway was closed for some reason, so all of the traffic had been diverted to side streets. And so, I made my way down the narrow sidewalk in the hot sun with cars flying by, dangerously close. Frustrated, I set my sights on the town of Avenza and pushed onward. On the way into town, I passed a trio of Via Francigena signs advertising the walking, biking, and driving routes. In the immortal words of my friend Ricardo, I think the driving route is deeply unserious. Look, I’m no pilgrimage purist — obviously —- but I do think a certain amount of difficulty is involved in differentiating between a pilgrimage and a holiday. Driving around Tuscany along what happens to be the VF route, in my opinion, is a bridge too far to be considered an actual pilgrimage. (All of this with the normal caveats that, maybe for someone who is physically unable to walk or bike, this is the only way to experience the VF…)

I got the impression that Avenza — or at least its outskirts, though it doesn’t really have a centro storico — is a bit seedy. This makes sense as it sort of bleeds into a larger industrial area running along the coast. Either way, I struggled a bit before finally finding an open bakery, where I bought a tomato focaccia — not quite a pizza — for lunch, which I ate in a piazza as an old man on a scooter stared at me.

After eating and changing socks, I quickly packed up and made my way out of Avenza, across the train tracks and into a truly industrial area. I was in marble territory now — the quarries of Carrara were visible high above me in the mountains, and I walked by large warehouses where gigantic blocks of marble sat, waiting to be cut into sheets to be used for countertops and tiles. I thought it was a remarkable view of an ancient industry — even in pre-Roman times, “Luna marble” was famous — as a truck rumbled by, bringing even more blocks of stone from the hills.

Heading out of this zone, I turned onto a side street which quickly became a small trail, cutting uphill through a stand of trees. Emerging on the other side and ducking under a pergola of vines, I looked to my left and had my first view of the sea since Dover! Another remarkable reminder of the crazy distance I have covered in what feels like no time at all. I continued up further (the app describes this section as “flat,” ironically), passing two bikers resting in the shade near a sign advertising a barbecue.

And, suddenly, I was properly back in wine territory. Looking ahead of me towards Massa were rows and rows of vines carpeting the foothills. To my right, vast urban sprawl and then the sea, which glowed in the midday light. To my left, the spines of mountains like those I crossed a few days ago.

The next few miles went by pleasantly with views of vines ahead and behind. I called my mom for a bit to catch up and checked in with Nathan, who was waiting in Florence airport for his flight home. I stopped periodically to take photos and enjoyed the vistas.

As I started to descend from the hills, I saw a figure ahead of me: a Japanese pilgrim I have seen at a distance a few times now. We stopped and chatted for awhile before I continued on at a slightly faster pace, across a bridge and into the center of Massa, another lovely town, with its colorful buildings. I passed through two ornate gates to get into the city, and on my way to find the hostel stopped to gape at the marble-clad Cathedral (which, admittedly, was not as large as I had expected).

After checking in and getting settled (I am sharing a room with the Genji, the man from Japan), I headed out for a quick walk to visit the interior of the church, which uses much less marble than I was expecting. I found that after 17 miles or so my feet and knees were tired of walking, and my hamstring (which had been bothering me in Switzerland) was making itself known again. So, I parked myself at a cafe where I snacked on a crepe and read, before heading back out in search of aperitivo and dinner. I had a glass of wine at a bar and chatted with my dad on the phone, before moving just up the street to a restaurant. In the interim, I and a large, muscly Italian man stumbled upon a rabbit hanging out outside one of the shops. We stopped to pet the rabbit, whose owner eventually came over and introduced him as Dante — only 4 months old, he is already trained enough to hop around outside of her shop without a leash!

Final mileage: 17.31mi
Walking time: 7h 22m
Elevation gain: 2,083 ft

Accommodation: Ostello Palazzo Nizza. Pretty standard fare, well-located in the center of town