I left Viterbo from a different gate to the one I’d entered yesterday.
I can imagine the trepidation of pilgrims leaving the security of a walled town to face the danger of brigands, wolves and so on. I only have the traffic to contend with.
An early part of the walk followed the path of a minor Roman road though there wasn’t much left to see.
I met a man out collecting mushrooms. He had a basket with leaves to cover the mushies.
These were porcini , boletus edulis, though he said they were a bit old.
There was a lot of climbing this morning – up through a large and beautiful beech forest .
I had glimpses of the Lago di Vigo
and glimpses of mud!
The forest was beautiful with only the sound of birds twittering breaking the silence .
There were a few cyclists coming past – there’s one in the distance n the photo above.
I had a lady bug hitch hiking for a while before she flew off.
It was a steady climb for a few hours to the peak of my walk at Le Cime just over 900m above sea level or 600m above Viterbo.
After passing the forest, I walked through an area of wheat growing and hazel nut plantations.
Here you can see the hazel nut trees on the right and a beautiful old oak tree on the left..
I passed the town of Ronciglione.
How different it is to the Austrian towns I was walking through 5 weeks ago!
Mid afternoon I arrived at Sutri, an ancient and very pleasant town.
Without the shower I was dying for and without changing from my boots to my light shoes, I headed straight to the archeological park that I missed three years ago.
There’s an amphitheater cut out of the tuff volcanic rock dating from around the first century AD.
What I really was keen to see was the little church of the Madonna del Parto dating from the 8th century. I was lucky to get on the last guided visit of the day
It’s thought to have started life as s temple to the Persian god Mithras . This cult was spread through the empire by soldiers and temples were located underground or in caves .
This is the church from the outside .
Inside you can see how it’s been carved out of the rock.
I love the medieval fresco of pilgrims heading to Rome. I need to get one of those hats!
Sutri has s nice community feel to it.
Kids play in the main square before dinner time.
I found a nice family restaurant with home style cooking away from the main square, Il Buco del Salvatore.
Time to go to bed – my sleep last night was interrupted by itchy arms from my adventure yesterday .
Tomorrow I’m walking to the hill town of Formello from where you can see the suburbs of Rome.
Paul
A word to read on your last night in Formello. In sight of the finish line a good time to think back on the highlights and rigours of the walk. A look at the map of the path shows you’ve gone through lots of mountainous areas and covered a heap of kms. Each day I have got up keen to see what you did the day before and the photos of course. Enjoy the satisfaction of the finish.
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Hi Larry Thanks got your message. I was falling asleep writing the post last night. Arriving is always a bitter sweet moment. You’ve managed to complete the walk but the adventure is over .
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So glad you were able to see that underground church. I can’t imagine the effort it took to make it. And Mithras again. 😊
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It was a bit yucky as I sweat so much I was wet through with sore feet but it’s a magical place to visit
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Paul- I’m catching up belatedly with some of your posts that I couldn’t download. That church Madonna del Parto! How very remarkable to that it is still standing and that those frescoes retain their vivid colours! This is indeed an amazing adventure and thank you for sharing these treasures with us.
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Thanks Vicki. I’m so glad I got to see that little church, it’s such a jewel . There are limited numbers allowed in each guided visit and I just made it in the last visit of the day, wet through with sweat from my day’s walk! I wonder what the others on the visit thought .
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