St. Francis Way - Rieti

The day started with an uphill climb to the tiny borough of Monteluco, population 27. Located on a limestone mountain at an elevation of 2,559ft (780m), is the Sacred Wood of Monteluco, a forest of evergreen oaks. Within the forest is a 13th Franciscan convent which St Francis lived in for a short period of time in 1218 and is said to have visited often.

Walking across the woods, then through lush forests I reached the other side of the mountain. Descending I came across the ancient abandoned village of Sensati, most of it taken over by vegetation, then down to Ceselli. From Ceselli I hiked through a narrow valley passing several small villages like Macenano and Precetto, then across the River Nera to Ferentillo. Here the valley opened up to a small plane where I followed the river course to Arrone and onwards to Marmore Falls.

The Marmore Falls is a man-made waterfall created by the Romans around 271BC. Its purpose was to divert stagnant waters that fed the wetland in the Rieti Valley as a way to mitigate perceived health risks. It is a three-tier waterfall at 541ft (165m) tall with the longest drop at 279ft (85m) and the tallest in Europe and second tallest in the world.

Leaving the region of Umbria behind, I entered the region of Lazio. I climbed up to Labro (2,067ft/630m), a perfectly preserved village with a castle overlooking Lake Piediluco and travelled through the Reatini mountain range. Continuing the climb I made it to the little chapel of Saint Francis (3,609ft/1100m) and the famous beech-tree that legend says sheltered St Francis during a storm. At 26ft (8m) tall and circumference of 13ft (4m) it has a weeping shape (unlike other beech trees) almost as if embracing Francis to shelter him. Its gnarled and twisting branches seemed to give it a fairytale-like shape. Pilgrims on the Way of St Francis leave offerings at the base of the tree.

Descending again across meadows and woods along the flanks of Mount Rosato, I took a rest at the Sanctuary of Poggio Bustone. Historians of Francis' life indicate that it was here he had a vision where his past sins were forgiven and he prophesised that his mission of peace would begin at this Sanctuary.

The final descent took me into the ancient town of Rieti. Thought to be founded at the beginning of the Iron Age, around 9th-8thC BC, the town was originally occupied by Umbri (Italic people of ancient Umbria), then Aborigines (oldest inhabitants of central Italy) and later by Sabines (central Apennines). The town sits to the south-east of a large plane that once used to be a large lake. It was drained by the ancient Romans leaving only two small lakes behind.

The beautifully preserved town centre has two main piazzas that holds many historical monuments. However, it is the small Piazza San Rufo that holds a unique interest in that it is considered to be the geographic centre of Italy. It is marked by a low circular monument with a map of Italy on top. Besides the monument is the small Church of San Rufo. On its exterior wall is a plaque inscribed in 19 languages "Centre of Italy". Whilst the church on the outside is somewhat plain, the interior is richly decorated in Baroque-style.

Beside a modern bridge, protruding from Velino River was the sunken remains of an old Roman bridge built in 3rdC BC that connected to Via Salaria (Salaria Street) an ancient salt trade route. The bridge was the only crossing of the river and hence was regularly restored and fortified over the centuries. Unfortunately large deforestation in the late 1800s caused the Velino River to swell and flood the area threatening its stability. By the 1920s, engineers planned to dismantle and reuse its components but it proved costly and was demolished. It was replaced by a cement bridge in 1939 which shortly after was bombed by German forces. The current bridge was built in the 1950s.

Just over half a mile away from the bridge on Via Salaria is a tunnel entrance to what is known as "Rieti Underground" where remains of a Roman viaduct can be explored. It was built to transport goods beneath Via Salaria because it was prone to flooding when the river overflowed.



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St. Francis Way - Gibbo

Further up from the hamlet of Baucca, I turned off the main road and headed into the hills on a small winding country road, travelling in and out of woodland, over open spaces through Pietralunga, down into a valley and straight into the medieval city of Gubbio.

Gubbio's origins are ancient as far back as the Stone Age. It was conquered in 2ndC BC by the Romans and at the time the city was named Iguvium. Around 20BC the Roman's built an amphitheatre with large blocks of limestone. Although now in ruins it remains the second-largest amphitheatre surviving in the world. There's enough of its original structure to imagine what it might have once looked like.

What brought Gubbio to prominence was the 1000 knights that joined the First Crusade into the Holy Land. It is said they were the first to penetrate the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem when the city was seized in 1099. A powerful city, Gubbio spent the following centuries in various wars with surrounding neighbours until it was rolled into the Kingdom of Italy in 1860.

Around the 15thC, a tin-glazed pottery industry known as maiolica emerged giving rise to Giorgio Andreoli, a renown and important potter of the Renaissance period. Giorgio became a citizen of Gubbio and became famous for inventing lusterware, metallic glaze that gave an iridescent effect, using red and gold. He was assisted by his brothers, Salimbene and Giovanni and upon his death the work was continued by his son Vicenzo.

To reach the Sant'Ubaldo Basilica on top of Mount Ingino, I had to take a cable car that is, if you could call it that. The contraption was a cross between a bucket and a topless bird cage. There was only space for two people, standing up with the railings at chest level. At 2,953ft (900m) above ground level, I was thankful it was only a short 6 minutes ride.

The Basilica is set atop a plateau with views across the entire valley and the Apennine Mountains beyond. It houses the body of 12thC Bishop Ubaldo Baldassini, patron saint of Gubbio, in a glass sarcophagus that is kept atop the main altar on a marble plinth. There is an adjacent convent and both were built in the early 1500s. Once richly decorated in Baroque style, much of it was destroyed after the bombings of WWII. Choosing to hike back down, I followed a zig-zag trail through forestry straight into town.

This trail is used each year on May 15th, St Ubaldo Day, for a running event called Corsa dei Ceri (the Ceri is a heraldic emblem on Umbria's coat of arms). The race consists of three teams each dressed in yellow, blue or black tops with white pants and red belts and neckbands. Each team represents one of three saints: St Ubald, St George or St Anthony the Great. The race requires the teams to run up the mountain to the basilica carrying a statue of their saint, mounted on a wooden octagonal prism. The statue measures 13ft (4m) tall and weighing 617lb (280kg).

Legend has it that around 1220, St Francis of Assisi was living in Gubbio where a fierce wolf appeared, terrorising the humans by attacking their livestock at first and later moving onto humans. Apparently no weapon was able to destroy it and those who tried were devoured by the wolf. With the city under siege, St Francis took leave to meet the wolf. As soon as the wolf saw him, it charged with its jaws wide open. St Francis making the sign of the Cross, demanded the wolf stop attacking at which point the wolf ceased his attack and docilely trotted up to St Francis laying at his feet, putting its head in St Francis' hands. A pact was made between St Francis and the wolf, that if it was fed by the people of Gubbio, it would cease any further attacks. The wolf lived for a further two years in peace. St Francis gave it an appropriate burial and later built the Church of St Francis of the Peace on the site. Apparently in 1872, when the church was being renovated, a skeleton of a wolf was found buried under a slab. It was reburied back inside.

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Cotswold Way - Tormarton

 Continuing on a flat landscape, I passed the village of Wortley and diagonally crossed a pasture with grazing sheep. There are numerous breeds of sheep in the UK, however, one breed special to the area is the Cotswold Sheep. Known for their long wool, they are thought to be descendants of long wool sheep introduced by the Romans in the first century AD. They became an important part of American farming in the early 19th century until they were replaced by Australia’s merino sheep. On the decline, the breed joined the ‘rare breed list’ until recent renewed interest by spinners. Yielding 15lb (7kg) of wool per shearing with fibres up to 20 inches (50 cm) long has turned the tide on their numbers. The fleece is described as lustrous and sometimes referred to as “poor man’s mohair”.

I entered a narrow yet densely wooded section, with little light filtering through, yet oh so delightful and exited on the outskirts of the small village of Alderley. As the trail meandered up and down the hills, I enjoyed a combination of narrow earthen paths with overarching trees providing shade and single-lane roads lined with hedges and a smattering of cottages.

About a mile before Hawkesbury, I came upon the Somerset Monument, a 100ft (30m) tall tapering stone structure with a viewing platform at the top overlooking the local area, as well as Bristol and on a good day even as far as the Welsh border across the Severn River and Valley. Built in 1846, the tower was dedicated to Robert E. Somerset, a British soldier who fought in the Battle of Waterloo.

Hawkesbury is a small hamlet with St Mary’s Church at the centre of it. A simple church of Norman origins, it was built on the site of an earlier Saxon church whose incumbent, Wulfstan, a parish priest elevated to Bishop of Worcester, became the last surviving pre-Norman conquest bishop. A social reformer, Wolfstan was a strong opponent of the slave trade and nearly succeeded in stopping the trade between nearby Bristol and Ireland. In 2021, St Mary’s Church installed a ring of eight bells in the tower with the largest one weighing 1,322lb (600kg) and named it in honour of Wolfstan.

Across the street from the church, up a hill, are two old walnut trees marking the location of the abandoned Hawkesbury Manor House. Owned by Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool, the house is where his son Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool was born. Robert was to become Prime Minister of the UK from 1812-1827.

A mile further from Hawkesbury, I came upon Horton Court, a National Trust property with history stretching back to the 12th century and thought to be the oldest vicarage in England. Adjacent to the house is St James’ Church, built around 1300 from Cotswold stone.

Passing through the villages of Horton and Old Sodbury, I walked through Dodington Park, laid out in the 18th century by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, a landscape architect who was prominent in the development of the English landscape garden style featuring rolling hills, lakes and groves of trees.

I ended this section of my journey in Tormarton. With my eyes set on a pot of tea with homemade scones, jam and cream, I'm off to search for a café serving it.

 

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