VF Stage 4 – Acquapendente to Bolsena – 24kms

Song of the Day: Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey by the Beatles…enough said 🙂

Bonasera (good evening) from Bolsena. I have now officially left the Tuscany region, crossing the border into Lazio – the region that is home to Roma.

Before attacking today’s 24km stage, I had a nice restful break over the last few days. Restful that it was good for my body, but not great for a ‘less stress’ time…let me explain. On Saturday I elected to skip a stage to take on another rest day. Unfortunately, the Italian public transport system had other ideas. The one and only bus to my destination did not arrive. Options were therefore extremely bleak. Potentially a €200+ taxi ride (that is close to $400 Aussie)…ouch. But then the Tuscan Angels appeared. Valentina, my host for my two day stay in San Quirico d’Orcia, kindly offered to drive me to my next destination, despite the fact it was quite a distance from her home. Her mother came along for the drive as well. They really did save the day, so thank you again Valentina!

Before heading out for the next stage, I did manage to spend a little time at the beautiful Basilica Cattedrale di San Sepolcro in Acquapendente. The church was said to have been founded by Queen Matilda of Westphalia in the 12th century. According to legend, the Queen stopped in Acquapendente whilst travelling to Rome with mules carrying gold to build a sanctuary. The mules knelt and refused to move any further, prompting the Queen to build the Basilica there in Acquapendente. During the Middle Ages, the church was very popular as a destination for pilgrims. There is a crypt below the main church floor – a replica of the crypt at the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem, which is said to be built on the traditional site of Jesus’ Crucifixion and burial. So, what’s the connection with the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem and the church crypt in Acquapendente? It is said that some stones bathed in the blood of Jesus were brought by the crusaders from Jerusalem and are kept in the crypt at Acquapendente. My phone light was the only help I could muster to see where I was going in the crypt.

This morning was an early start for my walk to Bolsena (on the feet by 5.10am), a lovely commune on the banks of Lake Bolsena. Apparently, it is the largest volcanic lake in Europe. It is a very popular wellness and holiday area for Italians and tourists alike. As with all the other stages so far on the VF, there was amazing scenery – sheep, sheep dogs, sunflowers, sun farms! My pilgrim count increased exponentially today having meet a great family team (Dad and his two sons) walking the VF in support of ALS research (ALS is often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Great to see such a tight knit family enjoying their time together on pilgrimage.

And of course, the big highlight at the end of the day was connecting with my good friend Linda, who will be starting her VF pilgrimage with me, as we walk the final 154kms into Roma. She has walked part of the Camino Portuguese previously, so she is chalking up another medieval pilgrimage route with the VF!

Tomorrow Linda and I are heading up to Orvieto for a sightseeing day, followed by two days of walking to Viterbo.