It rained off and on throughout the night, but had stopped by the time I got up at 7am and was eating breakfast at 7.30 breakfast. Italians like a sweet breakfast with lots of different cakes and croissants full of cream – whilst I love cakes, it isn’t my dream breakfast, preferring cornflakes and oatmeal and ryebread and cheese.
I had booked the 9.01 train from Genoa to La Spezia and arrived at the station in plenty of time. The sun was out. I passed many bars with Italians enjoying their morning coffee. La Spezia is where, in March 2024, I ended my walk along the beautiful Via Della Costa, from the French-Italian border at Menton. I am returning to complete the last part my walk to Rome from Sagres in Portugal. It was nice to sit on a train and pass many of the places I had walked in 2024. The train runs close to the coast and through Cinque Terre, where many people got off.
The train arrived in La Spezia on time. La Spezia isn’t actually on the Via Francigena, so this morning I will be walking to Sarzana, where I will join the Via Francigena. I left the station, and started the day with a pleasant walk through a La Spezia city centre, with some beautiful buildings.
I continued past the harbour and out towards and industrial area on the outskirts of the town and into the countryside. My first climb was a total disaster. The path was clearly not frequently used and brambles with thorns were growing across the path. I received many cuts on my hands and arms as I tried to push them away. I finally made an alliance with a larger piece of wood that I could use to push them away. It took me almost 40 mins to walk the ca. kilometer. Assessing the damage when I got to the other side, I realised that the pocket on one side of my pack was ripped open and one of the water bottles had fallen out. Not a great start.
A steep descent, on a road with a sign saying “Road Closed”, led to a small back road following a small river. I took a break, before continuing along the quiet road to Ressoura, and the very busy Via Aurelia (SS1) for 3km to Sarzana. There wasn’t a lot of room to walk, as well as bridges over a river and the autostrada and a difficult autostrada exit to negotiate, before reaching Sarzana. Not a great walk.
Sarzana is a small town, and there weren’t many people around. However, there were many youths wearing various cycle tricots. They were preparing for a race, warming up, cycling up and down the streets. As I passed the town square the different teams were being presented. I visited the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, right in the middle of the town centre, with the oldest painted cross in Italy, dating back to 1138 (which I didn’t find). The cathedral also claims to house blood collected from Jesus Christ during the crucifixion.
I stopped for a coffee at a local tobacconist, without anywhere to sit down, before starting off again. Sarzana marked the start of my walk along the Via Francigena, documented by Archbishop Sigeric the Serious in AD 990, when he walked from Canterbury in England to Rome in Italy, a total of 2.200km. Through time it has served as a corridor for merchants, pilgrims and soldiers throughout the Middle Ages. I climbed up to the fortress, Fortezza Castracani, that protected Sarzana and was built in the 10th Century.
The next many kilometers were a mix of countryside and residential areas. I followed canal Lunense, again having to pass a sign saying road closed. Eventually I could not follow the canal any longer as it was totally blocked with a wired fence, but I could watch the swamp beavers enjoying themselves in the sun. After a diversion, I rejoined the canal in relative peace and quiet, with the hill top town of Nicola to the north.
The peace and quiet soon changed as I hit Via Aurelia (SS1) again. It was about 5pm and there were many cars on the road and little space for walkers. I passed a building with a sign stating there was 389km to Rome if you stayed on the SS1 – I still had roughly 500km to get to Rome.
I was nearing Avenza and thankfully the path took me off the main road after ca. 1km, and along a smaller road through an industrial and then a residential area. I finally made it to the hotel where I was staying, opposite the train station. It was a 30km day – I was shattered.
The hotel only served breakfast, and the lady at reception proposed that I went to a restaurant in town. It was closed on Tuesdays, and the two other restaurants didn’t open until 8pm and 8.30pm. So I hung around, and had a very enjoyable meal at a small restaurant next to the tower. There were only local people eating there, and the menu was only in Italian, but a young girl, who spoke perfect English, recommended that I took the slow cooked pork. I started with ravioli, followed by a massive portion of pork and potatoes and then tiramisu with almond biscuits instead of lady fingers. The owner offered my a drink as I paid the bill. A meal that was well worth the wait.
I walked back to the hotel. It was dark by now and I fell asleep almost immediately. A mixed day with more road walking than I had expected, but thankfully not all on the SS1 – Via Aurelia.