Written by Aiden & Naomi, Italy & Greece Semester Students
After sadly ending our stay in Florence, we made our way to Gambassi Terme to begin our Via Francigena Trek!! That afternoon we met Lauren, our guide for the trek, and prepared to begin our journey.
Lauren guided us the beginning of the hike as we walked through the nearby town, noting all the via Francigena signs and painted pilgrims in the road. The first day of the trek was 8.5 miles through beautiful hilly tuscan countrysides, the view of San Gimignano guiding us as we walked. We passed through miles of olive fields, horse pastures, and the occasional small town, and stopped at a church to eat our lunch.
As we were getting our Via Francigena stamps, we noticed photos on the wall from when that church had been bombed during WWII, which was really interesting to see. After lunch, we hiked some more and then stopped at a monastery to do a creative writing activity before walking the final stretch to San Gimignano. San Gimignano is also known as the “Manhattan of medieval times” because of its skyscrapers that were upwards of 20 stories tall. Since then, however, the skyscrapers have been shortened by about half to protect them from crumbling due to their age. San Gimignano is also known for having “the best gelato in the world”, as the shop Gelateria Dondoli won awards from 2006-2008. Our group, however, did not agree with that.
On the second day, we had much less hiking to do. We started the day off with a walk back to San Gimignano to catch a bus to a replica of a medieval town. We learned about how a medieval dominus and his village would have lived. We tried on chainmail, threw spears, and tried to defend an attack from an enemy.
After walking back down to the nearby town, we got ready to hike to our second destination, Colle di val d’Elsa. We did a silent hike there, about an hour and a half of reflection, which was one of the group’s favorite parts of the hike. That night, we ate much-anticipated burgers and fries for dinner.
On the third day, we had another 8.5 mile day through the countryside, but this time it was much flatter, through beautiful plains where the grass blew in the wind as if we were in a Studio Ghibli movie. We stayed that night in an abbey that has been there since the Via Francigena was originally made.
The next day was our final day. We started off with a 40-minute walk to the nearest town, and took a bus to Siena where we spent the rest of the day walking around the new city. Our OE Ariana spent time in Siena a few years ago, so she showed us around the city and talked all the about the Palio, a long-standing horse race that brings together every citizen of Siena to the square twice a year. The 17 neighborhoods of Siena draw from a lottery to see who gets to compete, and there are parties and fights through the summer between them all. Ariana even gave us a quiz to assign us a neighborhood that fit each of our personalities. We spent that evening at a campground, staying in mobile homes, and the next day set off for Paladini!
What were the top highlights of the week?
☕️ After walking around and exploring Siena a bit, a couple of us wandered into a tea room under a staircase. It was eclectic and wonderful, it was the perfect end to a travel day.
🐶 Shortly after our arrival to Paladini we discovered one of the dogs gave birth to puppies three weeks ago! It was the best surprise ever. Definitely the favorite of all the furry friends we have encountered so far. There are 4 total, 2 black, 2 cream. One was already named Oreo and we continued with the food themed and named the other three: Burrito, Noodle and Bean.
☀️ On the second to last day on the trek we ended our day at an abbey we were sleeping at. After we got settled in a bit, we looked out the window and saw the most beautiful sunset overlooking the old church and the castle town in the background surrounded by green fields and flowers.
Our transformations are never without challenges – what was most challenging for the group this week?
I think that all of us had our own challenges during the trek. Some of us hike more than others so finding our pace as a group took a day or two. After all, 25 miles is a lot for anyone. Some had blisters, some had back pain, others backpacks were too heavy or shoes didn’t fit right. Despite the challenges I think we did well in regards to keeping our spirits up and staying optimistic. It was very beautiful throughout the 25 miles which I believe aided our spirits. We went alongside and across rivers, up and down hills and through fields. Nearly the entire time we were accompanied by the sights of the Tuscan countryside including the classic Italian cypress trees and vineyards with an occasional church or monastery.
What are we looking forward to in the coming weeks?
Next week is our stay at Paladini camping! We’re looking forward to cooking, hiking, and spending time around the campfire. Nearby the campground is a medieval road that leads to a beautiful bridge with a swimming area underneath, which we are hoping to visit if it’s sunny enough. There is also a famous pizzeria about a 20 minute walk up the hill that the volunteers have told us is incredible. All in all, this has been an amazing week and we’re super excited for the week to come!
❤️ Until next time, Spring 2023 Italy & Greece Semester!
