Iteranti
Close view of a worn cobbled roadway with a street lamp and telegraph pole, hills lit by early morning sun in the distance.

Montefiascone to Sutri (day 38)

I really felt I was getting properly close to the end of the journey here. You’re seeing much more “Roman” stuff.

Ridden · Jamie Brammer

Route map

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Highlights

  • The “hexagonal” basalt paving on the ancient roman roads. There’s a few examples around. Over 2000 years old and still going strong. These aren’t fun to cycle on and I saw the locals on their motorscooters ride in the gutters at the side of the roads paved with these; it’s no surprise that they last so long if nobody wants to use them.
  • Viterbo was a busy town, full of small alleys and bigger squares. Plenty of places to take a coffee and watch the world go by.
  • The Etruscan roads just after Viterbo were amazing; carved into the karst landscape, 10m down these roads were still being used today.
  • Watching the olive harvest just before Vertralla. There were a lot of groves of olive trees and hazel trees in this area.
  • The Etruscan towers in the middle of the hazel groves between Vertralla and Capanica
  • The lush forested valley coming into Sutri.
  • The Etruscan remains at Sutri and especially the Roman amphitheatre carved into the stone.

Lowlights

  • Il Bagnaccio, the thermal springs right by the Via Francigena just before Viterbo were closed. I did hop over the fence and put my hand into one of the small vents … and scalded it!
  • A stone fountain in a cobbled town square at dawn, with shuttered shopfronts and the "Caffè Centrale" sign lit beyond, cafe umbrellas and a parked car nearby.
    Loved the architecture of Montefiascone
  • A dirt path cutting through overgrown scrubland in late afternoon light, a domed building visible through the trees in the distance.
    Looking back up to Montefiascone
  • A worn stone track leading through an avenue of oak trees into an olive grove, evening sunlight slanting across the path.
  • Low morning sun breaking through overhanging branches above a mist-softened valley of fields and distant hills.
  • An ancient cobbled trail flanked by oak trees, morning sun flaring low over a misty valley beyond.
    The ancient roman roads
  • An old cobbled lane running along a ridge past gated villas, low sun flaring above misty countryside on the other side.
  • Close view of a worn cobbled roadway with a street lamp and telegraph pole, hills lit by early morning sun in the distance.
    They're not fun to cycle on
  • Cobbled lane past a gated house with a parked car, a line of telegraph poles receding towards hazy hills.
  • A cracked stone-flagged trail bordered by long grass, morning sun low over trees at the end of the path.
  • A wooden fence post marked with a red-and-white waymark alongside a wire fence, running beside a dirt track through dew-laden grass in early morning mist.
  • A grassy farm track running between fence posts casting long shadows, a hazy hill on the horizon.
    The land got flatter towards Viterbo
  • A dirt farm track running flat across open fields towards a hazy conical hill, an oak tree overhanging the path on the right.
  • A mural on an underpass wall shows a cartoon pilgrim carrying a stick and bundle beside the words "VIA FRANCIGENA" and the hashtag "#DESTINAZIONEVITERBO".
  • A domed church tower rising above the shuttered facades of a narrow town street, a no-entry road sign fixed to a building on the corner.
    Amazing view around every corner in Viterbo
  • A newsstand kiosk labelled "Il Messaggero" and "Il Tempo" packed with magazines and toys on a cobbled street corner, a "Tiburli" hat and accessories shop sign on the building above.
  • A stone-vaulted passageway beneath arched buttresses, cobbled underfoot with wall-mounted lanterns leading towards daylight at the far end.
  • A road cutting deeply carved through moss-covered rock walls, trees forming a leafy canopy high overhead and a streetlamp mounted on the stone.
  • A narrow tarmac lane hemmed by tall tool-marked tufa rock walls, trees closing overhead further along.
    The Etruscan roads
  • A deep sunken lane cut through soft rock, ivy trailing down the walls and a small road sign fixed part way up, evening light glowing through overhanging trees ahead.
  • A small illuminated wayside shrine with candles and flowers set into a niche in the rock wall of a deep sunken lane cut through tufa.
  • A rough eroded rock overhang casting deep shade over a lane, with a low retaining wall alongside and trees glowing in sunlight beyond.
  • Rows of large cabbages growing in a cultivated field, seen from close above, with bare earth furrows to the side.
  • A ploughed dark-earth field bordered by a large flooded puddle reflecting overhanging trees, with a line of trees and hedgerow beyond under a clear sky.
  • Large mesh nets spread beneath olive trees to catch the falling olives, draped over the ground and low branches in an olive grove.
    Harvesting olives
  • A painted mural under a road bridge showing two hikers reading a map beside a hilltop town, with the words "Benvenuti a Vetralla", "La Città Incantata" and a Via Francigena pilgrim waymark logo.
  • A narrow, worn stone-paved passageway running beneath an old building, flanked by shuttered windows, a wrought-iron lamp bracket, weathered doors, and a partly-visible "welcome" sign on a wall.
  • A busy Italian town square with a street market of stalls under white awnings, shoppers walking past on the paved piazza, a stone lamppost, a no-parking sign, and a bell tower against a clear sky.
    Vertralla
  • Sunlight filters through the slender trunks of a young hazel or chestnut coppice onto a leaf-strewn grassy floor.
  • A grassy avenue running between neat rows of hazelnut trees, their canopies arching overhead to frame a patch of blue sky.
  • A tall crumbling stone ruin, perhaps an old tower or pier, rising among trees at the edge of a hazelnut orchard under a clear sky with a faint daytime moon.
  • An orange loaded touring bike with panniers leaning against the weathered brick pillars of an ancient ruined arch, more remains visible in the field beyond.
    More Etruscan archaeology
  • A crenellated stone clock tower with a wrought-iron cross finial rises above a cobbled square, flanked by pale rendered townhouses under a cloudless sky.
  • A loaded touring bike crossing a narrow wooden plank footbridge over a stream in a shaded, ferny woodland.
  • Another view of the loaded touring bike further along the same weathered plank footbridge crossing the woodland stream.
  • A loaded orange touring bike resting against the timber handrail of a rustic wooden footbridge spanning a clear woodland stream.
    Lush valley coming into Sutri
  • A vaulted stone passage through a medieval building opens onto a sunlit alley of stacked firewood and old townhouses beyond.
  • A quiet cobbled town square with a tiered stone fountain at its centre, ochre buildings around it, and outdoor tables outside "Trattoria La Taverna" beneath a white awning.
  • A tabby-and-white cat dozing on a stone monument inscribed "Ave Maria, Sutri, 13.9.1959", surrounded by potted plants in a sunlit garden.
  • A small rectangular niche cut into an ancient tufa rock-face, likely a burial recess, with grass growing at its edge.
  • Rock-cut chambers with barred openings in a tufa cliff face, likely ancient Etruscan tombs, set beside a grassy path.
  • A wider view of the tufa cliff riddled with rock-cut tomb chambers and niches, one barred with an iron grille, overlooking a grassy clearing.
  • A high view down into a huge oval amphitheatre carved entirely from the rock, its tiered seating encircling a grassy arena where a single visitor stands tiny below, framed by pine trees.
    Amphitheatre at Sutri
  • An ancient stone archway named "Porta Franceta" on its sign, its cobbled vaulted passage leading through the old town wall, with an information panel beside it.
  • A padlocked wooden door numbered "34" set into a rough-hewn stone archway carved directly from the rock face, opening onto a cobbled lane.