Iteranti
A cracked tarmac lane follows a ridge above a valley of low cloud, with a wire fence and power poles running alongside.

Radicofani to Montefiascone (day 37)

Another “wow” morning. Today’s route followed the walking route almost precisely for large parts of the day. A hugely varied day with classic Tuscan views in the morning to volcanic lakes in the afternoon.

Ridden · Jamie Brammer

Route map

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Highlights

  • The bar right by the east gate on the way out of town. Bar Enoteca La Stella. Very small and friendly. Perfect for a morning coffee.
  • It was difficult to cycle far without stopping to take in the view this morning. The descent from Radicofani is on the ridges between valleys and today I was above the mist for most of the way. It creates amazing scenes.
  • When I got into the valleys the mist returned, and then climbing out of the mist you get amazing views back to Radicofani.
  • Morning coffee today was in Proceno. Of the many amazing Italian cafe owners/workers, this lady was perhaps the nicest. The cafe is very cycle and Via Francigena orientated and she was very keen to bring the coffee and pastry out to me. There’s a good place to pump up bike tires etc. here too.
  • San Lorenzo Nuovo. A town from the 1700s with a completely different feel from the usual Italian “old” towns on the Via Francigena. Sitting in a great position on the rim of the crater lake, it feels like you’re on a Spaghetti Western movie set. The main square, allegedly based on Amelienborg in Copenhagen, is a great place for a quick coffee.
  • The first views of the crater lake.
  • The best food I had in Italy was at I Sapori del Castello in Bolsena. October is porcini time in Italy, and many places were selling dishes based on this amazing mushroom. My Italian isn’t great but I remember overhearing a conversation in San Quirico where one guy asks the other where he found the porcini… and the other just replies “the woods”… not wanting to give away the exact location. Today I had porcini tagliatelle and it was sublime.
  • The constant views of the crater lake between Bolsena and Montefiascone.
  • Montefiascone was great. I especially liked the square and cafe in the middle of the old town. After all the old “Italy” it was again refreshing to find 1930s architecture in the middle of the old town. Great coffee and pastries at Il Caffè too.
  • Worth a walk around the town especially the small park at the very top.

Lowlights

  • Acquapendente didn’t inspire much. The cycle route and walking path both pass down what to me was a busy side street. Narrow, grey and full of cars. I didn’t bother to look around more; there’s no doubt a good side to the town.
  • Some of the trails on the side of the crater lake going out of Bolsena are pretty hardcore on a gravel bike; nothing like my escapades in the Alps but still requiring a bit of carrying and pushing.
  • A fiery orange and red sunset sky over terracotta rooftops and a stone bell tower in a hilltop Italian town.
    Not a bad view to wake up to.
  • The stone façade of Bar Enoteca La Stella, Antica Osteria dal 1852, on a cobbled Italian street, with a grapevine trailing across the wall above the doorway.
    Loved this bar. Espresso heaven.
  • Low evening sun shining through a bare tree in a cobbled piazza, with a bicycle parked beside café tables under a parasol.
    The view at breakfast
  • A crenellated stone tower rising above a hilltop village and wooded slopes, lit by warm evening light with a green field in the foreground.
    Looking back up to Radicofani
  • A Via Francigena waymarker sign beside a grassy path at dawn, with mist filling the valley and hazy hills beyond.
  • A dirt path running alongside a wire fence across open, undulating hillside grassland in early morning light.
    Down the ridge with the mist in the valleys
  • Morning mist pooling in a valley between wooded hills, seen from a dew-covered meadow behind a wire fence, with the sun breaking through cloud above.
  • A gravel track descending between trees towards a mist-filled valley, low morning sun breaking through branches on the left.
  • A stony farm track curving away over sunlit rolling hills, with a cypress-lined farmhouse on a ridge and mist lingering in the valley below.
  • A gravel ridge-top track running into the distance with a wooden power-line pole beside it, a thick sea of cloud filling the lowlands on either side under a wispy blue sky.
    Along the ridge between the mists.
  • A crumbling stone ruin on a grassy hilltop overlooking a valley filled with cloud, distant hills rising above the mist.
  • A stony ridge-top track bordered by a wire fence, running towards trees with a thick blanket of cloud filling the valley to the right.
    Getting lower towards the mist
  • Dew-soaked grass and a wooden gatepost fence line along a hilltop, with a valley of cloud spreading between distant ridges.
  • A hazy sun glowing through thick mist over a frost-dusted field, with two power poles silhouetted against the glare.
    Sun fading in the misty valleys.
  • A bare tree silhouetted against a hazy morning sun beside brick gateposts, one bearing a Divieto di Caccia (no hunting) sign, with tall grass and mist beyond.
  • Dew-laden spiderwebs strung between seed-head stalks, backlit by a hazy sun through morning fog.
  • A shallow braided stream winding through a wide stony riverbed, fog cloaking the tree-lined banks under a pale morning sun.
    It was very cold at the valley bottom.
  • A quiet tarmac road bordered by grass verges, disappearing into a bank of fog under a clear sky above.
  • A gravel path bordered by grass fading into thick white fog ahead.
  • A wooden telegraph pole with sagging wires stands beside a gravel track receding into thick morning mist.
  • Low morning sun breaks through trees above a cobbled track past a small signpost and power poles wreathed in mist.
  • A hilltop village with a tower rises above a sea of low cloud filling the valley below.
    Another look back at Radicofani
  • A gravel track runs along a hillside above a valley filled with morning mist under a clear blue sky.
  • A gravel farm track runs between wire fences towards silhouetted trees fading into mist beneath a hazy morning sun.
    Mist was "blowing" over the road at points
  • A cracked tarmac lane follows a ridge above a valley of low cloud, with a wire fence and power poles running alongside.
  • Shafts of morning sunlight stream through mist and overhanging branches above a wooded lane.
    Rays of sun glinting off the mist
  • A gravel farm track lined with tall grasses leads towards a stone farmhouse on a ridge, with ploughed fields either side.
  • A pale church facade inscribed "TEMPLUM DIVO LAURENTIO LEVITAE ET MARTYRI DICAT..." overlooks a cobbled Italian square lined with parked cars.
    I'm in Mexico?
  • A tree-shaded dirt track opens onto a bare ploughed field with rolling hills on the horizon.
  • A gravel path runs beside a weathered wooden fence post and barbed wire, with ploughed fields below and wooded hills beyond.
  • A loaded orange bikepacking bike stands on a gravel track beside a fenced field, its rider's shadow cast across the stones.
  • A chalkboard reading "PROPOSTE DEL GIORNO" stands beside colourful cafe chairs on a cobbled street lined with old stone buildings.
    Lunch in Bolsena. Porcini if you're here in October
  • A loaded orange bikepacking bike leans against a stone wall beside letterboxes and an old wooden door with a lion's-head knocker.
  • A loaded bike lies on its side beside a shallow stream crossing, with a narrow wooden plank bridge spanning the water nearby.
    I kind of fell off here
  • A loaded bike is wheeled across a narrow wooden-plank footbridge with rope handrails over a clear stream.
  • Fallen spiky sweet chestnut husks are scattered thickly across a gravel track.
  • A flock of sheep grazes between rows of vines either side of a dirt track through a vineyard.
  • A sticker-covered brown Via Francigena waymark reads "al 100 km", above a white sign pointing to Montefiascone, Viterbo and Roma.
  • Terracotta-roofed houses sit on a wooded hillside overlooking a large lake and a wide green valley.
    View of the crater lake from Montefiascone
  • A "via Francigena" waymark points left from a stone parapet overlooking a wide lake dotted with small islands.
  • Rooftops of a hilltop town spill down towards a wider modern town in the plain below, seen from a stone terrace.
  • A tree-lined gravel avenue with clipped hedges catches low autumn sun filtering through the branches ahead.
    The wonderful park at the top of Montefiascone
  • A large church dome flanked by twin clock towers rises above the rooftops of a hilltop town, with a hazy plain stretching to distant hills.
  • A rustic crisscross wooden fence lines a track through leafy, sun-hazed hillside with a signpost standing nearby.
  • A row of pollarded plane trees with golden autumn leaves along a paved avenue, fallen leaves scattered across the stone flags, with a low stone wall behind.
  • Sunset over a lake seen from a hillside, silhouetted trees and shrubs in the foreground with hills and a small island visible across the water.
  • A closed metal shutter over a shopfront set in a stone surround carved with the word "OREFICERIA" (jeweller's), a small potted plant beneath.
  • Dawn or dusk view over a large lake from a hillside town, with red-roofed houses among trees in the foreground and mist settling over fields near the shore.
    Yet another great view to wake up to