Iteranti
A medieval stone footbridge with a triangular pier arching over a fast-flowing green river, with the Fort of Bard visible on the hillside above the village behind it.

Saint Vincent to Ivrea (day 21)

Ridden · Jamie Brammer

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Rain, rocks and cycle shoes don't mix

Today was a real mixed bag of routes... sometimes the walking route, sometimes the cycle route, and at other times something else. But the big news of the day is that it’s been raining most of the day on and off so it’s been cooler! Yay!

However if you thought descending rocky slopes was tricky in cycle shoes in the dry you should try it in the wet. Today was possibly harder than some of the earlier "hike-a-bike" sections because of that... although there were no prolonged hikes today, only having to get off for say 50m at a time perhaps.

Overnight: Ivrea, Dora maison de charme

Ended the day in Ivrea... which is the home of Olivetti. The family firm worked with leading architects to design offices, factories, housing, social and cultural facilities to ensure the workers were happy (very 2020s)... but as the world changed, Olivetti didn’t and most of these amazing (my opinion) buildings are now crumbling heaps of junk. ☹️

This was my last day for this year. And I’m just remembering that when I got back last year... dropping the children off at school etc, I got a few comments on “how good it must have been touring France eating at Michelin restaurants”. Nobody mentioned the early starts, the eating out of jars, injuries from falls etc. So this year despite eating out of cheese pots and having musli bars that taste like dog biscuits for lunch I’ve avoided the Michelin stars. Although the flight isn’t till late on tomorrow....

  • A rain-slicked pedestrian street in Saint-Vincent lined with yellow buildings, hanging baskets of pink geraniums strung over the road, and cafe tables under umbrellas.
  • A stone Romanesque bell tower with twin clock faces rising beside a round apse, with mountains behind and cafe tables and a loaded touring bike parked at its foot.
    Outside the hotel in the morning. About to set off.
  • A rusted crash barrier on a hillside viewpoint overlooking a road that curves down through the Aosta Valley towards a hazy town below.
  • A dirt path bordered by a rusted metal railing leading through woodland towards the ruined stone remains of a hilltop tower.
  • A narrow overgrown track disappearing into dense scrub and trees on a misty hillside.
  • A loaded orange gravel bike leaning against a wooden fence at a viewpoint, with the ruined tower of a hilltop castle and a valley town visible in the distance.
    Looking down the valley. More castles.
  • A narrow stony path shaded by a canopy of trees, bordered on one side by a low dry-stone wall.
  • A crash barrier post carrying a blue and white "CicloVia Francigena" route marker sticker, with a wooded valley, river plain and distant mountains behind.
  • A loaded orange gravel bike propped against a low dry-stone wall on a rocky outcrop beside a gravel track.
    Roman roads in a few places.
  • A wide grey-green river flowing between wooded banks towards distant mountains, with a road bridge crossing it further downstream.
  • A tall street sign in Verrès showing a film-location poster for Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, reading "Film Location Verrès, March 2014", against a backdrop of pastel apartment buildings.
    An Avengers film was shot on location in this area.
  • A cobbled Italian street corner with weathered ochre and cream buildings, shuttered windows, and a couple standing outside a shopfront beneath a mountain backdrop.
  • A narrow street leading towards a stone clock tower with two dial faces, flanked by a white-walled house and a coral-pink apartment building, with pedestrians including two children walking past.
  • A square medieval keep with a crenellated roofline crowning a wooded hill above a cluster of village houses, seen past parked cars in the foreground.
  • A fortified stone building perched on a rocky spur partway up a steep wooded mountainside, seen across a grassy field bordered by a guardrail.
  • The tiered stone ramparts of a hilltop fort silhouetted against a misty mountain gorge, viewed from a distance across a valley.
  • A rain-soaked gravel path running between tall grass verges towards distant hazy mountains, with red road-hazard signs visible ahead.
  • A wet cobbled lane between pastel-coloured village houses, with the pale outline of a hilltop fortress visible in the distance under heavy cloud.
  • The multi-tiered Fort of Bard crowning a rocky outcrop above a rain-wet road junction with a zebra crossing, seen from below on a grey day.
  • The stacked stone bastions of the Fort of Bard rising above woodland on a misty hillside, photographed through light rain.
    Bard fortress
  • A medieval stone footbridge with a triangular pier arching over a fast-flowing green river, with the Fort of Bard visible on the hillside above the village behind it.
    The bridge at Bard. Particularly impressive with the rain.
  • A cobbled lane through the village of Bard leading past flower-lined railings towards a funicular track climbing the cliff face to the fort above.
  • A loaded touring bike parked beside a small cream-coloured church at the foot of a cliff, with the Fort of Bard's ramparts visible on the rock above.
  • A rain-streaked path running below a sheer cut rock face, with a stone archway and trees visible further along the route.
    Another Roman road.
  • A cobbled village street framed by a stone archway, lined with shuttered houses and balconies, with a rocky peak rising behind the rooftops.
  • Terraced vineyards climb a steep rocky hillside above a valley, with rows of vines strung between posts and small stone huts dotted among the terraces.
    Vineyards. Distinctive style
  • A pale yellow church facade with 'D.O.M' carved above the pediment, statues of saints in niches either side of a circular fresco, and worn stone steps leading up to its open wooden door.
  • A loaded orange gravel bike leaning against a riverside railing hung with red flower baskets, with a tall stone arch bridge and an old stone building beyond.
  • A cyclist in a blue rain poncho and helmet smiles beside his loaded orange bike on a riverside promenade, with a high stone arch bridge and old buildings behind him.
    Another Roman bridge.
  • A grapevine-covered pergola shades a narrow overgrown path running alongside a stone wall on the edge of a hillside garden.
    Trekking through the vineyards was great.
  • A white pilgrim-and-scallop waymark and directional arrow are painted onto a large boulder, marking a Via Francigena route.
  • A cobbled lane bordered by dry-stone walls and trellised vines leads towards a village at the foot of a wooded, rocky hillside in the Aosta Valley.
  • The same stone-walled cobbled lane bordered by vine trellises opens onto a village with a church tower visible ahead, hills rising steeply behind.
  • A loaded orange gravel bike stands in a narrow alley beneath a stone clock tower marked 'COMUNE STRAMBINO', with a yellow church and archway behind.
  • A small ochre church with a frescoed arcaded porch stands beside a tall stone bell tower, an orange bicycle parked under its entrance arch.
    The churches are now very much temple with tower attached.
  • A woodland path winds past a rocky outcrop and a red-and-white trail marker painted on a boulder, with a valley glimpsed through the trees.
  • A narrow, water-slicked stone stairway runs between an ivy-draped rock overhang and a dry-stone wall on a wooded hillside path.
  • A loaded orange gravel bike rests against a metal railing at a hillside viewpoint, overlooking wooded slopes and a green valley with farm buildings below.
  • A crenellated stone castle crowns a wooded hilltop above a river valley, seen from a village garden with a small hilltop town visible in the distance.
  • A brown Via Francigena waymark sign with a pilgrim symbol points right beside a loaded orange gravel bike on a rocky, ivy-fringed trail.
  • A rough stone archway and ruined wall mark the entrance to an old fortified passage, with a white waymark and red trail blaze visible on the rock.
  • A crenellated stone castle with twin towers sits atop a forested hill under a stormy sky, with a hilltop town visible in the hazy distance towards Ivrea.
  • A wide, mist-covered river flows between wooded banks below a stone parapet, with hills and a distant hilltop building visible through the haze.
  • A mother and child walk hand in hand across a rain-wet cobbled square between rows of shuttered pastel townhouses, one carrying a large open umbrella.
  • A public noticeboard headed 'Città di Ivrea, Affissione Necrologi' mounted on a yellow wall is covered with local death notices and memorial cards.
  • A wet cobbled street named Via Castellazzo runs between tall pastel apartment buildings with shuttered windows and wrought-iron balconies in Ivrea.
  • The gold-lettered shopfront of 'Antica Caffetteria Arduino' in Ivrea, its windows crammed with books, magazines and a glass-fronted pastry counter.
  • A cobbled street lined with yellow and terracotta townhouses leads towards a round brick tower rising above the rooftops of Ivrea's old town.
    Ivrea
  • Two tall Romanesque bell towers with tiered arched windows and terracotta banding rise above the apse of Ivrea Cathedral, framed by chestnut trees.
  • The brick towers and battlemented curtain wall of Ivrea Castle rise above a car park, one round tower topped with a crenellated crown and a tall square tower behind.
  • The frescoed nave and gilded high altar of a baroque church interior, with marble columns, painted vaulted ceilings and empty wooden pews in the foreground.
  • A row of lit votive candles in the foreground of a Baroque church interior, with a green-draped tabernacle, gilded candlesticks and a framed religious painting on the altar beyond.
  • A vaulted Romanesque crypt with squat stone columns and carved capitals, its arches framing a raised stone sarcophagus lit at the centre of the space.
  • A church side aisle with marbled pilasters and wooden benches, opening on the right onto a section of exposed medieval brickwork roped off from visitors.
  • Rows of plain wooden chairs with black metal legs spaced along a stone-paved church aisle, leading towards a lit devotional shrine in the distance.
  • The nave of a richly decorated Baroque church looking towards a gilded high altar beneath a painted dome, its wooden pews carrying paper signs reading "Questo è il tuo posto".
  • The derelict, streaked concrete facade of the former Hotel La Serra, its stacked guest-room pods cantilevered out above signs for a cinema and the Auditorium La Serra.
    Perhaps my fav. building from the entire Via Francigena
  • A row of grimy, yellow-striped guest-room pods projecting from the abandoned Hotel La Serra building, seen from below against a cloudy sky.
  • The full length of the abandoned Hotel La Serra and Auditorium La Serra complex, its tiered concrete balconies streaked with age above graffiti-covered shopfronts.
  • The rear of a mid-century sports-centre building, tiers of yellow-banded concrete balcony pods covered in graffiti beneath an overcast sky, a tree in the foreground.
  • A former railway station building with a clock tower and terracotta roof, seen across a cobbled square past a red Mini car and a Lidl supermarket sign.
  • A long red-brick industrial building with arched, barred windows lining a street, with a plainer mid-century block visible further along.
  • A barred glass shopfront reading "Officine ICO" beneath the tiered glass curtain wall of a former factory building, a tree overhanging from the right.
  • The long glazed curtain-wall facade of a former factory building stretching into the distance alongside a road, its many small window panes reflecting a cloudy sky.
  • A red-brick industrial building with tall chimneys and ivy climbing its wall, glazed workshop windows running along its side towards distant mountains.
  • The turquoise, vertically louvred facade of a modern building on a street corner, a motorcyclist riding past in the foreground.
  • A pale yellow modernist apartment block with small square windows set along a quiet backstreet, cars parked outside its ground-floor doors.
  • A curved, paved rooftop terrace with a tall aerial mast and domed skylights set into the lawn beside it, overlooking a low glazed building and wooded hills in the Aosta Valley.
    Moletopia in the "Olivetti" part of town in Ivrea
  • A grassed mound with domed rooflights set into it, a white railing curving along the top of a roof terrace above gated tunnel entrances below.
  • A domed rooflight set into dry grass on a rooftop terrace, with a tall aerial mast and a curved glazed building beyond, houses and hills visible in the distance.
  • A grassed, sunken courtyard ringed by a white balustrade, domed rooflights set into the lawn above gated tunnel entrances leading underground on either side.
  • A covered arcade walkway lined with shopfronts, one displaying rows of sandals for sale on trestle tables beneath the colonnade.
  • A stone arched bridge crossing a river gorge, with a pink-painted apartment building and older townhouses lining the far bank of the town.
  • A river running through a rocky gorge overlooked by a bell tower and clustered old townhouses with terracotta roofs on either bank.
  • A brick castle with a tall crenellated cylindrical tower and a smaller round tower, its walls rising above a wooded slope.
  • A river valley filled with low mist at dusk, wooded banks on either side and mountains silhouetted against a fading orange sky.