DAY 10 BALZE to LA VERNA - 30 April 2026

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It was straight uphill this morning, the fog making for some atmospheric photos. The Cammino di San Francesco was well marked and took us through wood and open paddocks. When we came to the only little town enroute, we restocked in the local bar.

After a minor diversion with very scenic views, we continued on the Cammino which followed the road. Soon it left the road to take us straight uphill again. We mainly followed ridges, mostly through forest. We stopped briefly for a prosciutto and cheese piadina but it was too cold to sit for long. It was here that the E1, the European long distance walking path, joined our route. 

Luckily we came down off the top rapidly and warmed up, even finding a picnic table to eat our apples. We went up and down a few more times, especially enjoying a patch of open grass with great views, before reaching the sanctuary of La Verna.

As well as admiring the view, we visited the church with beautiful ceramics, the corridor with murals depicting the story of the life of St Francis and the places where he is said to have slept and received the stigmata.

We headed down an ancient paved road to our accommodation for the night and some local specialities for dinner: wild boar and stuffed rabbit. 

Uphill in the fog at the start of today's walk
Another atmospheric fog photo
Navigating an eroded path
There was more downhill than uphill today - and plenty of both
About to join a paved road
More wonderful Apennine scenery
A common sight in this part of Italy 
Pointing out the trajectory of the path in front of us
A bit more uphill
The path was well signposted all day
More scenic uphill walking
The path followed a ridge line for a while
More wonderful scenery
A stretch through a forest. Looks pretty flat here. 
We had 4 or 5 kilometres along this gravel stretch of road as we approached La Verna 
There were 4 picnic tables along the route today - 2 here and another 2 about 20 metres down the road. 
A grassy meadow on the way to La Verna
Walking uphill through a grassy meadow on the way to La Verna 
Almost at La Verna
The famous cross at La Verna
Taking in the gallery of scenes from St Francis's life
Some more from La Verna
Leaving La Verna
Dinner - stuffed rabbit and wild boar stew
A couple of flowers
A few bits and pieces from today's walk
Bird (for the eagle-eyed)
Day 10 - Map
Day:                                10
Distance:                       28.79 km
Walking time:                6 hrs 51 mins
Elevation gain:              1307 metres
Cumulative distance:  189.67 km

Comments

  1. Anonymous1 May 2026 at 10:05

    Not really sure about your bird today - maybe a Hooded Crow

    Some of your photos in the last two days remind me of Sandra’s Camino through the Gallican mountains on the way to Santiago

    ReplyDelete

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